Meet Cath & Shayne

Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawkes Bay

We are super happy to be part of Neighbours Day Aotearoa and it’s our second year as Community Connectors! This is a very cool role as we get to help people to connect in the community and that is something we love doing!  

You will find us at our happiest when we are meeting new people. We just love community and what could be better than connecting and sharing with kai. Who wouldn’t love a pot of jam, a tin of bikkies, or being invited over to someone’s home and getting to know each other around the kitchen table? That’s our happy space.

So why not get in touch with us today and we can help you or your organisation find ways to get involved in Neighbours Day Aotearoa - we promise that when we meet we will bring the baking if you put the jug on! 

We look forward to getting to know you and your neighbourhood.  

[email protected]

Meet Elizabeth

Kaitaia

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Alilia Olliver, but you can call me Liz, for short! 

I am of Tongan, Māori and European descent. Blessed with an incredible family, I am born and bred in New Zealand, and am currently living in a stunning suburb called Herekino in Kaitaia. I have lived in Kaitaia for over 2 years now and am loving it.  

My most favourite pastime is to spend time with my family. I love being at home cooking, fishing, working on the farm with everyone, or having a family BBQ and blasting some great music. 

As well as being a sound and lighting audiovisual technician, I work with young people at an after-school program. Working with these young kids is a great blessing as I learn a lot from their open-minded and non-judgmental acceptance of each other and situations. 

I am also a member of Kainga Tonga, where I work with an amazing open-hearted group of people to assist our Tongan people. We spend time exploring our Tongan identity, culture, and ways of life, which results in introducing many to events and gatherings showcasing our Tongan culture. It is my great luck to be involved with both groups, bringing great events for our community of Kaitaia. 

Working with Neighbour’s Day Aotearoa is a fantastic opportunity to bring more engagement with each other and new experiences to Kaitaia. Hopefully, this will be an opportunity to open doors for more ongoing connection and education.

Looking forward to meeting you all. Much ofa lahi atu. 

[email protected]

Meet Martine

Ōtepoti / Dunedin

Originally from France, I have been living in Ōtepoti / Dunedin for 30 years. 

I am very interested in helping the community, and this is something I do every day. I am a part-time coordinator for an organisation that supports former refugee and migrant women to connect and share skills. I also volunteer for the open road driving program that enables former refugees to obtain a driver’s license so they can get more mobile. I have been very committed all my life to supporting different communities to strengthen and thrive.

I love bird watching and exploring beautiful Aotearoa during summer. I have a dog called Daisy and I love French crepes!

I am excited to help the community find out more about each other and the place they live in and what it has to offer.

[email protected]

Meet Stu

Rotorua

I have been living Rotorua for the last 45 years. I married a Te Arawa 'Wahine toa' from Rotorua - Tuhourangi, Ngati Wahiao, Ngati Hinemihi, Ngāti Whakaue.'

I am very gifted and privileged to be married into this beautiful area. My wahine toa has a very strong whakapapa through-out the Waiariki area and is one of the mana whenua anthropologists.

We have co-designed a succession plan with the influential stakeholders (Ngati Hinemihi, Ngati Tarawhai, Tuhourangi/Ngati Wahiao/Ngati Whakaue) around the 'Te Kura Taiao Eco Warrior' initiative through her being mana whenua - Cultural, Educational, Environmental learning.

 My favourite music is my moko’s voices, my favourite place in Aotearoa is wherever my moko's are, my favourite hobby is whatever my moko's are doing.

 I am passionate about aku mokopuna, whanau, tikanga, hakinakina, ahurea me te hauora.

I am excited about Hono (Connecting).

[email protected]

Meet Hinemoa

Kaitaia

Ko Hinemoa Tipene tōku ingoa

No Kaitaia ahau

I'm Hinemoa Tipene and I live in Kaitaia. We have a blended family of six kids. I have a lot of experience engaging and being a part of event planning in our community.

I am a project lead for Shine on Kaitaia - an events-based community initiative that gets people involved in all types of events.  I love being engaged with our community, and I am excited to be in this role.

 [email protected]

Meet Chris

Te Puke

Kia ora koutou katoa, my name is Chris Johnstone and I live and work in the Bay of Plenty. I am a mother of two young adults and one old deaf, blind, and very needy dog. I am the Coordinator for COLAB - a community development organisation based on the Te Puke Maketu ward.

I was born in Gisborne but moved to Australia in my late teens where I lived for the next 19 years. I met my husband (an Aucklander) in Darwin and had my first child there. For a good part of my time in Australia, I was employed as a youth worker before gradually moving into community housing work. On my return to Aotearoa I briefly worked in the disability sector then returned to the housing sector.  I had a brief stint at HNZC and then joined CCS Disability Action where I was involved in the establishment and later management of the Tauranga Community Housing Trust.

 In terms of hobbies I like walking, simple cooking, repurposing furniture and I get to yoga occasionally. I am passionate (and concerned) about housing and I am really excited about the food security/food sovereignty work that is underway in this region. 

[email protected]

Meet Pettania

Hokianga

I am from the beautiful Waimamaku in Hokianga. I’m married with two kids; Maraea and Thomas. 

I’m passionate about all things te ao Maori, supporting our people to grow and evolve, be great tūpuna, become entrepreneurs, and serve their marae.

I really love running community events - I get a kick when kids say “that was the best!”.  

For 10 years, I worked for IRD child support, before moving to Perth and working in home loans and superannuation. Since moving home, I work between the local i-SITE, a mobile cafe outside of Tane Mahuta and coordinating lunches for the local school. I have my hands in many pies!

I am an RnB music and fresh seafood lover (Kina, Paua, oysters Ika, and Crayfish) and love exploring our country.

Last summer, we had the opportunity to travel New Zealand for over 60 days (it wasn’t enough!) The places that stood out were Lake Tekapo, Mt Aoraki, Queenstown and Wellington. 

I am excited to create more opportunities to help neighbours be neighbours.

[email protected]

Meet Gideon

Te Moana-a-Toi / Bay of Plenty

Originally from Zimbabwe, I now reside in the Bay of Plenty, a place I  have called home since the beginning of 2020! Prior to that, I was an Aucklander for 6 years and in Christchurch for 13! I have to say that there is no place I would rather be than the beautiful Bay: there’s a lot less traffic and access to the most glorious nature in Aotearoa!

 I am an advocate for the community and believe food is what brings us together! I value the importance of food as the primary tool for the re-education of our children and how we engage with our everyday world and our subconscious habits. Our relationships to flora and fauna is key to the balance in mindset that I want to help others adapt in order to address individual relationships to general health.

 I am currently running the newly established Papamoa Farmers Market and launching a foodbox aimed at people that are looking for organic and healthy local produce. The "GoodLove" box is part of the collective of producers from the market and part of the proceeds from the box are set aside for a project to initiate education to the younger generation. I have partnered with ROA Kombucha as an ambassador to affect the social impact in our community and spread the message of gut health.

Oh, and I was also Masterchef 2015 Top 16 finalist, which is part of the reason I have found my purpose and calling in this food journey!

I look forward to connecting with you all through the love of food!

[email protected]

Meet Tania and Andy

Dargaville/Takiwira

Kia ora from Dargaville! We are both new arrivals to Te Tai Tokerau, having run away to join Circus Kumarani in Kaipara in 2020. We are passionate about supporting communities to be happy, healthy and resilient and stick our fingers in many pies to achieve these goals. Andy comes from a family of travellers, with italian roots, being born in Perth and then shifting across the globe before settling down in Aotearoa. Traveling has made us appreciate the variety and importance of kai as a connection to culture and wellbeing. Tania was born in Otepoti/Dunedin and grew up vegetarian - their favourite kai is fresh-picked veggies from a homegrown garden. We can't wait to share kai and connections with our communities.

[email protected]

Meet Janine

Waikato 

 Kia ora, I am Janine the Waikato Neighbours Day Connector and to be a bit different, I am doing this amazing role under my employer’s banner as I am already a Community Development Officer with the NZ National Fieldays Society Inc.

I was born and grew up in Tawa, Wellington with my amazing parents, who have passed on, and my brother who is four years older than me. We grew up in a small cul-der-sac where each day after school, all the kids would meet on the street and play until dinner time. We often had street BBQs and Guy Fawkes parties. We had so many fun times and I have so many amazing memories – it was idyllic.

I moved around a bit before settling in the Waikato with my husband of 12 years, my 21-year-old son and my 19-year-old daughter who is living just down the road from me with her amazing partner and my soon-to-be grandson, which I am very excited about. Another thing about me is that I think I am still 12 as I love kids movies and cool toys. So, being a grandma will allow me to live this side of me to the fullest.

I come from a family that always volunteered so giving back to the world in some way, shape, or form is in my DNA. To the point where I cannot work for an organisation unless they are helping the world in some way. My hobbies consist of being the biggest V8 supercars fan, shooting targets at the range with my family, kick boxing, weight training and learning. My favourite food is chocolate, and I have two dogs and two cows.

I have loved my career life so far – there has been so much variety and I have met some amazing people along the way and learned some amazing skills. It goes like this:

Career 1: Chef

Career 2: Vet Nurse

Career 3: Guide Dogs

Career 4: MAF Detector Dogs

Career 5: Assistant Manager

Career 6: Mother

Career 7: Started own business in Book Keeping so that I could be a stay at home mum

Career 8: Created my own beaded jewellery business then sold

Career 9: Fitness Instructor

Career 10: Chiropractic Assistant

Career 11: Rubin the Road Safety Bear presenter or bear

Career 12: Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor – started own studio

Career 13: Receptionist at NZ National Fieldays Society Inc

Career 14: Community Development & Sustainability Officer at NZ National Fieldays Society Inc

Interspersed through some these jobs I have always had volunteer roles and some have developed into these careers.

I am passionate about so many things: learning anything and everything, questioning the world and pushing boundaries, making people smile, helping others and the environment, my hobbies, pushing myself to be a better person, coming up with a million different great ideas, creating and running events, and finally my husband and children.

[email protected]

Meet Ange

Te Awakairangi / Lower Hutt

Kia ora I’m Ange the Neighbours Day Aotearoa Connector for Lower Hutt.

I  grew up on a market garden and orchard in the Nelson/Motueka area and I’ve lived in the Hutt for the past 18 years.

I work and buzz for seeing vibrant communities connect, mainly through food, music and art. 

For the past 8 years, this has been through The Petone Depot - a community venue, kitchen and gallery. This accessible space enables and encourages various enriching events and activities to happen such as music gigs, exhibitions, koha cafe, monthly crop swaps, board gaming nights and boomerang bags.

I’m really excited to be part of Neighbours Day Aotearoa again this year and I can't wait to get stuck in lending a hand and seeing even more neighbourly goodness and connections grow in the Hutt Valley.

[email protected]

Meet Sacha

Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington

I was born in Hoogerwerf in Amsterdam, The Netherlands which means 'Higher Wharf' and explains my strong attraction to the water and Harbour Cities. Today I live in Pōneke with my two teenage sons who attend Wellington High School. I have been blessed with the entrepreneurial genes from my parents and I’ve been operating as an event and marketing coordinator for 25+ years of exciting brand activations, music and arts experiences and community development gatherings. I have lived in Aotearoa since 2003 and was lucky enough to spend 15 years in Mohua/Golden Bay which just was the perfect playground for me. And my kids. 

I am passionate about creating a more sustainable way of living on this precious planet, caring for all the  natural beauty and creatures whilst maintaining trust in evolution and humankind. I find kai is most enjoyed on long evenings around big wooden tables sharing stories with friends and whānau.

As a Connector I will get out there in Wellington to bring people together from different organisations, streets, apartment blocks and suburbs to connect with their place and each other through sharing food together. I look forward to some fun creative events that will put smiles on people's faces.

[email protected]

Meet Lisa

Ōtautahi / Christchurch

Hi I am Lisa,

I live in Linwood and grew up in New Brighton. I have two adult children and two amazing grandchildren that I spend most weekends with visiting parks, markets, the library, and swimming!

I enjoy interacting with people from all walks of life -  I find you often have a lot of things in common! My work history has been made up of many roles in the customer service field where I have managed and coordinated small groups of people. I like to treat people as I would like to be treated and am often the go-to person for advice. I am looking forward to helping my community connect. 

I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, which can be going out for a nice meal, or sometimes we just have a potluck dinner and a boogie to a lot of 80's music! 

I am excited to be part of Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2022.

[email protected]

Meet Julie

Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

I am passionate about my community and making connections is very important - especially in these difficult times. I have three adult children who loved their upbringing in Glen Innes and wish they could go back! But in saying that, I love being around the people of Otahuhu and Mt Wellington - it's a thriving place of inclusiveness. I know the difference events like Neighbours Day Aotearoa make - I have seen it first hand, having been involved in a few now. My background has been in  both corporate and not-for-profit. My passion for people comes from the great people in my life that I was gifted to grow up around. 

I am passionate about helping others to achieve positive change through coaching and training, with a particular focus on youth and community initiatives and performance.

[email protected]

Meet Taylor

Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

Ko Hikurangi te maunga

Ko Waipiro Bay te awa

Ko Horouta te waka

Ko iritekura te marae

Ko Ngati Porou te iwi

I whanau mai au i te taha o te awa o Te Whanganui-a-Tara

Kei te noho au kei Tamaki Makaurau

Ko Taylor Lake toko ingoa

Kia ora, ni sa bula vinaka. My name is Taylor Lake and my pronouns are she/her. I am currently a social work student studying at Massey University and work part-time as the Hibiscus and Bays Youth Network Convenor based in Tāmaki Makarau. I'm of Fijian, Maori, European descent and I hail from Te Whanganui-a-Tara but now reside in sunny Browns Bay of Tāmaki Makaurau. My passions are community development, youth work and all things anime and marvel! My downtime consists of lots of movies, hanging with friends and discovering all the hidden gems in my area. I'm an adventurous soul and love connecting with people so if you see me around your area don't be afraid to say kia ora!  I'm super excited to support Neighbours Day here in the North Shore and Hibiscus Coast and look forward to making heaps more connections and friendships along the way! 

[email protected]

If you can't find a Community Connector in your area and need support, email [email protected]