Our dedicated team comes from richly varied backgrounds with unique insights. We work hard to help seniors in the Wellington Region, and there’s often laugher around the office. We hope you enjoy watching the outtakes from a recent promotional video…
From left to right, staff members Victoria Foley, Stephen Opie, Lorna Harvey, Nicky Fairbairn, Kirsten Blyde, Vanessa Lavatai, Steph Deegan, Tania Fleming and Ann Dalziel.
Stephen Opie
CEO
Stephen joined Age Concern Wellington in April 2020. He has extensive leadership experience in the charitable sector after spending more than 20 years working for various non-profit organisations. Stephen’s primary focus has been strategic leadership, project management, communications and fundraising.
Stephen is passionate about ensuring our region’s older people are connected into their communities and have access to the support and services they need. He believes Age Concern Wellington can make a difference in the lives of many people, but not without the support of dedicated volunteers and generous supporters.
Stephen has been married for 22 years and has two children, both at College. He has lived all over the country, and even spent time living in Tonga as a child.
Lorna Harvey
Team Leader – Communications & Events
Lorna joined Age Concern Wellington Region in January 2020 to look after communications and marketing. She now leads our Communications and Events team focused on increasing public engagement in our mahi.
Lorna comes from a writing and communications background. Until 2018, she was a municipal councillor in Switzerland in charge of, among other things, senior services. She is also the author or editor of several books. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and a Master of Arts in Communication and Applied Linguistics. She loves reading, gardening, and hanging-out with her family and friends.
Tania Fleming
Social Connection Coordinator – Hutt Valley
Tania’s connections to the Hutt Valley go back three generations – her grandad worked in the sawmill in Akatarawa. Born and bred in Upper Hutt, she resides in Trentham with her family.
Tania enjoys meeting new people and building relationships, and has enjoyed a varied career including working for big organisations, homebased childcare educator, relief pre-school teacher, sales representative, and support worker. She lived in Australia for a short time attending The Queensland School of Floristry and doing some voluntary work.
Volunteering has always played a big role in her life including being on playgroup committees, budgeting helps, counselling and pastoral care teams.
Tania has been very excited to embark on this new journey with Age Concern and to serve her community by connecting people to brighten the day of our seniors for both social connection and companion walking services. She joined the team at the end of September 2022.
Victoria Foley
Executive Assistant
Victoria joined the Age Concern team in the winter of 2022. She has lived in the UK, Middle East and Australia before coming back to New Zealand with her husband and two young children to enjoy all the South Coast of Wellington has to offer.
Victoria provides invaluable administration support to the whole team, including running our busy office and ensuring our Service Coordinators have the resources they need. She also supports the leadership team and Board with project work, HR, emergency planning and financial reporting.
Vanessa Lavatai
Events Coordinator
Vanessa joined our team in July 2023, and looks after our events in Wellington.
Vanessa is a fun-loving, adventurous person. Not much frightens her (aside from mice). Born and bred in Wellington, Vanessa has Samoan, Chinese and German heritage. She spent 14 years in Australia and recently returned to New Zealand to be near her parents and auntie. She’s been married over 25 years and has a 22-year-old son. She’s worked with the community for the past two decades and has a heart for working and talking with people, but mainly helping people – she just wants to help!
Butterflies have a special meaning for Vanessa (her name means butterfly) and asking her about butterflies is sure to make her smile.
Steph Deegan
Communications & Fundraising Assistant
Steph joined our Communications and Events Team in August 2023.
Married with two children and a proud Wellingtonian, Steph is a self-confessed ‘jack of all trades’. She spent 8 years working and travelling overseas. As well as her years in hospitality she has worked in health and wellbeing, counselling and working with physically disabled members of our community. Steph’s background includes experience in event coordination and fundraising, and she’s a great communicator and an enthusiastic problem-solver.
Steph is passionate about finding a good balance in life and will get excited to chat about how taking care of all aspects of our wellbeing affects the quality of life we experience.
Whilst she has settled in Wellington, she’s not a fan of the wind – but the benefits of being close to extended family outweigh the annoying wind.
Ann Dalziel
Community Support & Falls Prevention Coordinator
Ann manages our SAY Go classes and health promotion workshops and is the person most likely to answer your phone call. She has worked at Age Concern Wellington for more than 10 years and has acquired a wide spread of knowledge – she will always give helpful advice, and if outside her area of expertise, will direct you to the appropriate person.
In addition to working at Age Concern, Ann is part of Community Networks Wellington – a network of social services in Wellington, and is the Consumer Council Member for Capital and Coast DHB’s Primary Clinical Group.
Outside of work Ann keeps fit and healthy by exercising early every morning – swimming, gym or dancing. She is an avid reader and loves the cinema. Twice monthly she assists at Wellington Cathedral – at the early 8.00 a.m. service.
Kirsten Blyde
Social Connection Coordinator – Wellington and Porirua
Kia ora. I am a Kiwi who has lived all over New Zealand, but have made Porirua home for the past 12 years. We live close to Plimmerton beach and walking along the waterfront is one of my favourite pastimes.
I have had a varied career including, working in the health sector as a nurse and tertiary education as a tutor. This was in the NZ Health and Wellbeing Certificate at WelTec for 10 years. During my time as a tutor I was lucky enough to visit many older people while supporting students with their learning. I always enjoyed spending time listening to the clients stories and connecting with them in a positive way.
The role of Social Connection Coordinator is a great opportunity to hear from older people about how they would like support to have meaningful connection with their communities.
My motto is to ‘listen first, then act’.
Nicky Fairbairn
Companion Walking Service Coordinator
Nicky was homegrown on the Kāpiti Coast before heading to Otago University to study Physical Education and Exercise Science. She took off on her OE back in the 90s, having no inkling that it would last over 20 years. Nicky worked at the forefront of the health, fitness and wellbeing industry in Southern California before heading to London to work in the corporate wellbeing sector.
“Experiencing first-hand how real change happens when all aspects of wellbeing collaborate is one of the things that drew me to being part of the ACWR team,” says Nicky. “The team really strive to have services work together to have a positive impact on the wellbeing outcomes for Seniors within our community.”
Nicky coordinates the Companion Walking Service and continues its expansion further into the suburbs around the Wellington Region. The walking service enables our senior clients to walk to stay connected with their local communities – having a positive impact on both their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Nicky has a real love of people, and especially enjoys enabling and motivating them to get and keep moving.
“It’s fantastic to be back. Aotearoa NZ is simply the best country, and you really cannot beat Wellington on a good day! We wanted our son to grow up as a Kiwi and we also wanted to be home to support our extended family.”
Nicky’s ‘motto to live by’, inspired by Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta, is “Happy are those who do no great things, but small things with great love.”
Our Volunteer Team
We have an incredible team of more than 250 volunteers who help us deliver our programmes and services. This team includes our Patron and Board, along with people of all ages who visit and support seniors every week, help us at events and provide our staff team with expertise and advice.
We can’t feature them all here, but here are a few members of our amazing volunteer team…
SockHwee started volunteering for Age Concern during the first lockdown. She is now a Phone Friend volunteer and enjoys connecting with her client twice a week.
Wednesday is Allan’s Age Concern day. He visits multiple clients as part of the Visitor Service, plus he also helps out at our Community Hub in Linden.
Carol volunteers for many organisations, including Age Concern! “I know that I am, for that moment, making a difference. I may not have money to give away, but I can help people in other ways,” she says.
Our Patron
Lady Susan Satyanand
Lady Susan Satyanand has been a Wellingtonian for 25 years and has lived during that time in two suburbs as well as for five years at Government House. She has, over time, worked within a number of community organisations, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, Victoria Bridge Club, the Rotary Club of Wellington, Mary Potter Hospice, the Royal New Zealand Ballet Foundation and the Wellington Institute of International Affairs. She has been attracted to become Patron of Age Concern after learning of the demonstrable support provided by the organisation to older persons like herself in a great many ways.
Our Board
Paul Swallow, MNZM
Chair
Mick Calder
Eve McMahon
Kim Lusby
Elizabeth Steer
Lyndsey Jacobs
