Blair Carpenter

Born in Otautahi (Christchurch) and raised in Whakatū (Nelson) by his parents of English and Māori heritage, Blair Carpenter has worked in the social and community health sectors for over 20 years. Spanning a number of groups such as Youth, Aged care, Kaupapa Māori and Disability Services both locally and internationally. Blair's primary career was Counselling, where he studied at Otago Polytechnic and later gained a Bachelor of Applied Social Sciences at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. As his career progressed, he specialised in Mental Health and Addictions, working in AOD youth rehabilitation in Auckland and completed post-graduate studies in Health Sciences at the National Addiction Centre (Otago University). A shift into working for a local Māori health organisation began his journey of reconnecting with his whakapapa and completing a number of short courses relating to Te Tiriti and Te Ao Māori.    

Blair has worked as a Community Advisor for the Department of Internal Affairs for the past 5 years. A significant focus of his work has been to coordinate and strengthen the social and homelessness sectors in the region, establishing collaborative forums and working within Civil Defence to house a large number of homeless individuals during the COVID Pandemic. He has and continues to play a key role in the development of a number of community networks and collaborative projects including the Wellby initiative, Funders Collab and Housing Vulnerability Forum. Additional aspects of his role as a DIA community advisor include supporting the distribution of community funding, engaging with Iwi, council and government agency colleagues and coordinating the Lottery Community fund which supports over 150 community groups across The Top of the South and West Coast.

In recent years he has developed his skills as a director, sitting on the Board of the Male Room – Mens support service and Nelson Bays Primary Health and also completed the Institute of Directors – Governance Essentials training.  

Blair is a strong collaborator, strategist, and person-centred practitioner with a focus on supporting marginalised populations in our communities to thrive and flourish.  

Blair was elected to the NBPH Board in 2019.