Our team at Kerr & Associates offers clients an integrated support service combining technical expertise with the leading-edge use of communication strategies, media and the development of community engagement processes. Our associates work independently as consultants and come together on an as-needed basis for our project work.
Below is a brief background on our associates and the skills and experience they bring to our work.
Ceara Wallace
Ceara is a marine ecologist with over six years of experience in marine conservation and research. Her curiosity and passion for the ocean led her to
complete a Bachelor of Science from Auckland University. Since then, she has logged over 650 hours underwater working around Australasia.
She has been part of our monitoring team for the last three years and is now playing a lead role in our monitoring work.
Catherine Langford
Catherine is the go-to person in our group for anything to do with communications and media. She will play a vital role in our project management function. This is what she does.
“We run a specialist service called Langford ink, offering straightforward, affordable marketing support for businesses in the Bay of Islands and beyond. We can help you with the planning and implementation of both traditional and online marketing, including website development and social media support, graphic design and print management, copywriting and PR.”
Contact:
phone +64 9 402 5545
cellphone +64 21 0252 9290
Dan Breen 
Dan Breen brings to our team some serious technical muscle. He has a wealth of experience as a marine biologist. He has become a specialist in using GIS and decision support modelling software for marine protected area planning and design. Dan did the hard yards in conservation biology in Australia, playing a key role in several very significant marine conservation projects. This is a skill set we need in New Zealand for what we are about to face in marine management and conservation.
Dan completed his PhD at JCU, Australia on systematic conservation planning for marine protected areas (MPAs) under the supervision of Prof. Geoff Jones and Dr Nick Otway. After arriving in New Zealand, Dan worked for the Department of Conservation in Auckland on MPAs and provided scientific advice for Maui's dolphin and other threatened species. He previously worked for the NSW Marine Parks Authority and NSW Fisheries in establishing marine parks and aquatic reserves, for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on the Representative Areas Program, as a consultant in monitoring the impacts of tourism and other activities and as an interpreter with Reef Biosearch in Port Douglas. Dan's research interests include quantitative marine ecology, spatial and statistical modelling of marine communities and applying GIS-based decision support systems (including Marxan, C-Plan and Zonation).
Contact email:
Brett Sutton 
Brett has joined our team to to contribute in our scuba based marine field projects. Brett brings our group a full range of diving capabilities and a passion for the sea and marine conservation. Brett holds a B.Sc. Biological Sciences and is ADAS Part 3 Air Diver. He has ten years of experience working in the marine environment on oil and gas, civil construction, fisheries, research and tourism operations in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Brett has gained experience in a wide range of field roles relating to ecological research, environmental monitoring and oil spill response. With a background in commercial diving, Brett has worked on biosecurity projects conducting surveillance, containment and removal of invasive marine species from ports, vessels and aquaculture facilities. Most recently, he has been in North Western Australia, advising construction vessel crews on environmental compliance protocols concerning protected marine megafauna.
email
Dean Wright 
Dean brings many skills and a dedication to improving marine management to our team. He has an extensive business background and was very involved with the big game fishing sector in his younger days. You won't find anyone with more passion for the ocean. Dean is an experienced skipper and has done a lot of volunteer hours supporting conservation work on and off the water in Northland.
Dean is an accomplished professional photographer, website designer and manager and brings a professional edge to this aspect of our work in Kerr & Associates.
You are welcomed to view some of Dean's stunning photos and read more background information on his website.
Contact:
cellphone +64 27 243 1777
Graham Wragg 
Graham brings many skills to our team, including maritime (NZ Offshore Master & Marine Engineer), academic (Doctorate in Zoology from the University of Oxford, UK), plus his project management skills as owner/manager of research vessels in the Pacific since 1988. Graham trained as a National Park Ranger at Lincoln University in NZ, then completed a Master of Applied Science at the University of Canterbury. In his younger days, he was a commercial fisherman in Alaska and volunteered on numerous science/conservation expeditions to Africa, the Atlantic Islands and Russia.
After three decades researching and exploring the remote islands of the Central Pacific, Graham's experience includes science & conservation expedition support, marine & terrestrial conservation research, oceanographic buoy deployments, invasive species eradication, science & technology consultancies, eco/adventure tourism, delivery of cyclone relief to remote communities, sustainable fisheries & forestry, protected areas management and the economic development of remote areas.
Between 2013-16 Graham and his wife, Ulamila established the 2200 ha Natewa National Park in Fiji. It is now the only indigenously owned and managed National Park in Fiji (and probably the Pacific Islands). Graham was its first CEO and Chief Scientist. The Pacific Ocean and it's far-flung islands are both his passion and his backyard. Graham resides in Canterbury and has been busy doing archeological work with his beloved seabirds.
Photo Gallery site of Graham's Pacific voyages
Graham's published works to download at Research Gate
Diane Kerr 
Diane Kerr, BSc (Otago) and Dip Tch (University of Oregon) have a background in science and education. She has often been involved in Vince's work in Northland and has racked up many volunteer hours in community and environmental work. Diane will be the one working behind the scenes, doing accounting and data processing and analysis.
Contact:
email
phone +64 9 435 1518