CJINZ team
Meet the current staff of the Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation.
Centre co-directors
Professor of Law
Faculty of Law
Professor Yvette Tinsley FRSNZ is the academic co-director of the Centre, holding a position at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. As a criminal justice academic, Professor Tinsley has a special interest in legal policy reform, particularly in improving the experience for participants in the criminal process.
Professor Tinsley's work has resulted in extensive legal and policy change, particularly in the areas of jury trial practice and sexual violence pre-trial reforms.
John Walker
Co-director
Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation
John Walker is the judicial co-director for the Centre and is a recently retired district court judge. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 as a jury trial judge and a youth court judge.
Since that time, he has held various leadership roles as an executive judge, acting chief judge, and the Principal Youth Court Judge for New Zealand from 2016 to 2022. He was instrumental in establishing the Youth Drug Court in Christchurch and the Young Adult Court in Porirua. He established the Porirua Court as a court connected with its community, and has played a leading role in improving the courts’ approach to family violence cases, as well as responses to individuals with drug and alcohol dependency.
He is a proponent of solution-focused courts and has employed this approach in his work as a judge across jurisdictions. He's led the development of this approach in the district court.
Everard Halbert
Co-director
Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation
Everard Halbert (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Whiti) is the Māori co-director for the Centre. Everard is experienced in tikanga and mātauranga Māori. He has worked in the dispute resolution space in the private and public sectors, including mediation, restorative practice, and Te Pae Oranga (iwi justice panels). He also works in the Māori Legal Services Team for Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley.
Research fellow
Research Fellow
Faculty of Law · Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation
Alexandra is the research fellow for Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation and works across the Centre's projects. Alexandra has completed her Masters of Science in Forensic Psychology, where she explored Police Prosecutors’ experiences of working with potentially traumatic materials in their role.
Honorary research associate
Dr Nichola Tyler
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology
Dr Nichola Tyler is a senior lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology. Nichola completed her PhD at the University of Kent (UK) and has previously held academic positions at universities in the UK and New Zealand.
Nichola’s research focuses on improving understanding, assessment, and prevention of problem behaviours, with a particular interest in advancing clinical practice for working with adults and young people who engage in deliberate firesetting and arson (including bushfire arson).
Nichola also conducts research on justice professionals' wellbeing, aiming to improve the support available for those working in the criminal justice and forensic mental health systems. She has particular expertise in qualitative research methods and intervention evaluation.
Centre manager
Anna Burnett
Centre Manager
Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation
Anna Burnett is the Centre's manager. Anna has worked across several different roles at the University since 2011. She was the events and centres coordinator for the Law School and the administrator for the Chair in Public Finance at the Wellington School of Business and Government.
Centre research assistant
Cristina McCormick
Centre Research Assistant
Te Herenga Waka Centre for Justice Innovation
Cristina is the Centre's research assistant. She is a final year student studying a Bachelor of Laws with honours, and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in philosophy.