Mrs Helen Varney, MNZM, of Auckland, for services to education, particularly Pacific education
Helen Varney has been a well-regarded principal for many years, most recently of Target School, Totara Vale.
She is Secretary of the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association and was President of North Shore Principals and the Auckland Primary Principals Association.
As Director and Lead Facilitator, she ran the pilot of Tautai o le Moana – Navigators of the Ocean, a programme supporting principals of Pasifika students to build their capability as school leaders, and is leading the scale-up of the initiative.
Mrs Varney is a qualified facilitator in the Māori Achievement Collaboratives, has contributed to numerous Ministry of Education and inter-agency working groups, and has mentored teachers to become principals.