Kites Staff

Kites thrives on working within the resource-rich community it is part of. Leadership, participation and involvement from people who experience mental health problems and/or use mental health services is integral to the way we work. We believe consumers /tangata whaiora have the knowledge of what will work best for them, and therefore Kites ensures their voice is included in everything we do.

Marge Jackson - Manager

As the manager of Kites, Marge is responsible for ensuring Kites remains a well established, sustainable organisation that remains innovative, ethical, collaborative and effective. Marge qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1998 and worked as a clinician in New Zealand, Canadian and English health services. Following a position as Team Leader for Pathways Trust, Marge was seconded to Kites Trust (2000) during the establishment phase of the organisation. She was then appointed Manager in 2003. Marge received a scholarship via Te Pou (mental health workforce development) to attend the International Mental Health Leadership programme (2007) visiting American mental health services with a focus on eliminating seclusion. Marge is a Trust Board member of Refugees as Survivors Wellington and is working toward a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Sector Evaluation Research at Massey University.

Pauline Wikohika - Office Manager

Pauline has a New Zealand Diploma in Business and a Diploma in Marketing, she is currently working toward a Post-Graduate Diploma in Not for Profit Management. Pauline has strong administrative skills with extensive experience in providing office management based support. She takes a lead role in systems improvements and supports the Kites staff to undertake their work. She is responsible for overseeing Kites accreditation processes through Te Wana.

Pauline is a current committee member of Te Roopu Pookai Taaniwhaniwha, a kaupapa Maori mental health service provider in Porirua.

Eileen McAtee - Project Worker

Eileen has a Bachelor of Laws degree and has a passion for ensuring people's rights are upheld. She has a through understanding of legislation, in particular the Mental Health Act (1992) and Human Rights Act. Eileen approaches her work in an analytical way and is skilled in interpreting information, identifying issues and then communicating to diverse audiences. Eileen has worked for a number of 'grass roots' organisations including Benefit Rights Service at the Wellington People's Centre. She is currently on the management committee of the Wellington Community Law Centre. Eileen is fluent in Te Reo and Tikanga Mãori and draws upon her personal experience of mental illness.

Suzy Stevens - Contract worker

Suzy utilises her personal experience as a mental health consumer to inform her work on a variety of projects in the health sector. She has experience in developing communication plans, writing reports, making submissions, contributing to policies and researching and writing scoping papers and reports. She is a trained consumer health auditor. Her ability to convey written and verbal information effectively to varied audiences facilitates her to work in consultation with key stakeholders, in particular people who use health services to identify the issues, risks and benefits and to produce outcomes that can best meet those stakeholders' needs. She has been involved in the health sector for over 15 years and during that time has provided advice and contributed to a range of NGO, consumer organisations and government agencies, including the Ministry of Health. She has a broad and comprehensive understanding of consumer issues and the primary, secondary mental health sectors in general.