Kim Chamberlain
I’m a strategist, facilitator, reflective partner and community developer. My primary work focus has been building collaborative and reflective leadership capabilities with diverse groups in complex environments. I’ve worked across the public sector and community organisations.
I grew up on the wild West Coast of Te Wai Pounamu, where the edge of the deep Tasman Sea crashes into our soaring, snow capped peaks. It’s a place founded on discovery - pounamu, coal and gold - treasure hidden in the dark depths and sometimes in plain sight. I now live in Otautahi (Christchurch) with my partner and wider whanau, working with people, organisations and community. Traversing those quiet edges of understanding ourselves and our world - where inner meets outer.
My intention with Westerly is to mindfully cultivate the conditions to be able to really 'see' - into ourselves and what is happening around us. Not accidentally, but rather being purposefully and patiently attentive for the emergence of deeper insight . Those moments that always give me the ‘goosebumps’.
Bernie White
I’m a facilitator, coach, advisor and teacher. After working in manufacturing and IT&T, and since 2000, I have worked to support positive change for individuals, teams and public/private sector organisations.
I have always been fascinated by those moments when something beautiful and new comes into this world, seemingly out of nothing. Be it art, or invention, the unfolding of human potential, even life itself. It has seemingly less to do with any method, rather more to do with who I’m being, together with those people around me. There seems to be ‘magic’ at work in those moments. Originally of Celtic heritage, I grew up in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and live with my family of six in the harbour capital of Wellington.
My intention with Westerly is to create a space for a different kind of conversation in our world. One that is grounded in our human experience of working amongst the reality and challenges of our complex, interconnected, beautiful and often wild world. I hope it is a conversation that enlivens our collective human spirit and creativity. While leading to more responsive and sustainable outcomes in our living world.
Working together
Kim’s entire career has focused on group work and community building. While Bernie’s career has spanned industrial engineering and IT sales and marketing, before coming to group work in 2000. We both met in 2015, becoming friends through our participation in the work of Allan Kaplan and Sue Davidoff and the Proteus Institute (SA). We have both often worked with Allan and Sue in the field of Reflective Social Practice, and share a deep interest in more reflective ways of being and acting in our complex and dynamic world. In 2018 we began to work together with our clients and with each other in partnering ways. Together we are developing our own faculties of really seeing and being present with living systems. Late in 2018 we imagined a new community of people working together to develop themselves and how they work within complex social processes. We both love the wildness of our rugged west coast of New Zealand.