Managing Southland Education for more than 22 years, Lesley is the solid foundation for all of the WEA Buildings many and varied classes and activities. She has built the organisation up from small beginnings to what it is today, with a great team of tutors, an ongoing series of terms and a wide variety of classes. Lesley has shared her expertise with many community organisations over the years including Art Attic Gallery, C.S. Art Trust, WEA Dunedin and Riversdale Arts. With a heart for the community, she has volunteered on many boards or committees such as C.O.G.S, Arts Murihiku, WEA Dunedin, Federation of WEAs and Creative Communities Invercargill. Southerly Arts is her most recent project, which runs over King’s Birthday weekend offering opportunities for people to participate in arts-based workshops which are not usually available locally. A deserving recipient of the Community Catalyst Award in 2024 from the Southland Creative Arts Awards, she is passionate about community arts and Southland Education, often describing the classes as “more like families”. Lesley is gradually reducing her role at Southland Education to spend more time with family.
