Our People
At Friendship House, our team reflects the rich diversity of the Manukau community. We care deeply about the community we serve and are dedicated to providing culturally responsive support and services. Our mission is to empower people to make positive change.
Neil Denney
Chief Executive
Navin Jhinghan
Business & Finance Manager
Katrina Meafua
Programmes Manager
Sunema (Sonny) Ah-Hing Operations Manager
Serena Murdoch
Community Centre Co-ordinator
Irina Osipova
Finance & Building Administrator
Margaret Toland
Counsellor
Ruta Ulberg
Social Practice Worker
Flower Otto
Programmes Administrator
OUR TEAM
Staff
Community Centre Team (Front desk/reception: information, referrals, room bookings)
Social Practice Team (Frontline staff: counsellors, social workers and family violence workers)
Contractors (Programme facilitators)
In addition to employed staff, Friendship House contracts approximately 20 trained and appropriately experienced course facilitators. Many of these facilitators have worked with Friendship House for more than 15 years. The facilitators reflect the range of ethnicities participating in the programmes, e.g. Māori, Samoan, Tongan and New Zealand European. Programmes are run in English, Samoan, Tongan and Hindi languages, so that participants can benefit from authentic and effective communication. Our service is a te tiriti aligned organisation and we are guided by tikanga Māori and Te Ao Māori