About
Kia ora, Hello
My identity is grounded in my faith and whakapapa:
Ko Atua te maunga, God is my rock.
Ko Wairua Tapu te awa, the Holy Spirit flows within me.
Ko Salvation Army te Hāhi, The Salvation Army is my church.
Ko Ingarangi te iwi, I am from the United Kingdom.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa
I am a mother of two, a bonus mum of two, a grandmother of four with a great‑grandchild on the way. I have been married for 35 years and a member of The Salvation Army for more than two decades. My life has been shaped by family, faith, and a deep commitment to walking alongside people in their hardest moments.
My Story
I was born in Kent, UK, and raised in a close-knit family with my mum, dad, and two younger brothers. At 18, I moved to London and began working with Family and Employment Lawyers. It was there I first saw how grief shows up in everyday life, through separation, conflict, change, and uncertainty and long before death is ever involved. These early experiences opened my eyes to the many forms loss can take.
In 2000, I emigrated to New Zealand and continued working in roles centred on supporting individuals and families through challenging circumstances. I worked with a Family Lawyer, The Parenting Place, CCS Disability Action, as a Disability Support Coordinator, before moving into roles with The Salvation Army and Alzheimers Gisborne. Each role deepened my understanding of grief, especially the quiet, ongoing grief that accompanies disability, long-term illness, dementia, and the slow changes that reshape a family.
My personal life has also been marked by loss. I am a mother who has lost a daughter, a daughter who has lost her mother, a grandmother who has lost her grandmother, and an aunt who has lost her aunt. I have lived through many changes, both planned and unexpected, each introducing its own form of grief. These experiences have given me a deep, lived understanding of pain, alongside many years of supporting others on their own journeys.
Along the way, I trained in Child Protection, Tikanga Māori, Solutuion Focussed Brief Therapy and Grief Education. These pathways strengthened my belief that grief is universal, deeply human, and something we can learn to navigate with compassion and clarity.
Looking back, I can see how each step has been part of a larger calling. I believe God has shaped my life for this work, educating, guiding, and supporting people to grieve well through whatever circumstances they face. Today, I bring together decades of experience to offer warm, practical grief education for individuals, carers, families, and communities. My heart is to help people feel seen, understood, and supported as they navigate the realities of loss in all its forms.
Future Focus
My vision for the future is to help more people understand that grief does not begin at the moment of death.
For many, particularly those caring for someone living with dementia, long-term illness, disability, or a life-limiting condition, grief can begin long before a physical loss occurs. Anticipatory grief can be complex and deeply challenging, yet it is often mis-understood or overlooked. I want to see people equipped with the knowledge, language, and practical tools to recognise what they are experiencing and to understand that their feelings are a natural response to ongoing change and loss.
Through compassionate grief education, I hope to create spaces where people feel safe to acknowledge their grief without guilt, shame, judgement, or the expectation that they should simply “be strong.” My vision is to walk alongside individuals, carers, families, and communities as they navigate these journeys, helping them find ways to care for themselves while continuing to care for those they love.
Ultimately, I want people to discover that grief and hope can exist together, and that learning to grieve well can help us live well—even in the midst of uncertainty, change, and profound loss.