Ahead of our September Civic Academies, we are training leaders in how to be small group leaders.

Small group leaders facilitate table talks focused on identifying stories of private pressure and public action. At this training, we will focus on:

Xavier Walsh (Pākehā – settler/Sri Lankan ancestry) is the Co‑chair of Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga Tāmaki Makaurau and the Co‑chair of the Auckland Living Wage Local Board — the only city in the world with two Industrial Areas Foundation sister alliances. They work across unions, community groups and faith organisations to strengthen local leadership and build collective power around shared issues.

Xavier also serves as National Co‑president of Unite Union, Aotearoa New Zealand's hospitality union. Alongside their governance roles, they are a PhD candidate in Māori Studies, researching how tikanga Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi (Indigenous customs, values, law and Treaty) can re-imagine the way workplace grievances are understood and resolved.