practical solutions to social issues

Hey there, I'm Carla,

I am of New Zealand Maori descent, and extremely proud of my Ngati Raukawa heritage.  I have been in Australia since 2010, primarily based in Cairns, but also spent some time living and working in the Northern Territory. I studied at the University of Auckland, completing an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies, before going on to complete post graduate qualifications in Investigative Journalism, Tertiary Teaching, as well as achieving a Masters in Communication from Auckland University of Technology. 

Supporting myself through university, I ran a successful mobile piano teaching business, my love for teaching and the arts will always be a big part of who I am.

Growing up wanting to be a foreign correspondent, but quickly finding that making a difference in the lives of others was my calling, my first role out of university was as a youth worker in the largest youth detention centre in New Zealand – Korowai Manaaki, Youth Justice North. An experience I am grateful for, and look back on often.

Since moving to Australia, I have been fortunate enough to work across many areas of the social services sector at all levels, from doing direct youth and disability support work, to operations management, to regional and state management with teams ranging from 2 to 200. In 2017, I was one of five state finalists in the Telstra Business Woman of the year awards – an achievement that still doesn’t seem real! 

I have loved every second of the work I have done, albeit challenging, I have a love for empowering teams to be the best that they can be, and would still go on shift to work with young people any day of the week. I feel blessed to have crossed paths with Damian. I know that together, we have the ability to grow a team whose strengths we can celebrate and share with one another to produce Genuine Outcomes for all.