Who we are

Ingrid van Amsterdam

Ingrid arrived in New Zealand in 1988 from the Netherlands to attend her grandfather’s funeral. Thinking she had nothing to lose but everything to gain, she’s still here today. With a background in interviewing and auric magnetic energy healing, Ingrid has an interest in the arts, culture and humanity as a whole. She believes that with enough passion, anything is possible. The creation of BiograView is one of those passions. Ingrid has a vivid desire to work for the establishment of peace and harmony in society. Unwavering focus, drive and her belief in people keep Ingrid on her path, inspired to reach that goal.

Philippa Hadlow

Philippa Hadlow loves the written word’s ability to tell stories, relay history, and evoke images of a world many of us might never see. She delves into such diverse topics as indigenous peoples, animals and culture, global gardening practices, the stories of migrants and refugees as they cross unknown borders to embrace new lives. Philippa also loves reading so, keep an eye out for her book reviews. She has a knack for getting to the heart and soul and nitty-gritty of every story.

Amokura Panoho

With maternal tribal links to Te Atiawa, Taranaki, Ngāruahine Amokura regularly commutes from Auckland to Taranaki as a board member of Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa Trust. Her background is in Māori business and enterprise. However, she was also the inaugural chairperson for Shakti Asian Women’s Support Group, where she championed their registration to the National Women’s Refuge Collective. Amokura is keen to share an indigenous view of Aotearoa for a broader audience.

Jennifer Little

Jennifer’s writing career spans news journalism, and feature writing on arts, culture and travel – from Fiji to France. She has produced articles about humanitarian issues and humanities education as a media/communications professional in the tertiary sector. Jennifer also writes short fiction and has published a children’s sci-fi novel. She’s a passionate supporter of the arts, particularly in her hometown of New Plymouth, where she’s part of a team which runs regular Latin dance workshops and social events.

Chris Pidgeon

Chris is a passionate young writer from Whangarei, now living and studying in Auckland. Music, language, and cinema are just some of his interests. His education in both computer science and English gives him the confidence and knowledge to tell stories of our culture and our history, backed up by solid research. With a thoughtful and crafted approach to writing, he is very excited to be writing for Biograview.

Katie Stone

Katie grew up in the Waikato and always thought she’d become the next Enid Blyton. Although yet to produce a novel, she has spent much of her life studying, travelling, and freelancing. Katie has traipsed through five continents and lived in Ireland, China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan. She is also a devoted runner and spends most of her spare time pounding the pavement around Auckland. We are delighted to have Katie – a qualified naturopath and journalist – bringing her passion for people and plants to BiograView.

Alina Suchanski

Alina Suchanski was born in Poland and came to New Zealand in 1982. She lives in Te Anau, Fiordland, dividing her time between growing blueberries, teaching yoga and writing. Passionate about protecting the environment, health and fitness, Alina loves music and has an interest in languages. Her hobbies include exploring the beautiful place she lives in on foot, by bike or in a kayak. Alina is excited to write about things she loves including conservation, nature, heritage, outdoor activities and most of all, people.

Hayley White

Hayley White is a young Pākeha Māori woman from Auckland, New Zealand. Her dream to tell people’s stories – the stories that need to be told and heard – grew into a passion for youth, Te Ao Māori, and sexuality: some of the topics Hayley has the pleasure of writing about for BiograView. We love her enthusiasm and look forward to sharing her stories with you!

Charlotte Giblin

Charlotte Giblin is a full-time artist and art tutor living in New Plymouth. She has worked professionally in the visual arts for almost 25 years. Charlotte’s rich tapestry of experience as business owner, gallery director and arts administrator, art tutor, author, potter, painter and illustrator has woven together her passions to become the full time contemporary fine artist, art tutor and creative mentor she is today. We are delighted to share with you Charlotte’s monthly cartoons, especially created for BiograView!

Assoc. Prof. Gina Salapata

Born and raised in Greece, and after having spent a decade in the US, Gina moved to New Zealand in 1995. Her interest in other cultures led her to explore the potential of proverbs to create cosmopolitan bridges and celebrate multiculturalism. The kitchen is one of Gina’s happy places where she loves
experimenting with flavours from around the world. She also runs a Greek dancing group to counteract nostalgia for her home country.