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Meet the Team

Margaret Fitzgibbon

Shine Education and Training Manager

Marg joined the Shine Education & Training Team in June 2019 and has managed the team since September 2024. Using her experience in adult education, she spearheaded the development of Shine training programmes, refreshing existing Shine training resources and utilising the depth of family violence experience across the team to create interactive, evidence-based tiered learning programmes. She has over 20 years of experience working in not-for-profit organisations as a manager, trainer and coach for adult learners. Her roles have involved building the capacity of families, programme management, community development, and community consultation and integration. Marg previously worked for HIPPY (Home Interaction Programme for Parents and Youngsters) for 6 years in Glen Innes and for 11 years nationally as a Manager for Great Potentials Foundation/HIPPY NZ, training, supporting and advising 41 HIPPY Site Coordinators throughout New Zealand and developing a comprehensive training package for HIPPY NZ. Marg has a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education, a Certificate and Diploma in Teaching People with Disabilities, 400 hours of Advanced Psychodrama Training (AANZPA) and completed a Paper in Developmental Psychology at Auckland University. Marg is a mentor for INSPIRASI (Indonesia Young Leaders Programme).

Dr. Emma Barker-Clarke 

Shine RESPOND Senior Trainer  

Emma has been with Shine since July 2023, and previously worked for Shine from 2015 to 2018 as part of the Shine in School Community Mobilisation programme, contributing to the design, development and delivery of programme.  Emma was previously a trustee board member and Community Engagement Lead for Rape Prevention Education, and rejoined their Trust Board in 2024. In 2024 Emma was awarded PhD in Sociology/Criminology from the University of Auckland. Co-designed with young people, her research explored youth experiences of technology-facilitated sexual violence. Before emigrating to Aotearoa in 2011, she worked in the UK as a probation officer with children, young people and adults. In the youth justice sector, she specialised in supporting young people using violence and experiencing violence in intimate relationships, which motivated her to design a youth-centric intervention programme. She built on this work with research for her MSc in Criminology & Criminal Psychology. As a result of this research she has focused ever since on domestic violence and sexual violence prevention. Emma is of British Caribbean descent; her dual heritage is rooted in the twinned Caribbean Islands of St Kitts and Nevis.  

Futi Ka

Shine RESPOND Senior Trainer  

Tihei Mauri Ora! 
Ko Upolu toku iwi, 
Ko Saanapu toku whenua, 
Ko Moana-nui-a-kiwa te moana, 
Kei Tamaki Makaurau e noho ana, 
Ko Futi Ka toku ingoa.  
Talofa lava, malo le soifua manuia ma le lagi e mama.  
Futi Ka was born and raised in Otara in South Auckland. He is of Samoan descent, from the Village of Saanapu, Upolu. Futi joined Shine in January 2024, and delivers Family Violence and Sexual Violence Response Training for the court workforce throughout Aotearoa/NZ as well as other Shine RESPOND training. Previously, Futi worked in Otautahi (Christchurch) for kaupapa Māori organisation He Waka Tapu, as a Facilitator for non-violence programmes and alcohol and drug programmes, Engagement and Development Coordinator, and Kia Piki Te Ora - Maori Suicide Prevention Coordinator. He also worked in Youth Justice as a Senior Practitioner in South Auckland, supporting and working with Māori and Pasifika youth that offended and dealing with childhood trauma and other life and home issues. This included facilitating case conferences, whanau hui, mentoring, group work, and training, mentoring and supporting other team members. Futi is guided by a Samoan proverb “O le ala i le pule, o le tautua” – The pathway to leadership, is through service, and the whakatauki “He aha o te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!”  What is most important in the world? The people! The people! The people! 

Hayden Pyke

Shine RESPOND Senior Trainer  

Hayden works for Shine as a Shine RESPOND Senior Trainer and VIP (Violence Intervention Programme) Co-ordinator within Health NZ - Te Toka Tumai Auckland (formerly Auckland District Health Board). His previous work has been primarily with men who use violence in roles that include Family Violence Practice Lead for Counties Manukau Police and Whānau Resilience Kaimahi for Eastern Women’s Refuge. Prior to that, he worked for over ten years with the Department of Corrections in a number of roles including Probation Officer, Senior Practitioner with the Tai Aroha residential rehabilitation programme and Senior Advisor to the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) Team. He completed a BSS (hons) in Sociology and is a registered social worker.  

Holly Carrington

Senior Advisor and Trainer

Holly is a Senior DVFREE Advisor and Trainer, based in Wellington. After moving to New Zealand from her native California in 1999, she volunteered for Shine’s Helpline in 2000 and began working for Shine in 2001. Her roles have included frontline work with people experiencing family violence and men using violence, but she has mostly worked in management and leadership roles, including as Shine’s media spokesperson and policy advisor.  Holly has written, trained and presented on family violence for a wide range of audiences, including speaking at conferences, and publishing articles relating to family violence and the workplace. She was involved with the DVFREE pilot from 2001, its refresh in 2016 and developing the DVFREE Tick Partnership programme. Holly was a Westpac Women of Influence Community Hero Award finalist in 2020 for her work on DVFREE. She worked as a Family Violence Principal Advisor at the Ministry of Justice from 2022-2023, then returned to Shine in January 2024 and at the same time began working part time as a researcher and development advisor for the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges. 

Karin Le Roux

Senior Administrator

Karin joined Shine in May 2022 as a Team Administrator, and from August 2024, is the Senior Administrator for the Ministry of Justice Family Violence and Sexual Violence Response Training Programme for the court workforce. Her meticulous eye for detail, troubleshooting skills, and change management abilities have been instrumental in creating up-to-date systems and in supporting the team during a period of change and growth. Karin has an extensive history in administration for a range of government, for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, and has also been self-employed as a digital marketing administrator. Her roles have ranged from Collections Analyst for Stats NZ, and Salesforce Administrator for Spark Digital, to Property Services Project Coordinator for University of Auckland. 

Liz McAneny

Family Violence Response Coordinator 

Liz has worked with Shine since 2008, and since 2016 has been the Coordinator of SAFTINET (Safer Auckland Families Through Intervention Network), the central Auckland network of government and community organisations responding to family violence. In this role, she organises a monthly hui for network members and provides a weekly newsletter for members and subscribers across the country. She previously worked as a frontline Shine Advocate, provided clinical support for Shine Helpline operators, and was the Project Manager of safe@home, Shine’s pilot service providing improved home security for high risk victim-survivors in Auckland, Tauranga, and Christchurch. (Due to the pilot’s success at improving outcomes for high-risk clients, the Ministry of Justice rolled it out nationally; it has since been known as Whānau Protect, delivered by Women’s Refuge.) Before Shine, Liz was a Probation Officer for 22 years, in Auckland Central and West Auckland. She worked mostly with high risk offenders, and wrote pre-sentence reports for the Courts and other reports as required. Liz has a BA through Waikato and Tāmaki Makaurau universities and completed a criminology paper through Victoria University.   

Mira Taitz

DVFREE Programme Lead, DVFREE and Shine RESPOND Senior Trainer

Mira Taitz has been a senior trainer for DVFREE and Shine RESPOND since August 2021, and DVFREE Programme Lead since August 2022. She is an experienced community worker and adult educator.  Prior to joining Shine, she was chairperson of Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tamaki Mākaurau, Auckland Women’s Centre, which has had a close association with Shine for many years. She was chairperson for four years and previously served on their board for three years.  She also worked as a community educator for YouthLaw Aotearoa for four years, where she led a community outreach and training programme on human rights. She developed bicultural practice and commitment at Morningside Playcentre. She has worked as a tutor at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Auckland; conducted social science research to improve people’s experiences in the justice system at universities in Sydney; and worked as an ESL English teacher.  Mira has a Masters in Economic Anthropology.

Dr. Parisa Kooshesh

DVFREE Policy Advisor & Trainer  

Parisa Kooshesh has been a policy advisor and senior trainer for DVFREE since April 2024. Previously, she worked for the Ministry of Social Development, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques, and also as a tutor and guest lecturer with Massey University. Parisa has a PhD in Politics from Massey University, with research focused on the intersections of gender, migration, and politics, and has presented on her PhD research in local and international conferences. She published a paper considering post-migration re-definitions of social identity among Muslim women in New Zealand with the research project “Capturing the Diversity Dividend of Aotearoa New Zealand.” Before moving to New Zealand in 2012, Parisa worked as a political journalist in Iran and published over 200 editorial columns about Iranian political and policy affairs.  

Rachel Kain 

Shine RESPOND Senior Family Violence Advisor & National Trainer VIP

Rachel Kain is a Senior Educator and Family Violence Advisor, Shine RESPOND and VIP, working in professional, community, and health training. Prior to this she worked with Shine to provide advocacy to patients and whānau experiencing family violence at Auckland City Hospital. In this role Rachel also did extensive work with hospital staff, training and supporting them to provide an effective response to family violence within the hospital setting. Rachel has worked in a frontline capacity with people experiencing family violence in the community and in a previous role delivered the Ministry of Justice approved Adult Safety Programme. Rachel spent time in Duluth with the Domestic Abuse Intervention Programme and was involved with the Palmerston North Women’s Refuge, both as a volunteer and a member of the Board of Governors. Previously, Rachel worked in education for five years in New Zealand and Australia. Rachel has a Master’s Degree in Social and Community Leadership. 

Rebecca Webster 

VIP & Health Senior Trainer 

Rebecca has been with Shine since July 2023, working as a National Trainer for the Health New Zealand Violence Intervention Programme (VIP). In this role, she supports VIP coordinators in local health districts to deliver effective training for health professionals to support them to identify and respond to family violence Rebecca has worked as a Registered Nurse in NZ for over 20 years, supporting patients and clients navigating mental health and addiction challenges through various community and inpatient health roles, which includes supporting clients experiencing family violence to navigate safety and access specialty services. She has taught professional ethics and therapeutic skills to undergraduate nursing students, and has provided clinical tutoring and professional supervision to various health professionals over the past 5 years. Rebecca has completed a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education and a post graduate diploma in professional supervision. Rebecca also works part-time as the local VIP Coordinator for the Waitemata Health District. 

Serene Dias

Senior Administrator  

Serene joined Shine in January 2024 to provide administrative coordination and support for the Shine Education & Training Team. She has great problem-solving skills, excellent coordination abilities, and a strong work ethic. She came to Shine with a wealth of experience, including her roles as Customer Case Coordinator for Auckland Transport, Customer Champion Consultant for One NZ, and over 12 years with DNV (International Maritime Classification Society) as the Maritime Academy Manager for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In that role, she planned, coordinated, and provided end-to-end support in managing training for seafarers, port employees and other maritime organisations across all major cities in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. This included in-house training as well as scheduled open trainings. She has a Masters in English Language and Literature from the Mumbai University, and a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) from KC College.    

Shelley Hirst

Family Violence and Sexual Violence Response Training National Delivery Lead 

Shelley rejoined Shine in December 2023 to lead the Family Violence and Sexual Violence Response training programme for the court workforce, a national Ministry of Justice initiative led by Shine and co-facilitated with several sexual violence specialist services. With over a decade of experience in social work, Shelley has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for children and young people. Her work spans crisis response, harm prevention, and education within the social service sector. Prior to her return, Shelley served as the Relationships and Education Advisor at Netsafe, where she developed tailored educational resources for various vulnerable groups and led professional development workshops nationwide for school leaders, staff, whānau, and the wider community. Shelley’s earlier work at Shine, beginning in 2015, involved supporting young people and children who had experienced violence, as well as developing and implementing a leadership training initiative aimed at fostering healthier relationships in alignment with the New Zealand secondary schools curriculum. Her extensive background also includes frontline roles in health and disability services, community development, and support for women and children experiencing violence. Shelley holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Practice with Senior Scholar Distinction and has a personal passion for mycology. 

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Your organisation can take a number of steps to provide a safe and supportive workplace for your people experiencing domestic violence, including training first responders and managers, and updating your domestic violence policy.

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