PRESENTERS

Presenters for the 2nd New Zealand Prevention Imperative Universal Wellbeing Conference will include researchers, practitioners, educators, policy leaders, and sector professionals contributing to prevention-first approaches to improving long-term wellbeing outcomes across education, health, community, government, and organisational settings.

Presentations are aligned with the Universal Wellbeing Model and the Prevention Universal Wellbeing Charter, with a focus on evidence-informed practice, prevention, systems thinking, leadership, and cross-sector collaboration.

Confirmed presenters will be announced as they are finalised.

Presenters

Dr Esther Agbenu Ochoga

President, Workplace Care USA Organisational Strategist, Professor, Author & Corporate Chaplain

  • Agbenu Esther Ochoga, PhD, is an organizational strategist, professor, author, and corporate chaplain. Her work brings together human-centered leadership, wellbeing, spiritual intelligence, and systems transformation.

    She is the President of Workplace Care USA, a chaplaincy-informed organizational wellbeing initiative focused on bridging the human gap in workplaces, institutions, and communities.

    With training in communication, management, theology, business analysis, and leadership development, Esther helps organizations think more carefully about how people are cared for, supported, and sustained in today’s fast-moving world. Her work is especially concerned with meaning, culture, ethical leadership, and whole-person wellbeing.


Dr Syeda Sadia Farzana

Senior Lecturer & Programme Leader, ATMC New Zealand | Physician, Board-Certified Lactation Consultant & Tertiary Health Educator

  • Dr Syeda Sadia Farzana is a physician, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and tertiary health educator based in Auckland, New Zealand. She holds an MBBS, a Master of Public Health in Maternal & Child Health with distinction, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Management.

    She is Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader at ATMC New Zealand, where she leads New Zealand’s only standalone Diploma in Healthcare Management (Level 7). Her academic experience also spans the Auckland Institute of Studies, Auckland University of Technology, University of Otago, and other tertiary education providers.

    With more than 17 years of clinical experience, Dr Farzana’s work brings together maternal and child health, lactation medicine, complex health needs, caregiver wellbeing, and culturally responsive education for diverse New Zealand communities.

    She is a recipient of the Smart Aotearoa Sustainable Development Award and Excellence in Teaching recognition and has presented at WONCA World Conferences and international wellbeing forums. She also holds an honorary appointment as Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Lactation Medicine at BSGP.

    At the 2nd New Zealand Prevention Imperative: Universal Wellbeing Conference 2026, Dr Farzana will present “Breastfeeding as Primordial Prevention: Mapping a Single Determinant Across the Universal Wellbeing Model.” Her presentation will explore breastfeeding as a modifiable health behaviour across the Universal Wellbeing Model’s Sensory Inputs, Dimensions, Determinants and Principles.

Foram Shah

Inclusive Education & Neurodiversity Consultant
Educator | Researcher | Learning Support Specialist

  • Foram Shah is an Inclusive Education and Neurodiversity Consultant, educator, and researcher with extensive experience supporting diverse learners across New Zealand and internationally. Her work focuses on inclusive education, learner wellbeing, educational achievement, assessment practice, and creating learning environments where all learners can thrive.

    She holds an MPhil in Research Methodology in Statistics, an MSc in Statistics, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics (Gold Medal), alongside qualifications in adult education, assessment practice, vision support literacy, and teaching assistance. Her academic qualifications have been formally assessed and recognised by NESA Australia, with her MPhil and MSc recognised at AQF Level 9 and her Bachelor of Science recognised at AQF Level 8.

    Foram has worked across teaching, learning support, assessment, educational guidance, and inclusive education, supporting learners with diverse needs, including those with autism, ADHD, vision impairment, hearing impairment, and other learning support requirements. She is particularly interested in evidence-informed educational practice, neurodiversity, accessibility, equity, and the role of wellbeing in supporting learner success.

    Her work promotes strengths-based and prevention-focused approaches that help educators, organisations, and communities create more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable environments for learning and wellbeing.

    At the 2nd New Zealand Prevention Imperative: Universal Wellbeing Conference 2026, Foram will present From Reactive Support to Preventative Design: Applying the Universal Wellbeing Model to Inclusive Education and Neurodiversity Practice, exploring how system-level approaches can strengthen inclusion, wellbeing, and educational outcomes for both learners and educators.

Emma Hunter

Deputy Principal | Founder, BrainHug Charitable Trust | PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology

  • Emma Hunter is an educational leader, wellbeing advocate, and researcher based in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a Deputy Principal, Founder of BrainHug Charitable Trust, and a PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology. With more than twenty years of experience across education, learning support, attendance and engagement, and wellbeing initiatives, her work focuses on translating relational neuroscience into practical approaches that strengthen wellbeing, resilience, and educational outcomes.

    Drawing on trauma-informed practice, relational neuroscience, educational leadership, and community development, Emma works alongside schools, organisations, and communities to develop prevention-focused approaches that support emotional regulation, belonging, engagement, and wellbeing. Through BrainHug, she is helping create a shared language that enables children, young people, educators, whānau, and communities to better understand the relationship between the brain, behaviour, relationships, and wellbeing.

    Her emerging doctoral research explores effective leadership approaches for implementing culturally responsive, trauma-informed education in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has a particular interest in the role of belonging, co-regulation, relational safety, and neuroplasticity as foundations for wellbeing, learning, and lifelong resilience.

    Emma is passionate about shifting conversations beyond crisis response towards prevention-focused systems that enable individuals, schools, organisations, and communities to move from surviving to thriving.

    At the 2nd New Zealand Prevention Imperative: Universal Wellbeing Conference 2026, Emma will present Wired to Thrive: Neuroplasticity, Belonging and the Prevention Imperative, exploring how belonging, relational safety, and positive relationships can strengthen resilience, wellbeing, engagement, and thriving across education and community settings.