Latest news with #Herden
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Players from Japan, Dunedin in Herden's Old Golds mix
Kenta Iemura, pictured in action during the Town v Country game at Maheno on Saturday, is a newcomer in the North Otago squad. Photo: Masi Photography Some old, some new, some borrowed, some Blue Revs. New North Otago coach Luke Herden has spread the net widely to name his first Heartland Championship squad. Herden has named a bumper 35-strong squad containing four Japanese players, a handful of potential loan players from Dunedin and some intriguing newcomers from the local ranks. Significantly, he and assistant coaches Kilifi Fangupo and Ralph Darling will welcome back seasoned forwards Hayden Tisdall, Kelepi Funaki and Junior Fakatoufifita, all of whom are proven Heartland performers and were sorely missed last year, when the Old Golds broke a record 25-year streak and missed the playoffs. "They're X-factor players," Herden said. "They also do a lot of the gruntwork and give us a lot of go-forward, and they've also got a lot of experience. "Tizzy's just a workhorse, Kelepi could play at a higher level, and Junior as well. When we get them going, they'll be very good." The newcomer with the highest pedigree is Danny Tusitala. The 33-year-old halfback has played five tests for Samoa and has extensive NPC and Major League Rugby experience. Another feature of the squad is the selection of front-rower Gaku Shimizu and versatile back Kippei Taninaka, who played for Valley this year, and inside backs Kodai Okazaki and Kenta Iemura, who spent time in Dunedin with the Harbour club. The Valley link is from coach Barry Matthews' relationship with former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, now guiding Toyota Verblitz, while the Harbour players hail from Shizuoka Blue Revs (Yamaha), where former Old Golds trainer Adam Keen now works. Iemura and Okazaki, in particular, will be keenly monitored, as last year's regular 9-10 combination, Jake Matthews (shoulder surgery) and Greg Dyer (Southland), are absent. "They've got a great skillset, and a very quick catch-pass, things that will benefit our squad and how we want to play," Herden said. North Otago have suffered in recent years from not being able to find some stability with their loan players. They largely looked outside Dunedin in 2024 but Herden, a Dunedin teacher who is immersed in the local rugby scene, is confident two Zingari-Richmond players, flanker Flavius Roberts-Vili and centre Ben Fakava, and University prop Steve Salelea will provide good value. "I think it's important, when we get loan players, that they understand their role and are committed to North Otago. "In the past, we might get a player in for a couple of weeks and then Otago might want them back and we have to start again. "We're looking for players on the pathway to playing for Otago, and our goal is to develop them and have them hit the ground running." All-rounder Ben McCarthy returns to the squad, but the St Kevin's old boy is no longer listed as a player of origin. That system has been dismantled and Heartland squads will now be allowed a maximum of four loan players — previously three plus an origin player — in their match-day squad. Interesting newcomers from Citizens Shield rugby include Kurow forward Mitch Morton, Valley flanker Robbie Lailvaux and Athletic Marist lock Asaeli Ngahe, while Maheno first five Lachie Kingan returns to the Old Golds after a long absence. Experienced loose forward Cameron Rowland, a co-captain with Mat Duff last year, is being looked at as an option at hooker. New father Duff has made himself unavailable, while the other major loss from last year is classy centre Hayden Todd. The Old Golds have one preseason game, against Otago Country in Wānaka, before their Heartland opener in Whanganui on August 16. North Otago Heartland squad Forwards: Cam Rowland, Hayden Tisdall, Gaku Shimizu, Jake Greenslade, Kelepi Funaki, Mateo Qolisese, Paea Pala, Steve Salelea, Temesia Bolavucu, Anthony Docherty, Asaeli Ngahe, Epineri Logavatu, Apenisa Tuiba, Faran Poasa, Mitch Morton, Flavius Roberts-Vili, Junior Fakatoufifita, Robbie Lailvaux, Sailosi Vea, Savenaca Rabaka. Backs: Danny Tusitala, Kippei Taninaka, Kodai Okazaki, Seru Cavuilati, Isaac Clunie, Kenta Iemura, Lachie Kingan, Ben Fakava, Matia Qiolevu, Posiano Kamoto, Tini Feke, Ben McCarthy, Ben Paton, Hopoate Finau, Seva Druma.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Revived fixture effectively a trial
A blast from the past is back to give the new North Otago coach an effective trial this afternoon. The once-beloved Town v Country game is back and will allow Luke Herden an opportunity to crystallise his thinking before announcing his first Old Golds squad on Tuesday. There was a time when the clash — between Old Boys, Excelsior and Athletic Marist players (Town) and the best from Valley, Kurow and Maheno (Country) — formed a regular and important part of the calendar, usually in the middle of the Citizens Shield club season. It has been mostly dormant for the best part of a couple of decades so there should be some interest in today's game in Maheno. That is especially the case for those wondering which loan players Herden will recruit as the Old Golds seek a return to the Meads Cup placings after a few lean years. He has named five players from Dunedin club rugby in the Country squad. Zingari-Richmond flanker Flavius Roberts-Vili is an energetic type, and clubmate Ben Fakava is a robust midfielder. First five Kenta Iemura and halfback Kodai Okazaki are from the Shizuoka Revs club in Japan Rugby League One who have spent some time with the Harbour club. Solid prop Steve Salelea has been in consistent form for University and was on the bench for Otago's preseason game against Southland yesterday. Eight players from Excelsior will back up from their Citizens Shield victory for Town, and there are 10 from beaten finalists Valley in the Country squad. A pleasing feature is the selection of leading locals Hayden Tisdall, Kelepi Funaki and Junior Fakatoufifita, all of whom were unavailable for the Heartland Championship last season. The junior game kicks off at 1pm and the senior Town-Country clash is at 2.30pm.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Ellen Noël executive director ready to dive in
Apr. 22—Nicole Herden realized her affinity for museum work while doing internships in college and she has stayed dedicated to the vocation for about 20 years. Herden just stepped into her new position as executive director of the Ellen Noël Art Museum April 14. Herden began as an intern for different state museums and art museums while in undergraduate school and continued that internship work primarily in the curatorial and registration departments. She really enjoyed working in an art museum, particularly the exhibition rotation, working with artists and maintaining a collection. "I continued that through graduate school coursework, and that work sort of transitioned and led me to pursue a full-time career in that field," Herden said. "I pretty quickly determined through those internships, that was the career I wanted to pursue. That was at the time I was pursuing my MFA in the visual arts, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to figure out that that's what I wanted to do," Herden said. "That led me to pursue another master's in art history to continue that work." She was then able to land the curatorial assistant position at the Phoenix Art Museum, and then eventually a registrar position. "Through the years, I had the opportunity to be promoted and work my way up to different leadership positions. I have enjoyed it tremendously on so many different levels, and am very grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue this career," Herden said. She said opportunities like the one at the Ellen Noël don't come around often, especially when there are really exciting chapters underway, "like once-in-a-lifetime, milestone projects." The museum is conducting a capital campaign and expansion project. As of April 15, the capital campaign is 64% complete, according to information from the museum. The tentative timeline for completion of construction is the end of August. After that, there are specifications they will have to meet for housing artwork. They will also have to have to operate their humidity and temperature controls, maintaining systems consistently at 43% humidity, 68 degrees F, 24-hours a day, for a 90-day period. After that is accomplished, they will move art back into the location. The first exhibition, and opening to the public, is tentatively scheduled for early December 2025. What drew Herden to the Ellen Noël was the passion that the staff and board have for the institution. "There is incredible support and passion and it's a rare opportunity to have the ability to work with a team like that. That was very appealing to me, and certainly I have experience working with regional communities. I felt really drawn to the Permian Basin community and the exciting growth that is happening culturally (and) economically within our region. For those reasons, I was really excited. I love the Southwest, having lived in Arizona and having an affinity for Southwestern art in general, and just regional art and contemporary art," Herden said. Among her priorities are planning and strategy for moving into the new building and getting to know the staff, board members. She's also looking forward to learning more about the community and stakeholders to better understand the area and where there may be opportunities to serve more audiences. "I'm excited to get to know our partners and identify ... new future partners," Herden said. She's also looking toward working on a strategic planning process to guide the work that she, the board and staff do over the next couple of years. "That's always really important, since it truly functions as a North Star, so to speak, of all the work that we do. And then certainly, of course, the capital campaign. The community and the board have done amazing work in making progress on that, but there's certainly more to do to wrap it up, and I am eager to participate in that and bring my own energy and excitement and hopefully have a quick impact on finalizing that campaign goal," Herden said. As for if she has a favorite piece of art, she couldn't say. "It's like choosing your favorite child. ... Art is just so fascinating to me. I'm always intrigued, whether you know, it's by an unknown, unrecognized artist or it's by a really well known, established artist. I'm always very curious about the process of making art, and I'm always eager to come up with my own interpretation of the art and that is what I really enjoy," Herden said. It's kind of a transformative time for both the Ellen Noël Art Museum and The Museum of the Southwest in Midland, which also has a new executive director, Scott O'Donnell. "I'm excited to meet that new director," Herden said. She added that she hadn't yet reached out to O'Donnell, but is excited about doing that very soon. "I know that there has been collaboration and partnership, but I don't doubt that there's probably more opportunity for other considerations and other ways to do that. It's exciting that we're both going to be new and we can sort of vision and brainstorm on the clean slate, so to speak," Herden said. Most recently, she served as executive director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where she ran a multidisciplinary organization with an accredited art museum, theater, and art school. Her previous experience includes the Executive Director role at the Museum of Nebraska Art as well as curatorial and collections roles at Boise Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Arizona State University Art Museum. Herden, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, a master's of fine arts from Boise State University and a master's in art history from Arizona State.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ellen Noël Art Museum appoints Nicole Herden as Executive Director
Mar. 31—The Ellen Noël Art Museum (ENAM) has named Nicole Herden as its next Executive Director, beginning April 14. Herden is an accomplished museum executive with over 20 years of experience in leadership, curatorial practice, and institutional transformation. "Nicole has a blend of skills in museum management, art scholarship, fundraising, and community building that are an excellent fit with our Museum," Karmen Bryant, ENAM Board President, said in a news release. "We are excited to welcome her to Odessa. Her leadership will help us move into our new facility and chart a course for the coming years." ENAM is currently constructing a new 36,000 square foot facility set to open in late 2025, which has been funded through a $20 million capital campaign. Bryant cited Herden's experience with large-scale museum construction projects and fundraising as important reasons for her hire. "She checked all the boxes for us," Bryant said. Herden most recently served as Executive Director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where she ran a multidisciplinary organization with an accredited art museum, theater, and art school. Her previous experience includes the Executive Director role at the Museum of Nebraska Art as well as curatorial and collections roles at Boise Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Arizona State University Art Museum. "I am thrilled to join Ellen Noël Art Museum at this pivotal moment in its history," Herden said in the release. "The new museum facility will be a beautiful and important addition to the cultural life of the Permian Basin, and I am delighted to bring my leadership to the effort." In addition to opening the new museum and launching new exhibitions in the galleries, Herden is charged with leading a strategic planning effort that focuses on new opportunities generated by the new facility, galvanizing community support, and leveraging the Museum's status as a Smithsonian Affiliate and accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums to serve visitors and the community. Herden's hire culminated from a nationwide search that began last year conducted by Dan Yaeger, Senior Search Consultant for Museum Search & Reference, an executive placement firm specializing in the North American Museum field. ENAM's Search Committee included Ludie Warner, who served as committee chair, Board President Karmen Bryant, Paula Barnett, Marita Hendrick, Austin Keith, Bryan Murray, and Lissa Noël Wagner. Visit for more information.
