Katie Bruce joins us as an experienced advocate and community sector leader, with previous CE roles at Volunteering NZ and JustSpeak, a youth movement for social change in the justice sector.
More recently, Katie was Acting Director of Strategy, Rights and Advice for the Children's Commissioner and then Chief Advisor to, and member of, an Independent Panel founded by Tā Kim Workman. This involved working with Police on fairness and equity for Māori and communities and overseeing a large research programme called Understanding Policing Delivery.
Katie is tangata tiriti, a Romany woman, and an immigrant from the UK. There she was involved in youth advocacy and setting up youth programmes as a teenager and completed a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy. She now lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara with her husband and is a proud mum to two boys and auntie to twin nieces.
10+ years in the not-for-profit and public sector have given Ronja a rich experience in project management, community sector leadership and development, organisational management, as well as solid analytical and research capabilities. Ronja's whakapapa traces back to Germany and France. She has a passion for languages, cultures, and social equity and cohesion.
Katerina Kupenga (Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau a Apanui) is a trained facilitator and leadership coach and has a depth of knowledge in coaching for performance, strategic planning, team building, culture, and leadership. She then went on to work with school principals across Aotearoa delivering strategic planning and leadership programmes and is the founder of AraHIna Facilitation and Coaching Consultancy. Katerina is passionate about supporting those who are out there making a difference for our hapū, iwi, and communities. Over the past 20 years, she has raised her four sons within Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa and has played key roles in establishing strategies that improve and promote kaupapa Māori. Katerina is also a certified workplace and business coach and is currently training towards becoming a certified ToP facilitator through the Institute of Cultural Affairs (Australia).
Terrell Okeeffe-Ineleo is of Māori and Tokelauan descent and has over a decade of experience in a diverse range of roles within the customer service sector. Having studied Gagana Tokelau and currently in Te Ara Reo Māori studies, she is driven by her culture and ethnic background to work alongside our people, for our people. As the Kairuruku, Terrell aims to harness her passion and utilise her skills in administration and coordination by working effectively within the team.
Vira Paky is a first-generation Congolese-Kiwi storyteller, raised and based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She is well-versed in weaving narratives for positive social impact and has experience doing so across the public sector for NGOs, and local and central government with the overall focus to strengthen and amplify the voices of young people and marginalized communities.Vira is the former Chairperson of the New Zealand National Refugee Youth Council. She is an Executive Member of the Multiethnic Young Leaders Network and Inspiring Stories 2023 Youth Advisory Panel Member. Vira is a part of the 2023 YWCA Y25 Cohort, the 2023-2025 Auckland Council Youth Advisory Panel Co-Chairperson, a 2023 UNICEF Young Ambassador, and a 2024-2025 Narratives for Change Fellow. She has also been recognized by Amnesty International, Outward Bound, and the Waitematā Local Board for her advocacy work among refugee and migrant youth.
Jewelz is Ngā Puhi and Te Rarawa based in Tāmaki-Makau-Rau (Auckland). She has spent 15 years working to improve the wellbeing of Māori and Pacific communities within the charitable sector, working at both grassroots and systems level. Jewelz specialises in bringing communities together and supporting them to identify and direct their own kaupapa (positions and policies). A strong leader with skills in collaborative practice, agile thinking, and facilitation, she thrives in complexity. Jewelz's goal is to see Māori rangatahi (youth) and hapori (community) thriving in the places where they live, learn, work and play.
Sarah identifies as a braided river with Irish, Scottish, Polish Jewish and Ngāpuhi ancestry. Sarah grew up in Tāmaki-makaurau (Auckland) and now lives in Te Awa-kairangi (Lower Hutt). Sarah works part-time as a Principal Policy Consultant at FrankAdvice and part-time as an independent contractor with a special interest in how champions in the community sector can contribute to decolonisation and fulfilling the vision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Drawn to social justice through storytelling, Sarah trained as a journalist before moving abroad and establishing a career in international development for agencies like Oxfam. After returning home to Aotearoa in 2008, Sarah reoriented her career to children’s rights advocacy and worked for agencies like UNICEF and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. Sarah is a Global Atlantic Fellow and has a Masters in Social Change from the University of Melbourne.
Bill has more than seventeen working at strategic and business unit levels in general management and trust management. Bill runs a business mentoring service under his business, Numb3rs Talk Limited. He initially worked as accountant from 2015 for Target Accounting Ltd servicing clients across the North Island. Bill then established 6 channels of client relationships. He is a provisional member of ICAANZ and an Associate Fellow of the NZIM. Bill has served on Navy League Canterbury (NZ) Inc and a member of the Defence Association of NZ. He holds a BEd, BCom and MBA.
Ginnie Denny has held governance positions in a range of education-related organisations over the past 6 years. She brings expertise in tertiary and adult education as well as business acumen to the board table. Professionally, Ginnie works at the interface of business and education to create sustainable training platforms that meet the needs of both individual learners and their workplaces. She has a special interest in strengthening adult literacy and numeracy provision. Ginnie has worked for the Tertiary Education Commission, New Zealand Qualifications Authority and various Industry Training Organisations and Private Training Establishments to develop robust systems and processes to improve learner outcomes.
Rula is enthusiastic about contributing meaningfully to our communities by joining Hui E!'s board. With over seven years of professional experience supporting former refugees and migrants through roles at NZ Red Cross and the Ministry of Education, she has gained expertise and developed strong connections with various community organisations. Her governance and leadership training with Pearl of the Islands Foundation and Manawka Ao Network, as well as involvement in initiatives such as the Refugee Support Group (Dunedin) and the INZ Community Sponsorship Programme, demonstrate her commitment to making a difference. As a local resident in Ōtepoti and having worked extensively across Otago Southland, Rula can effectively represent the voices and aspirations of ethnic groups. With a background as the child of Palestinian refugee parents and a diverse academic journey, including a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies, Rula brings a unique perspective. She is dedicated to promoting the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi and looking forward to addressing current challenges in our dynamic environment through her board role with Hui E!
Soifua was born in Tonga but has called Tauranga Moana home for over 16 years. She is Tātāriki Rautaki for Waiariki Whānau Mentoring and has spent many years within the community and social services sector in various roles between frontline, management and governance. Soifua's passions for the sector include celebrating cultural intelligence, activating organisational success and supporting safe collaborative practice. She is keen to be part of a team that shares knowledge and values authentic relationships. Soifua's favourite job is mum to five fānau who continue to ground her by reminding her daily that she’s not that good at TikTok. She is grateful that she can be a parent as part of a supportive village made up of her kāinga from Niuafo’ou and Ha’apai.
