Kathrine Fraser

Director and Lecturer

MPhil (1st Class Hons); BA (Soc Sci); NZCS (Chemistry); Cert in Celebrant Studies; CANZ Accredited Celebrant.

Kathrine’s interest in ceremony was sparked in the 1990’s when she attended a particularly unsatisfying funeral for a family friend. She enrolled for and completed the Certificate in Celebrant Studies with course founder, Mary Hancock. Some years later, when Mary established The Celebrant School, she invited Kathrine to join the new Advisory Board.
In 2011, having served the Celebrants’ Association of NZ Inc in a number of capacities, Kathrine was elected National President. She led the organisation on a path of regeneration, helping it strengthen and unify celebrants. After completing her term, she joined The Celebrant School as a lecturer, and in 2016, she succeeded Mary as Director. She brings to the role her diverse career experiences spanning scientific research, industry training, organisation development consulting, education management, and of course, celebrancy.

Kerry-Ann Stanton

Lecturer

BA., Dip Teaching, Cert. Ontological Coaching, Cert. in Celebrant Studies, Accredited Member of CANZ, Director Inspirita Dance.

Kerry-Ann was amongst the inaugural intake of students into the Certificate of Celebrant Studies, which was the first training programme in the world for civil celebrants. She has worked as a Celebrant since 1998 and has been a key lecturer at The Celebrant School for some years. She is also a coach, a teacher and a dance guide.
She has been working with groups since she was in her teens and is known as an empathetic leader, an enthusiastic teacher and a caring motivator. Kerry-Ann offers herself as a lecturer on this programme from a place of deep awareness of the privilege of being a Celebrant.
In 2015, Kerry-Ann was awarded the Visionary Celebrant Award by the Celebrants’ Association of New Zealand Inc. (CANZ)

Winnie Duggan

Lecturer

BA( Hons); Dip Teaching; Master of Guidance and Counselling; Cert. in Celebrant Studies; Cert. in Clinical Supervision.

Winnie sees her role as a lecturer as bringing together her life skills as a secondary teacher, a counsellor and supervisor, and a celebrant. She trained in 2007 and went on to co-author “Be Fertile with Your Infertility- creative ways to acknowledge the infertility journey using ceremony and ritual” in 2008. Winnie enjoys creating ceremony with couples embarking on marriage together and working with families to craft funerals and other life transitions.
In addition to teaching, her days currently involve a wonderful balance of caring for parents, private counselling and supervision from home, infertility counselling at a clinic, and her celebrant role.

Melanie Stuart

Lecturer

LL.B, B.A.(Hons, 1st class); Cert in Celebrant Studies.

Mel’s background is as a legal editor and solicitor in Wellington, Auckland and London. She was registered as an Independent Marriage Celebrant in 2013, soon after completing her Certificate in Celebrant Studies. She quickly grew a thriving celebrancy practice. Mel’s work as a marriage and funeral celebrant is a natural progression of her skills and passion for people, storytelling, creative writing, sharing knowledge, family values, and incorporating Aotearoa New Zealand’s many cultures and communities into ceremonies in a meaningful way.
She has 4 young children and is a former Playcentre parent-educator.

Darcie Price

Lecturer

Diploma in Celebrant Studies; Certificate in Adult & Tertiary Education; Certificate in Adult Literacy & Numeracy.

Darcie brings a sense of fun and adventure to team, but also a strong sense of ritual and ceremony, both of which have been important throughout her life. Based in Whangarei, she runs her own successful celebrant business, in addition to training at-risk youth.
She is expressive and driven, and enjoys creating, whether it’s with words, arts and crafts or photography. Her teaching philosophy is holistic, and she embraces models like Te Whare Tapa Wha and inquiry learning, which put the learner at the centre of the process.