Tēnā koe

I am a Kaiwhakatere / Navigator in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, alongside Anna Gundesen.

Growing up in a large family with a sister who has complex needs, I watched my parents advocate for her decisions and choices and this led me to develop advocacy skills from a young age. She has come through many challenges and difficulties and embraced every positive opportunity she has been offered – I am very proud of her.

In my career to date, I’ve worked across the education, health and disability sectors. I’m a qualified and experienced early childhood educator and also worked with VSA (Volunteer Service Abroad) training teachers in the South Pacific. I’ve worked as a PAFT (Parents as First Teachers) educator with Plunket and in the hospital environment as a hospital play specialist. More recently, I have been an early intervention teacher (0-6 year-olds) and an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) communication and behaviour specialist (0-19 year-olds).

Throughout most of my career to date I have supported tamariki, rangatahi and whānau with FASD and these experiences have led me to this role with FASD-CAN. I’m passionate about advocacy, strengthening resilience, and developing strategies alongside children, parents, caregivers, whanau and teachers. 

Mauri ora.