Team.
Nelson Pulotu
General Manager
Nelson Pulotu joined Tūtaki as our General Manager back in November 2019. Nelson’s background in working with the local community and the leading force behind the inception of the Marfell Boxing Academy has provided him with the skillset required to manage and lead our organisation. One of his key focus areas is working with our current and potential stakeholders to identify new opportunities for collaboration.
More about Nelson Pulotu
Sam Haggart
Social Worker
Sam is our Children’s Social Worker, working with children aged four to fourteen and has been with us since 2015.
Sam enjoys helping young people feel happy, confident, safe and free to be themselves in their everyday environments. To achieve this she works alongside whānau, schools, social service agencies and any other support networks already in place for the child.
Stacey Seyb
Stacey joined the team at Tūtaki in 2023 as a Youth Development Mentor. Her role includes one on one mentoring with our rangatahi & tamariki and running group sessions alongside her Community Connector role which provides health and education support to our clients.
Stacey enjoys helping young people to feel empowered and confident and work towards creating positive futures for themselves. As a qualified teacher Stacey has taught Visual Arts at New Plymouth Girls’ High School, was the head Teacher of Stratford High School’s Teen Parent unit and also Stratford High School’s Alternative Education programme. She also spent time working for a not for profit organisation, Pregnancy Help Taranaki where she was the Branch Manager.
More about Stacey Seyb
Lauren O’Sullivan
Lauren’s role as the Programmes Co-ordinator/Youth Mentor includes working closely with youth, offering mentoring, managing various group programmes, and planning exciting school holiday programmes. Lauren has a passion for helping others and making a meaningful difference in the lives of the young people in our community. To further her education Lauren is currently studying towards a Diploma of Youth Work. In her spare time Lauren enjoys baking and volunteering as a gymnastics coach.
More about Lauren O’Sullivan
Alex O’Hanlon
Office Administrator
Alex joins us as part of the administration team and is the first point of call upon arrival to our facility. She is responsible for our online presence and provides support to the entire team.
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Brenda Buchanan
Youth Worker/ Programme Facilitator
Brenda joined the Tūtaki team as a Youth Worker and our Programmes Facilitator. Brenda worked closely with our youth, ran our group programmes and our school holiday programmes.
Brenda was the kind of person who would give off her own back to help those in need. Her heart was enormous and her passion and empathy shone through wherever she went. She has left a huge hole in our hearts here at Tūtaki, the Lions Den and in the community she was so passionate about.
RIP our beautiful friend, colleague and work mum, we will miss you.
Trint Kelsen
Youth Worker
Trint is one of our Youth Workers, providing support to our young people by way of mentoring, engaging with them through the school holiday programmes, building relationships and providing support to our social workers.
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Dane Carr
Fitness Services Supervisor
Dane joined Tūtaki as a contractor in January 2015 providing personal training sessions and classes. He then became our Fitness Services Coordinator for the Lions Den Gym & Fitness Centre in January 2017 when he became an employee. Dane takes one to one personal training sessions, group training, consultations and programme developments. Always looking for new and innovative ways of encouraging others to engage in training, he has recently launched Strong Cubs – a strength based training programme for children aged 5-9 years.
More about Dane Carr
Cain Thomas-Knight
Membership Consultant/Fitness Coach
Cain joined the team as our Membership Consultant/Fitness Coach. Cain is a registered assessor with Skills Active Aotearoa and focuses on training and education. Cain is the ‘go to’ person for all of your membership needs and advice.
More about Cain Thomas-Knight