\u201cI\u2019ve been chasing it for a few years now, it\u2019s quite surreal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn hospitality, it\u2019s such a challenging industry with food and wage costs and gas prices at the moment, you\u2019ve got to just keep picking away at what works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from Canada, Alexander moved to Aotearoa in 2019, initially working as a bartender, waitress, and barista in the Coromandel region.<\/p>\n
She moved to Paihia around 2020 to continue her work, and, after a trip back home, returned to begin working at the Tipsy Oyster Tapas and Bar and Bad Habits.<\/p>\n
In 2024, she found herself at the Nauti Penguin which is run by the same owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cHospitality has been my passion for more than 10 years … I love that every day brings the opportunity to create memorable experiences for people while building a workplace where others can learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander was also recognised as the Restaurant Association of New Zealand\u2019s Best Bartender of the Year in 2023. <\/p>\n
Since becoming general manager of Nauti Penguin, she led the venue to national recognition, with nominations in the Top 50 New Zealand Gastropubs in 2024 and 2025. <\/p>\n
She was named a finalist for Future Leader of the Year at the Hospitality New Zealand Awards of Excellence in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n
Alexander said her latest achievement reflects \u201cnot only my journey but also the incredible support of my team, mentors and the wider Russell community\u201d.<\/p>\n
She is equally proud of her involvement in community initiatives.<\/p>\n
Her team has raised and donated more than $10,465 to local charities and community organisations throughout the Bay of Islands through the Pints for Purpose initiative.<\/p>\n
The initiative, adopted by breweries and pubs, sees customers buying a pint and rounding up their tab to support local charities and community groups.<\/p>\n
She is also leading The Good Pour Initiative, a six-month partnership with Russell School that donates a portion of selected drink sales back to the school. Since launching, the initiative has raised more than $900.<\/p>\n
Alexander said the initiatives \u201chave allowed us to make a genuine difference in our community\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, hospitality has always been about people.<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating opportunities to give back, support local organisations and bring people together has become one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it\u2019s mentoring staff, creating unforgettable experiences for our guests, or finding new ways to support our local community, I believe great hospitality has the power to bring people together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019ve been chasing it for a few years now, it\u2019s quite surreal. \u201cIn hospitality, it\u2019s such a challenging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[34855,2346,115287,138,15557,2454,13489,111,139,1067,69,90,3240,132089,223,3010,54178,810,2821,6202,12767,4741,80],"class_list":["post-527198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-alexander","tag-award","tag-backpacker","tag-business","tag-hospitality","tag-industry","tag-leader","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-recently","tag-scooped","tag-the","tag-top","tag-travelled","tag-up","tag-victoria","tag-wins","tag-worker","tag-young","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}