Presenters

Amanda Hill, Barrister & Solicitor, Amanda Hill Law
Amanda has been working as a lawyer since 2005. She began her legal career as a graduate with Cooper Legal before working in an insurance and commercial litigation team and as an in-house employment lawyer. Amanda rejoined Cooper Legal in August 2014. Amanda works on historic abuse claims against the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education and various Churches, as well as entities contracted by the government to care for children. Amanda can advise on privacy and discrimination issues and has a growing practice in the area of prisoner rights, seeking compensation for breaches of the rights of prisoners or people detained by the Police. Together with Sonja Cooper, Amanda provided factual and expert evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care about redress processes and continues to assist survivors to give evidence at Royal Commission hearings. Amanda is a past Board member of the youth organisation InsideOut Kōaro.


Ella Tait, Barrister, Kate Sheppard Chambers
Ella provides specialist legal advice, conducts independent investigations, and helps clients to resolve disputes through negotiation and litigation. She has particular experience working in sensitive subject areas including discrimination, sexual harassment, interference with privacy, and non-recent abuse. Ella often works with clients who have experienced traumatic events, and brings an empathetic and trauma-informed approach to her work. Ella has appeared as counsel in cases before tribunals and courts at all levels up to the Court of Appeal, and has held several specialist investigative roles. She began her career in private practice, initially in a general litigation role before moving to the specialist employment law team at Kensington Swan (now Dentons). Ella subsequently joined the in-house litigation team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, where she conducted a broad range of regulatory enforcement litigation, including representing Labour Inspectors in the Employment Relations Authority, and acting on immigration and professional discipline matters. Most recently before joining the independent bar, Ella held senior investigative roles at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and a senior litigation role at the Office of Human Rights Proceedings. Ella has approval from the New Zealand Law Society to accept direct instructions from clients, without an instructing solicitor, in many areas of law. As a lead legal aid provider, she is able to accept legal aid instructions for employment, professional discipline, and human rights cases. Ella also serves as a panel member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal, Taraipiunara Mana Tangata.


Denise Johnson, Principal, Hutt Valley High School
Denise Johnson is the principal of Hutt Valley High School, a large co-educational secondary school with a roll of 1730 students. Denise started her teaching career in Southland at Menzies College. She then taught for 3 years at various schools in London before returning to New Zealand in 1990. Denise was a Deputy Principal at Wellington Girls’ College and Wellington High School before joining the leadership team at HVHS as an Associate Principal in 2012. She co-led the school with the late Ross Sinclair for 8 years. Denise is a trustee and founding member of the Wellington Loop. She is interested in the transformative power of collaboration between educators and schools in order to build teacher capability and to develop innovative thinking and practice.