Our board and patron

Katherine is a union organiser with Equity NZ, the performers union.

She has worked in academia, the arts, corporate and not-for-profit environments. She is an experienced trainer, knowledge management practitioner, activist and taxi driver of teenagers. Social justice and intersectional feminism are key areas of interest and action.

Olivia McGann is a Chartered Accountant who currently works as the Commercial Operations Manager (NZ) for Xero. Studying and working primarily in the finance industry she became aware of how important it is for women to feel and be empowered in all aspects of their lives.

She brings her finance, operational execution and strategy skills to the team along with a passion for learning and development.

Tēnā koutou katoa

He uri tēnei mai te Moana Nui a Kiwa

Ki te taha o tōku matua, no Pawarenga, no Ngawha, no Tauranga Moana

Ko Te Rarawa, ko Ngāpuhi, ko Ngāi Te Rangi ōku iwi

Ko Te Uri o Tai, ko Ngāti Rangi, ko Ngāti Makamaka ōku hapū

Ki te taha o tōku māmā, no Rarotonga, no Tahiti hoki

Ko Tupapa, ko Ngatangiia ōku hapū

Ko Juressa Lee ahau. Kia ora mai tātou!

Currently I am working as the plastics campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa. I have done a bunch of different things along the way including various roles in academia from business analysis to pastoral care for international scholarship students from developing countries. Project procurement and commercial administration in construction and engineering consultancies. In my spare time I try to help out with the rūmaki reo we’ve been fortunate to be part of, all hands on deck! Keen to see how to make all of this useful for AWC!

I love being more active and dedicated to protecting our planet and all the life it sustains. Am on the everlasting journey of decolonisation. As a mum and nan to brown skinned, Polynesian tamariki everything I do – work, voluntary, grassroots, etc – is with them in mind and what they will have to live with. I love the sentiment of being a better ancestor. As tangata whenua and tangata moana, it would be my pleasure and joy to bring my perspective to the table, joining courageous feminists committed to justice, equity and wellness for wāhine and non-binary, genderqueer people. Ngā mihi nui!

Tēnā koutou katoa, ko Rushika (she/her) tōku ingoa, nō Īnia ōku tīpuna, kei te noho au ki Tāmaki Makaurau.

I come from a culture where the wellbeing of the individual depends on the wellbeing of the collective. That has been my drive for as long as I can remember and the reason I choose to work as a public servant.

 

I have an academic background in psychology, politics and public management and have experience in banking, emergency management, communications and advisory roles.

 

My lived experiences being a part of marginalised communities gives me a deep understanding of how the intersections of identities impact many wāhine. I aim to shine a light on this in all the spaces I am privileged enough to be a part of, to be a part of the change we deserve.

 

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?

 

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is people, it is people, it is people

I have been involved with social research doing evaluation, review and auditing for my entire professional career. Much of it has been in the mental health, education and health sectors.

I’m deeply committed to women’s issues and have always wanted to serve the Auckland Women’s Centre as a volunteer. I have been helping set up evaluation systems here since 2019 and have been greatly impressed by the staff and the outcomes resulting from their work. This has increased my enthusiasm for being involved.

I decided to join the board after being retired from paid work for a year and am honoured to have been elected.

Stacey Porter (Ngai Takoto, Ngāti Kahu and Ngāpuhi) is a Māori Advisor for Whāraurau. Stacey has a background in kaupapa Māori, and extensive experience in Māori mental health, Māori policy, Māori education and community legal needs.

Hayley is a partner of Edified consulting offering services to the higher education and international education sector in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Throughout her career she has worked in public and non-profit organisations, led strategy and operations and owned a small business focussed on wellbeing and leadership development.  She has a postgraduate degree in gender and development studies and lived for a time in Cambodia working for a charity focused on young women’s economic and educational empowerment.  Gender equity and social justice, locally and globally, drive my action and advocacy.

Kia ora koutou, my name is Alex (she/her)! I have been involved in the cause-based sector for over a decade, wearing many hats and in constant pursuit of contributing to equitable outcomes for underrepresented and marginalised communities and issues. In recent years, much of my focus has been on removing the barriers of stigma and discrimination for tāngata whaiora and whaikaha through my study and work within the mental health space.

Fundamentally, my values sit within a human rights-centric lens. As a member of the LGBTQI+ and disabled community, I feel deeply connected to the kaupapa of AWC and hope to add to the vibrancy of its already wonderful whānau.

Kia ora I’m Izzy (she/her), I’m a Pākehā person from Tāmaki Makaurau.

I’m a Project Manager at Women’s Health Action, a social change organisation working to improve the health and wellbeing of women and whānau. Utilising my sociological background, critical thinking/intersectionality, and commitment to upholding Te Tiriti, I am a staunch advocate for the rights and equity of women, Māori, and rainbow communities.

I have worked on major projects that prioritise the voices and experiences of consumers of health care services, for breastfeeding, body image, and reproductive rights/screening. I also run events (the Big Latch On), oversee website builds (findyourbreastfeedingsupport.org.nz) and write submissions.

 

For 4 years I worked at Life101 and Momentum Charitable Trust. Here I led the development of a mentor programme to support people leaving prison, alongside writing funding applications, online learning programmes, and websites. Additionally, I volunteer for People Against Prisons Aotearoa and help to run their annual Holiday Card Drive.

 

My professional roles have allowed me to express and explore my personal commitment to social justice, prison abolition, and health care reform.

Professor Judy McGregor, CNZM, was New Zealand’s first Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner  with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission between 2002-2010 and during that period published the “Caring Counts” report of employment in the aged care sector which was the catalyst for successful equal pay legislation. She was appointed Chair of the Waitematā District Health Board in June 2018., served as Head of the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Auckland University of Technology, has a doctorate in political communication, and is a trained lawyer and former newspaper editor. She has published eight books and hundreds of refereed journal articles relating to the media, gender equality, the employment and care of older people, and a range of human rights issues.