Bright Side guides

Our Bright Side guides are a mix of AUT staff and external partners who offer a range of experience and knowledge to help you in your personal development journey.

Brian Berneman

Brian is a wellness coach and facilitator. Brian is the co-founder of an organisation called Conscious Action, and tailors his practice for AUT students. Brian has a background in neuroscience and more than 15-years of experience teaching and practising yoga, meditation, mindfulness and different healing practices.

Melissa Jenner

Melissa is the founder of START Now - a human innovation company, that helps people and businesses forge meaningful, purposeful and sustainable careers. She has worked with over 100 executives and is now working inside organisations to help people get aligned on value and creative expression to unlock more productivity in the workforce. Melissa is also a certified Design Your Life coach.

Lex Pritchard

Lex is a mindset and performance coach and former New Zealand boxer. She was the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic boxing bout in 2012. She supports students to build a positive mindset to feel energised about the possibilities for life, and stay well through exercise and movement.

Jo Robertson

Jo Robertson is a sex therapist, betrayal trauma specialist and parent consultant who offers diverse therapeutic support, facilitates related workshops and contributes as Researcher and Team Lead for The Light Project charity. Jo has a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling from the University of Auckland and a Master of Science in Medicine (Sexual Health/Psychosexual Therapy) from the University of Sydney.

Jo Batts

Jo’s approach to therapy is based on practical real-life experience and a pragmatic style of listening without judgment. She brings a holistic approach by working with the mind, body, emotions, spirituality, family, and relationships. As a registered counsellor (NZAC) with postgraduate qualifications, continual professional development and supervision, she is committed to ethical best practice. Jo is passionate about enabling people to walk through their own challenges with courage, knowledge and support.

Lama Saga

Lama is a Samoan entrepreneur who has lived most of his life in South Auckland. He has a BA in Sports with a major in Physical Education, has 15 years of experience in the public health sector and owns Alexander café and Empire Training Box in Otara – talk about busy! Lama is passionate about improving Pasifika people’s wellbeing in a holistic and culturally supportive way.

Wade Jackson

Wade Jackson is a speaker, author and high-performance coach. With a dynamic background across the world in improv theatre, in dojos and penning books on human development, Wade can authentically lead by example. Wade’s journey to become a specialist in high performance began in Japan aged 18, where he earned two of his three black belts in martial arts. This experience cemented in him an incredible discipline that he's learned to pass onto others.

Cindy Wang

Cindy coaches students that have completed Bright Side programmes through interactive and practical exercises, designed to enable students to incorporate their learnings into their day-to-day lives. She also devises and delivers bespoke development sessions according to the requirements of faculty and student groups. Cindy previously worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, and holds a Master of Business specialising in Organisational Psychology as well as a Graduate Certificate in Career Development. She is also an ICF certified coach.