Staff Members

Manager – Carol Ryan
Carol joined Raeburn House in 1993 having previously worked in the business sector and within community contributed voluntary time to local community initiatives. Her role within Raeburn House has evolved over the years to where she is now Manager. As Manager she not only oversees the day to day running of the organisation but works extensively across the Waitemata region, working collaboratively resourcing, supporting and working with communities and agencies to address the identified issues.  Carol has involvement with many committees and working parties including Chairperson Shared Vision North Harbour, Community Representation on Harbour Health’s PHO Board, Community Health Voice North Shore Board member, Literacy North Shore Board Member and Takapuna Community Facilities Trust. Carol has a Certificate in Health Promotion and has undertaken part time study at Unitec on the Graduate Diploma in Not For Profit Management and is currently studying the Certificate of Small Business Management at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

Assistant Manager – Christine Jones
Christine joined Raeburn House in July 2004 having previously worked for 14 years in various roles within the Not-For profit Sector in New Zealand and before that worked for four years in the corporate sector in the UK. Her role is to ensure there is sufficient funding to maintain and expand the current services offered, by applying to a wide variety of funding bodies. Christine’s other responsibilities include the Marketing and Promotion of Raeburn House and assisting Management with policy and planning.   Christine has a Certificate in Health Promotion and has completed The Graduate Diploma In Not For Profit Management (Unitec).

Learning & Development Co-ordinator – Luciana Santoso
Luciana joined Raeburn House in December 2008. Originally from Indonesia, she has been in New Zealand for eight years. Luciana has more than eight years Human Resource Development experience within diverse Indonesian organisations. Since coming to New Zealand she has been working in the health sector. She has a Psychology Degree from Indonesia and a Graduate Diploma of Human Resources & Industrial Relations from Australia, and has completed her Masters of Social Work (Applied) at Massey University.

Community Resource Co-ordinator – Amberlee Wharton
Amberlee joined Raeburn House in June 2008. She has a background in administration and recently graduated from Massey University with a Honours Degree in Sociology (1st Class) and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and English. Amberlee has a passion for working in communities and ensuring that groups and individuals have access to up to date information and support.

Accounts Clerk – Anthea Evans
Anthea joined Raeburn House in February 2009 to work part-time on accounts and administration. Originally from the UK, she has been a New Zealand resident for four years. She is a qualified Accounting Technician and has previous experience working for not-for-profit organisations.

Project Co-ordinator – Joan Hamilton
Joan has worked on and off for Raeburn House on a contractual basis over the last six years and is currently working on a variety of projects. She previously worked in the print trade focussing on the graphics side of the industry and for a number of years ran her own graphic business. Joan then worked in Mental Health Supported Employment and completed her Masters in Creative Performing Arts.   Joan has had a variety of voluntary positions for various NFP’s such as Red Cross Meals on Wheels, founder member of Hibiscus Coast CAB, Age Concern. She is currently volunteering as a research assistant working in applied art at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and a Board member of Literacy North Shore.

Office Assistant – Jessica Hogan
Jessica joined Raeburn House in May 2010. She has a passion for dealing with people, has a background in retail and holds a Certificate in Small Business Management. Jessica's interests include reading, writing, cooking, cake decorating and shopping.

Settlement Support Co-ordinator – Cheng Goh
Cheng joined Raeburn House in September 2007 as Settlement Support Advisor. Originally from Malaysia, Cheng worked as a marketeer working in multi-national food, nutritional and healthcare companies for over 15 years. In 2002 she trained and became a volunteer ESOL Home Tutor (English for Speakers of Other Languages) as well as volunteering as a parent helper at both Birkenhead Kindergarten and Birkenhead Primary School. Cheng also worked part-time as a market research business interviewer. A year and a half later, she took up a regional marketing assignment which involved overseeing brand management and marketing in affiliated local companies around the Asia-Pacific markets. Upon her return to New Zealand, she continued to volunteer at local schools. Prior to joining Raeburn House, she was teaching English at a language school on the North Shore. Cheng has experience in marketing, training, product development, market research, and teaching English. As well as CELTA, she holds a Masters in Biotechnology, a Graduate Diploma in Food Technology, and a BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology.

Settlement Support Advisor – Sarbjit Lester
Sarb joined the Raeburn House Settlement Support team in November 2008. Originally from the UK, Sarb has been living in New Zealand for over five years. She began her career in the community sector by working with people from minority ethnic communities in the area of social housing management. Since arriving in New Zealand, Sarb has worked as a fundraiser for Lifewise and most recently assisted the Oscar Foundation with grant approvals. She enjoys working with the North Shore migrant community to help them settle successfully.

Strengthening Families Co-ordinator – Aggie Cherrington
Aggie joined Raeburn House in December 2009, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. Aggie first qualified as a nurse and later went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Studies degree from Massey University, she also holds a certificate in Leadership & Facilitation. In the 1980s and 1990s Aggie an Oruamo Community Development programme delivering practical training courses to youth. In 2003, Aggie was to establish the Strengthening Families service on the North Shore. Aggie has a passion for community and child well-being.

Part-time Receptionist – Wendy Shrimpton
Wendy joined Raeburn House in May 2009 as a Part-time Receptionist. Wendy’s interests are reading, cooking and sewing. She has extensive experience in dealing with people through her background in hospitality. Wendy enjoys contact with people, an integral part of her work at Raeburn House.

Contractor – Deb Greenstreet
Deb joined Raeburn House in June 2009 as a contractor to do a variety of tasks. Teacher trained with an advanced Diploma in Special Education, Deb’s love of children and education has seen her in a variety of roles. Always keen to break the cycle of educational disadvantage took her into the community as one of New Zealand’s first HIPPY (Home Instruction Programme for Pre-school Youngsters) Co-ordinators, first in Papakura and then ten years in Northcote, building New Zealand’s first stand-alone site (work recognised when being made a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary). Next Deb developed the pilot Reading to Children for the Books in Prison programme. After a brief spell back in the classroom and then into community again to work in the health sector in areas of promotion, networking, strategic planning and programme development with a team of like-minded women committed to supporting local communities. Deb has also been a member of COGs and is currently a trustee of the Takapuna Communities Facilities Trust.

Clinical Supervisor – Dr Ruth Jillings
Registered Psychologist, BA (Hons), PhD, PGDip I/O, PG Cert Child / Ado Mental health, Primary Cert CBT, MNZPsS, and Registered NZCER Tester. Ruth has extensive experience training groups and has done numerous media presentations, including seven years of weekly TV appearances as the Child Psychologist on TVNZ’s Good Morning show. Her main professional issues lie in the areas of work / life balance and working with groups and individuals to reduce stress and enhance resiliency. Ruth’s role at Raeburn House is as the Clinical Supervisor, assisting the facilitators to enhance their skills and to provide support for any issues that arise from working with groups.