Our lecturers are respected, practising celebrants, with many years of combined experience.
Kathrine Fraser
Director and Lecturer
Diploma in Celebrant Studies; MPhil (1st Class Hons); BA (Soc Sci); NZCS (Chemistry); CANZ Life Member & Past President; VCANZ
Kathrine’s interest in ceremony was sparked in the 1990’s when she attended a particularly unsatisfying funeral for a family friend. She knew there had to be a better way, so she enrolled for and completed the Certificate in Celebrant Studies with course founder, Mary Hancock. It would be an understatement to say she has never looked back!
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 celebrancy – as well as a passionate commitment to the value that ceremony and ritual can add to contemporary society.
Winnie Duggan
Lecturer
Diploma in Celebrant Studies; BA(Hons); Dip Teaching; Master of Guidance and Counselling; Cert. in Clinical Supervision; Life Member CANZ.
Winnie brings to this teaching role 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.
Her days are structured to enable a nourishing balance of private counselling and supervision from home, teaching celebrants, leading a broad range of ceremonies and enjoying walks, quilting and crafts, baking, learning Te Reo Māori and being with family and friends.
Darcie Price
Lecturer
Diploma in Celebrant Studies; Certificate in Adult & Tertiary Education; Certificate in Adult Literacy & Numeracy; Certificate in Education Support; CANZ.
Darcie brings a vibrant sense of fun and adventure to our team, coupled with a deep appreciation for ritual and ceremony, which have been integral to her life. Based in Whangārei, she successfully runs her own celebrant business while also working at a local primary school as a teacher aide, librarian, and assistant in Māori and Pasifika teachings, including Kapa haka.
Expressive, driven, Darcie thrives on creativity, whether it’s through words, arts and crafts, photography, Cook Island dance, or gardening. Curious about the world around her, she is always eager to learn and explore new ideas and experiences and hear the stories of people and places.
Kelly Townsend
Lecturer
Diploma in Celebrant Studies; Diploma in Facilitation & Coaching, Grief Recovery Method© Certification, Holding Space Leaders Program (Heather Plett), VCANZ.
Kelly is a proud Northlander, now based on the Hibiscus Coast north of Auckland. She balances portfolio roles as a busy celebrant, facilitator, and HR consultant, along with enjoying travel, sport, genealogy, community volunteering, and connecting with friends and family. Her background is in management & technology consulting, and she is passionate about learning. As her kete of celebrant skills has grown, she has envisioned an end-to-end service encompassing conscious living and dying.
“How do we want to live our lives? Ritual is a core part of this. Preparing for our death can help us commit to living every day more fully.”
Alexa Shaw
Lecturer
Diploma in Celebrant Studies; Diploma in Photography; Certificate in Massage.
Hailing from a long line of ceremony creators and ritual makers, it was inevitable that Alexa would be drawn to celebrancy.
She grew up in Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington and she currently calls Papaioea/Palmerston North home. It is there that she offers both her celebrant services and embraces her love of animals working as an Afterlife Pet Care Specialist at Soul Friend Pet Cremations.
Alexa enjoys creative pursuits that lend to her love of storytelling through dance, photography, painting and writing, all of which can weave into special ceremonies as well as everyday rituals in life.
She leads the Ceremony and Celebrations training at The Celebrant School and brings a fresh, youthful voice to contemporary celebrancy.
Kerry-Ann Stanton
Lecturer
Certificate in Celebrant Studies, BA. Sociology, Dip Teaching, Cert. Ontological Coaching, Post Grad Dip Dance Studies, Registered Open Floor Dance Teacher
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 since 2012. In 2015, Kerry-Ann was awarded the Visionary Celebrant Award by the Celebrants’ Association of New Zealand Inc. (CANZ)
These days she specialises in teaching the Transitions Course. As a Celebrant, Ritual Maker and Sacred Space Artiste she is committed to the fullest exploration of what it means to live and die, and all the transitions in between.
Jean Green
Administrator
Jean is the behind-the scenes magician who guides aspiring celebrants through the enrolment process, answers their questions, and ensures they have what they need before they begin their celebrant journey.
With a background in diverse administration environments, Jean brings her people skills, personality, and sense of humour to her role. She keeps the wheels of The Celebrant School rolling smoothly, for which we are all extremely grateful.
Workshop Presenters
We source specialist presenters for our workshops and ongoing professional development workshops.