Meet The Team

Making a difference in the community is what drives CJ – she loves being apart of Mums4Mums and hearing the success stories from the whanau who have been blessed by having the Mums4Mums volunteers assisting them in the first weeks and months of being a new mum.

 

She personally knows how hard it can be with being a new mum and was so grateful for the help of her friends when she became a mum. Now she gets to return the favor and in a much bigger way.

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I am humbled and excited to be on the Mums4Mums board. My hope and vision is that we will continue to grow our amazing team of volunteers and develop a sustainable model that will make a difference in the lives of Mums and babies at the local and national level. We lead with aroha and the desire to awhi new parents in what is a special time, but often challenging time in their lives.

 

I have two young children and am a qualified teacher. I have taught in various schools in the UK and New Zealand, most recently at Tauranga Girls' College. I am the co-founder of Baylingo Language School, a SPACE facilitator and also a La Leche League Leader in Training.

My husband and I, with our 2 children live in Mount Maunganui. As my children are now school age, I now have a little more time and energy to volunteer, and thus when the opportunity arose to help with the Mums4Mums collective, I knew this would be a very fulfilling role for me.

I have a part-time role front of house with Baycourt Community Theatre and enjoy volunteering for our PTA for my children's primary school.

 

I look forward to helping Mums4Mums grow, and helping those mums that need a little more help than what the system can provide. Ma te pa te tamaiti e whakatipu – it takes a village to raise a child.

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Courtenay Hurt-Suwan is the Founder and Director of Social Labour Supply Limited and Ako Manaaki, strong values-based Māori organisations with a vision to empower whānau to prosper through Mātauranga (Education), Mahi (Employment) and Manaaki (social support). A māmā of five, she now holds a Bachelor of Business (Management and Information Systems), NCALNE, GradDipOSH and MBA. With a background in HR, H&S Management and Social Procurement, she published an article, ‘Social Procurement to reduce precarious employment for Māori and Pasifika in the Construction Industry’.

Her passion is to ensure Māori develop and progress in the workplace and society. Courtenay looks forward to joining the Mums4Mums kaupapa to support the amazing mahi and ensure our māmā and pēpi thrive.

Kendra has a background in health, working with national and regional executives and clinical leaders on strategy, policy interpretation, analysis and decision making, risk and governance. An occupational therapist by background, Kendra held clinical leaderships roles in NZ and overseas. 

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Kendra is interested in maternal mental health and the opportunity to improve wellbeing through the peer to peer support provide to Mums, their pépé and whānau.

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Kendra lives in Mount Maunganui with her husband and teenage son. 

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She is an Independent Director, management consultant, facilitator, assessor, coach, and a mentor. She sits on various local, national, and international Not- for- Profit boards. She is currently the Co-Chair of Community Governance Aotearoa. She was the establishment chair of the HVDHB Consumer Council for 2.5 years. She is regularly invited as a guest/panel speaker for various conference, events and festivals across NZ and overseas.

 

In her professional career, she has held many senior management roles in both public and private organisations.

 

She is the founder, producer, director and choreographer of Natraj School of Dance, a well-established and reputed Indian classical dance school based in Lower Hutt since 1999.

 

She has been recognised with several national, regional and community awards including The Queen Services Medal by the NZ government in 2017, Hutt City Mayoral Civic Honour Awards for Cultural Affairs and Community Group in 2011 for her contribution to dance and ethnic communities and more recently a special commemoration Award by Indiannewslink at their business awards for leadership qualities and management experience. She was a Finalist for Wellingtonian of the Year Award in 2016 for Education and is a Justice of Peace.

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Linked in Profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabha-ravi-qsm-jp-5a589a57/

I am a mother of two school aged children and three fur babies (2xcats, 1 x puppy). I remember now how overwhelmed ,sleep deprived and unsupported I was with my second child, I became a version of myself I did not recognize. 

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Which is why I am so passionate about helping other mums who are doing their best but need a little extra TLC. I have a background in Nannying and In Home Care as well as working in various admin roles including the Health and Safety Sector. 

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I have a love of dance, photography and gardening/indoor plants. I am looking forward to growing with Mums4Mums and meetings new families and their new bundles of love. 

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I’m the Office Administrator and Human Recourses for Mums4Mums. My husband and I, along with our baby girl moved to the Bay of Plenty in early 2022, to be closer to my husband’s parents. We wanted our little girl to grow up with her grandparents around, and to have them as support. We are lucky enough to have this when many others are not.

 

I am very passionate about the work that Mums4Mums is doing in our community, supporting mums and their whanau. When I became a first-time mum, I learnt how hard it was to navigate the new world that you suddenly find yourself in. There were many times that I wish someone would just hand me an instruction manual that would tell me exactly want to do.

 

My career prior to becoming a mum was in big box retail management, focusing on HR and people management. Also working with a startup business as a customer service and HR manager. I enjoy challenges and variety within my roles to keep me on my toes.

 

In my free time I love to read, watch movies, go for walks, and spend time in my garden, my husband likes to says that I have far too many house plants.

I am a qualified actuary with over 17 years’ experience in insurance industries across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  I have led actuarial, fraud and data analytics teams throughout my career, and have sat on my employer’s Diversity Council, delivering significant increases to parental leave entitlements for the company. 

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This employer policy change reinforced my passion for service to community for me, and I am delighted to be part of the Mums4Mums team, supporting better outcomes for mums and babies.  After having my first child in 2020 during a "C" lockdown, I know firsthand just how isolating and challenging being a first-time parent is, without any family or friend support. 

 

I love that Mums4Mums provides that little extra support for new families in our communities and look forward to being part of Mums4Mums’ growth trajectory.