Our team

Leonie started work at the AWC in 2001 as the Projects Coordinator and shifted into the Centre Manager position at the end of 2005. She has a Diploma in Social Work and an MA in Social Policy. Leonie has worked in community work for many years including the unemployment rights movement and many different campaigns for women’s rights. Her two main concerns are finding solutions to violence against women, and poverty amongst mothers and children in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Kaitlin is responsible for managing our Women’s Support Service, coordinating our community education programmes, and training and supporting our students and volunteers. Kaitlin holds a Master’s degree in critical health psychology and comes from a background of working in health promotion and early childhood education.

 

Drawn to the Auckland Women’s Centre after attending our fabulous Clementine Ford forum, Chris started volunteering soon after. Now a part of the AWC team she is focused on fundraising. Chris has a background in advertising and her passion is social justice and feminism.

Emily Phillips (Te Rarawa, Ngā Puhi) has a BA in Education and has spent the last 12 years working in a range of Early Childhood Education roles as well as journeying through motherhood, with her two boys. She is passionate about practices, policies and understandings that support whānau and tamariki.

 

Gabriella Brayne (Ngāti Maniapoto, Falefa) established a feminist group at St Dominic’s College (Henderson) in 2016. Their achievements include: facilitating several student-led workshops; hosting a school-wide festival for International Women’s Day and running a sanitary item drive in collaboration with Women’s Refuge. We have employed Gabriella, a BA/LLB student, for twelve hours per week on our new two-year pilot project to support and nurture high school feminists.

“Tū toa mana wāhine, kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui”. Kiri (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Haua, Te Whanau a Apanui) has a passion for Te Ao Māori with a focus on young people. She has a heart to address, enhance and empower young Māori wāhine to recognise the tapu (sacredness) and mana (empowerment) within themselves and their whānau. Kiri has been employed to work alongside the Youth Coordinator, Gabriella, within the high schools across Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

Nicky has 20 years’ experience in office administration, most of which has been in the not for profit sector. She is passionate about social justice and is loving working in a feminist organisation.

Sophie has over 10 years experience Coordinating Fundraising Campaigns in the not for profit sector. Passionate about people power and grassroots campaigning to affect change, Sophie is excited to be part of a strong feminist organisation.