Meet Tarisi, our dedicated Kahukura at Te Hiku Connect. With a strong background in social services and disability advocacy, Tarisi brings heart, experience, and a deep commitment to the wellbeing of our community. She’s passionate about ensuring whānau can access the support, resources and services they need. Before joining us, Tarisi worked as a Welfare Officer in Fiji, supporting people living with disabilities across rural and urban districts. Tarisi’s calm, kind nature and professional experience make her a trusted guide for those navigating complex systems. What she loves most about her role is building strong, supportive relationships and helping people feel seen, heard, and empowered. If Tarisi’s not at the office, she’s most likely spending quality time with her whānau or cooking up a delicious feed.

Meet Katerina, the friendly face you’ll see when you walk through the doors at Te Hiku Connect. As our Heartland Services Support and front-of-houser receptionist, Katerina is often the first point of contact for whānau seeking guidance, support, or just a warm welcome. Though this is her first community-focused role, her natural empathy and growing passion for community development shines through in everything she does. She loves helping people feel heard and supported and is quickly building strong connections across the rohe. Whether she’s answering your questions, pointing you in the right direction, or making you a cuppa while you wait for an appointment, she brings warmth and manaaki to our space everyday.

Susana is a qualified financial mentor for our in-house financial support service Kaitaia Family Budgeting Service. She is deeply committed to serving and empowering the Te Hiku community through the provision of financial knowledge. Drawing upon her personal financial journey as a source of motivation, Susana is wholeheartedly dedicated to helping her clients thrive. She takes immense pride in guiding individuals from financial challenges to resounding success. Susana moved to Kaitaia in 2019 from Samoa, with her loving husband & 4 beautiful children to pursue additional opportunities for her family.

Tania is our Senior Financial Mentor, Community Educator and EnergyMates consultant for Kaitaia Family Budgeting Service. With a wealth of knowledge and experience in all areas, her passions lie in supporting whānau through financial hardship & building their financial literacy kete. Tania (otherwise known as Tarns) has been with our organisation since 2016 and is well-appreciated by her clients thanks to her ultimate dedication to the kaupapa, seeing 100+ clients through their journeys in her time here so far. In her spare time, you’ll find her playing pool, listening to music or spending time with her whānau & friends.

Taryn is our dedicated Heartland Services Co-Ordinator and usually the first face you’ll see when you walk through our front door. Her experience in media, communications and customer service means she is well-equipped to support our community with whatever pātai (questions) they may have. Helping whānau to thrive, feel supported and reach their true potential is what drives her, and she finds great joy in breaking down barriers between the people & the services they need to succeed. When she’s not at mahi, she’ll either be with her loved ones, with her nose in a book or walking the outdoors.

Meet Raewyn, the Manager of Te Hiku Connect and Kaitaia Family Budgeting Services and a qualified Financial Mentor. She’s been helping people in our community reach their financial goals and grow the confidence to tackle their money obstacles for 17 years. Raewyn also has years of experience in social services and business management, empowering people to reach their highest potential has always been at the core of her motivation. Her favourite thing about Te Hiku Connect & Kaitaia Family Budgeting Services is that we are a resource to our community that shares information, advocacy, support and building financial capability, making for stronger & better equipped whānau. If Raewyn’s not at the office, she’s supporting aspiring entrepreneurs at Capability Builders NZ, or casting her fishing rod to catch some kai to cook up with her whānau!

Meet Suzie, the operations manager of Te Hiku Connect and co-founder of Capability Builders NZ. Her passion kicks in when she sees the drive and enthusiasm and passion in people who just need a helping hand to be the best version of themselves. The ultimate goal for Suzie is to see our community flourish and build resilient, beautiful neighbourhoods and businesses. She has a wealth of knowledge is many areas, including sales, marketing, design & project management.