Even though our name has changed a few times since 1893 as our services have adapted to meet the needs of our community…our passion and commitment to champion the safety and well-being of Aucklanders has remained constant.
Our founder, Henry Wilding set up ‘The New Zealand Society for the Protection of Women and Children’ on 25 April 1893 to rescue vulnerable women and children from the Auckland streets. Much of the Society’s early focus was on lobbying for legislative change to help women and children who suffered from abandonment, domestic violence, and/or abuse. The Society was instrumental in the ‘Age of Consent’ being raised from 14 to 16 years (1896); the criminalisation of incest to a prosecutable offence (1900), and the establishment of the Youth Court (1925). We even took the SPCA under our wing in 1898 when they were struggling financially – a merger that lasted for 28 years.
Wingspan continues to make a real difference by delivering professional counselling services to reduce risk, increase safety, and improve emotional well-being and resiliency for anyone seeking support.
Shelley Anderson started in the position of Executive Director in March 2014; however, she is not new to Home and Family. Prior to this role, Shelley was the North Shore Manager of Home and Family Counselling for 8 years. Shelley joined Home and Family 11 years ago as one of the team of counsellors before moving into the management role. Shelley has worked predominantly in the Not for Profit sector as well as managing a small private practice for several years which provides Family Court counselling alongside the provision of counselling for individuals, couples, young people, and families. Shelley has also co-facilitated both parenting programmes and youth groups in schools. Shelley provides clinical supervision for students and practitioners and this will continue in her Executive Director position.
Shelley has a Bachelor of Social Practice with a major in Counselling and a Certificate in Supervision. Shelley is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
Alan is an experienced Human Resources Director who has worked in a large organisation in the private and public sectors in New Zealand and Australia. This experience and Alan’s commitment to playing a part in helping to make our communities safer, more satisfying, and enjoyable places to live, are reasons why he is the Chairman of Home and Family. He enjoys working as part of a team, helping to make the most of the knowledge and skills of the Home and Family team and the resources available to them.
Christine is an independent marketing consultant with key experience in international marketing specialising in the Technology Services sector. Her most recent non- independent role was Global Marketing Director of Vista Group International Ltd where she was employed full-time. Prior to establishing her consultancy in the mid- 2000s, Christine enjoyed a long career with Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ), latterly in the role of Marketing Director of a TVNZ subsidiary that delivered content via an international satellite network to broadcasters worldwide. In the mid-1990s, whilst with TVNZ, Christine obtained an Executive MBA from the University of Auckland.
Christine’s combination of skills is the result of varied experience in both the public and private sectors. Her expertise is marketing strategy and the implementation of confident brand communication and empathetic, multi-channel product-marketing campaigns that resonate, build a profile, and target customer advocacy. She has
a passion for the transformation that the marketing discipline can bring to an organisation including Home and Family.
Ian is a Chartered Accountant and also holds a BA. ( Hons) Business Studies – first class.
He is the Corporate Services Manager at Aktive – Auckland Sport & Recreation. He is the Corporate Services Manager at Aktive – Auckland Sport & Recreation, and his
recent past experience is as a Project Manager with ANZ and previously with PwC and Dresdner Bank in the Cayman Islands. He has been honorary treasurer of a number of sports clubs over the years.
Suren has over 30 years of general management, business development, strategy, and financial experience in New Zealand, the Middle East, and Sri Lanka. During the
1990s Suren was part of the strategy team at Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ) when the company was faced with the emergence of digital and increased competition. He describes this to be a major period of learning which saw him grow to become the Strategy & Projects Manager for the TVNZ Group. He either led or was part of, a number of strategic projects including the setting up of Asia Business News (Singapore, which today is CNBC Asia) Fiji TV, BCL – Australia, and Sky TV. Following TVNZ, Suren became a successful boutique strategy consultant to a number of high-profile organisations – TVNZ, BCL (now Kordia), Carter Holt Harvey Group, IRL to name a few. In the last fifteen years – he made the major shift to SME (Small to Medium Enterprises) by becoming
a co-owner of two successful businesses in the dairy and hydraulic engineering industries. Both businesses became highly profitable and are industry leaders by a significant margin.
Suren is passionate about giving back to the community, has extensive musical interests and plays cricket. He is a Chartered Accountant and also holds an Executive MBA from Otago University.
Jessica is a lawyer who has worked in the screen production sector for over 12 years.
Prior to that, Jessica practised in commercial and general practice law. She also holds a BA in anthropology, reflecting her keen interest in people and human relationships. Jessica is glad to be able to serve on the Home & Family Board, an organisation that fulfills a vital role in the community.
Carol is a counsellor with over 25 years of professional experience. She is a former National President of the NZ Association of Counsellors (NZAC) and is a Life Member of the Association.
Carol is a member of the NZAC’s National Ethics Committee and teaches courses on ethical practice for various counselling programmes. She has her own counselling and supervision practice.
She has been closely involved with Home and Family counsellors for more than ten years. She was elected to the Home and Family board particularly to provide guidance about the professional work of the counsellors but her contribution extends a very long way beyond that responsibility.
Donna Brookbanks is a comedian, actor, writer and voice artist.
Donna also serves on the New Zealand Comedy Guild Board and was Chair for two years before stepping into a new role representing female and non-binary comedians. She does a large variety of work, appearing on 7 Days, writing for The Project, recording audio-books and magazines for Blind and Low Vision NZ (formerly The Blind Foundation), working as a production coordinator for TV, and performing stand-up around NZ and (pre-Covid) internationally. Donna was a Billy T nominee twice and has written 3 solo shows.
Our privacy pledge Counselling is based on a confidential relationship. When you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and will work hard to protect your information. At Wingspan we take the privacy of personal information seriously and comply with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020. Our Privacy Pledge briefly outlines what you can expect from us. To learn more about our privacy practices view our Privacy Policy.
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