Our Board of Trustees

Daniel is the Chair of Te Ata’s Board of Trustees and has been a Board member since 2000. He is also an Associate Professor at Auckland University of Technology, teaching in mental health, lived experience and occupational therapy programmes.

Daniel’s research focuses on mental health recovery as well as occupation and sensory based approaches in mental health care. He is passionate about elevating lived experience expertise and building spaces of support and healing, including within the community at Te Ata.

Hi! My name is Clarinda and I started off as a member at Te Ata around 2014. I participated in a lot of activities and groups and volunteered in small roles for part of this time. I joined the Board in 2017 and ended up continuing on to becoming secretary.

I have lived and living experience of mental illness. Having been both in the in patient and outpatient settings, I understand a bit about what the Mental Health system in West Auckland feels like.

I wanted to join the Board as I found being involved with Te Ata valuable to my recovery journey. I want to help keep this place running so others can benefit from it like I did.

Gina Giordani is a Lived Experience Project Lead at Te Pou, a workforce development centre for the lived experience, mental health, and addictions sectors.

Her work involves supporting the lived experience workforce to grow and flourish in line with the Consumer, Peer Support and Lived Experience workforce plan. Gina has her own lived experience, and whānau lived experience which informs her advocacy and work.

She is also happy to serve on the board of Te Ata, as it enables her to contribute to her West Auckland community and stay connected to local issues affecting tāngata whai ora.

I have been a friend of Te Ata since it’s development nearly 30 years ago before it opened in Hickory Ave. For the past couple of years I have been on the Te Ata Board working quietly in the background to support this amazing service, the great people who work here and the members who attend. Between us all, Te Ata is becoming a fabulous place to be.

I have worked in Mental Health and Addiction services for 30 years, asking and sometimes demanding that the voice of lived experience, the voice of people like you and me be strengthened and heard in the development and delivery of services.  I champion services like Te Ata and those who offer peer support. I currently work as a consumer auditor visiting services throughout the country to make sure people who use services are heard.

Te Ata is a great service, and I am proud to be part of it

We’re working on getting Steve’s photo and full bio up here. In the meantime, rest assured they are hard at work helping shape the future of Te Ata.

We’re working on getting Gayleen’s photo and full bio up here. In the meantime, rest assured they are hard at work helping shape the future of Te Ata.

We’re working on getting Rawiri’s photo and full bio up here. In the meantime, rest assured they are hard at work helping shape the future of Te Ata.

We’re working on getting Zerlinda’s photo and full bio up here. In the meantime, rest assured they are hard at work helping shape the future of Te Ata.