Team at Volunteering NZ

Michelle Kitney is the Kaihautū Chief Executive of Volunteering New Zealand, where she has been part of the senior leadership team since 2018. Michelle is passionate about working collaboratively and with impact in the for-purpose sector.

Throughout her career she has worked in a range of sectors including social enterprise, within the public sector and the publishing industry. She has a range of experience including regulatory and compliance, mar-coms and social marketing, engagement, and research. She has also volunteered extensively in community organisations that provide services and support to whānau and children, and is currently the Chair of Bellyful New Zealand.

Margaret McLachlan has recently joined Volunteering New Zealand as Communications Manager.

She has over 20 years’ experience in marketing and communications with local and central government and not-for-profit organisations, most recently with Activity and Nutrition Aotearoa and Zealandia ecosanctuary. She’s a volunteer matchmaker with the Community Comms Collective.

Margaret’s keen to use her communication skills to help achieve the goals of Volunteering New Zealand.

Heidi has a real passion for volunteering. She brings a wealth of knowledge of volunteer management, including the deployment of national IT platforms to support volunteer activity. With solid experience in national volunteer management, Heidi brings expertise to her project based work at Volunteering New Zealand. In her free time, you’ll find Heidi…volunteering! Her current roles are with the SPCA and the IHC.

Taeko has 10 years experience in marketing and relationship management in the travel and recruitment sectors. She recently became involved in Votuneteering NZ Pivot conference’s preparation and has been supporting the membership, marketing, communications and administration of the organisation. Taeko is excited to be part of the VNZ whanau, empowering volunteering to enrich Aotearoa New Zealand.

Johann leads VNZ’s work on research-informed advocacy and the development of strategies for an inclusive, ethical and impactful sector. Johann brings expertise in humanities and social science research, strategy development, and translational research that links academia with policy. Johann has over a decade of experience in the community/voluntary sector, and previously led the development of VNZ’s recent migrant volunteering strategy. Johann is passionate about harnessing the power of volunteering to achieve social justice.

Johann is a Rhodes Scholar and postgraduate student at the University of Oxford. He currently holds a B.A. (Philosophy and Politics) and B.HSc (Public Health).

Kenzo has more than 10 years experience in business and financial support and accounting processing. She gained a degree with double majors in: Accounting and Finance in 2006. Kenzo’s first job was as a Business support officer at Quotable Value then various roles with Vehicle Testing New Zealand, Public Trust, other private companies as an account officer, plus work for non-profits. Kenzo joined Volunteering New Zealand in 2019 and looks after VNZ’s accounting and finance.

Taylor is the web developer for VNZ working on the VNZ website, InvolveMe, Student Volunteer Week, National Volunteer Week, the annual VNZ conference and many more projects. Taylor is a professional freelancer with a degree in Computer Science. Taylor’s website: www.taylorhamling.com

Soorya is a data analyst at VNZ. He performs a descriptive analysis and reviews google analytics and google ad accounts. He prepares reports and dashboards in Google Analytics and Microsoft Power BI to prescribe improvements, spot trends, and identify what business action to take. Soorya’s two impressive soft skills are team-player and a willingness to learn.
Soorya’s website: https://linktr.ee/soorya.parthiban.

Moumita Das Roy is a cross-industry marketer with experience in Nonprofit, Media, Advertising, Telecom. Her core expertise lies in Brand & Product Management and Digital Marketing. In her current role, she manages the marketing and product function of a mid-sized telco, based in Auckland.

Moumita is also a tertiary educator and a workplace trainer. She speaks English, Hindi, Bengali und ein bißchen Deutsch. She is a passionate traveller, and has been to all seven continents, immersing herself in cultures around the world.

Moumita got involved with VNZ, when she came up with the idea to create a testimonial based video campaign for Aotearoa of Kindness about the value of paying it forward through volunteering. Her campaign is linked here

Celina is the communication and project coordinator at VNZ. She finished her master thesis on social media marketing strategy for small business. She generates contents and delivers them on various platforms include Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Celina enjoys interacting with audience in a digital environment. She is also very enthusiastic about finding the best way to engage the public online.

Bryony is an intern policy analyst at VNZ. Graduating with a degree in social policy and sociology at Victoria University, she has a real passion for research and analysis, with a particular interest in ensuring inclusivity and social equity within VNZ’s body of work. Bryony is in charge of dissecting a variety of policies and reports; creating comprehensive overviews and providing critique of where VNZ can strengthen their course of action.