Our people

Dr Rory Truell - Executive Director

Rory joined the Social Services Industry Training Organisation (ITO) in May 2007 and has presided over many changes within the organisation since then. He has led the development of a strategic three-year plan to reposition the ITO to achieve wide-reaching and dynamic results for the social services industry. 

The national office has been reorganised to build capacity and capability to achieve the vision. The reorganisation has also been rolled out regionally to ensure robust training and assessment opportunities are offered throughout the country. 

Rory’s tenure has brought about change in the area of qualifications too. The ITO has been redeveloping its social work and youth work qualifications in partnership with industry stakeholders. The vision is to provide a framework for social work and youth work qualifications up to degree level, while at the same time offering professionally recognised social service qualifications that support social service workers to achieve positive results for their clients, the industry and themselves. 

Rory has qualifications and experience in social work, counselling and psychotherapy. For the last 10 years, he has held management roles supporting service delivery. He has always been focused on meeting the needs of communities.



Jenny O’Connor - Engagement and Collaboration Manager

Jenny started with the ITO in January 2008. 

Since February 2010 she has been the ITO's Engagment and Collaboration Manager where she is responsible for the work place learning function at the ITO. She manages a team of Learning and Assessment Coordinators as well as the Help Desk Coordinator.

The team is responsible for ensuring all our learners and employers get value from the ITO's qualifications.

Jenny was previously the ITO's Quality Systems Manager.

Jenny comes with an extensive background in the tertiary sector, having worked at Tairawhiti Polytechnic for 10 years in a variety of roles. She spent seven years in the Quality Assurance Division of NZQA. She was part of the original audit team that set up the audit system for private training establishments before moving into a management role leading the team responsible for supporting the core business of the division.



Paul Bird - Corporate Services Manager

The man managing the financial side of things and making sure the office keeps ticking over is Paul Bird, our Corporate Services Manager.

 Paul leads a lot of things – finance and accounting, information and technology, right through to the strategic and operational planning and reporting and organising corporate functions.

Paul came to us in the March intake from his role as Business Support Manager at Te Papa Museum.  At the ITO, Paul is a very integral part of the team, making sure everything is running smoothly and keeping us on track.

On the weekend Paul is very much a family man and tries to spend as much time as possible relaxing with them.

 



Maree Tukukino - Māori Adviser

Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Maru, Rongomai wahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga

Maree joined the ITO in September 2008. She is responsible for providing the ITO with advice on Mātauranga Māori – Māori worldview. She assists in ensuring Māori have a voice in all ITO activities. She also helps ensure Māori are enabled to participate in developing the new national standards in social work and youth work. 

Maree has 24 years' experience as a worker in Māori social services and development. She has participated in many areas including youth work, counselling, programme development and as a whānau worker. She has also delivered diplomas, degrees and post-graduate papers in social services through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Te Wānagna o Raukawa, Massey University and the national indigenous training provider Te Korowai Aroha o Aotearoa.



Carolyn Cummins - Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Joining our team in March, Carolyn Cummins has adapted quickly to her two different roles.

She is  Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive and Senior Management and Office Manager.

Starting in Child Youth and Family in 1993, Carolyn has moved in and out of the social services industry and is passionate about the wellbeing of children.

When Carolyn isn’t helping us out you might find her pinning up a frock. She is  quite a skilled dressmaker and an avid gardener. She also loves spending lots of time with my grandchildren.



Misty Knowles - Senior Communications Adviser

She was originally a journalist but left 15 years ago to enter the world of corporate communicators. She has experience in most areas of communications including marketing campaigns, public relations, internal communications and website design and development.

She also has a background in psychology. 

Misty joined the ITO in November 2008.



Jac Lynch - Project Manager - Industry Initiatives, Feasibility Study & Project Manager Sector Leadership

Jac is project manager for the ITO’s Recognition and Support for In-House Training Programmes feasibility study. She has been with the ITO since July 2008.

Jac has extensive experience in the social services area, particularly in organisational peer review. She left a career in journalism to work with community organisations and has spent the last 17 years working in social services, health, mental health and education sectors in quality assurance roles. 

She also coordinated Te Wana Quality Programme for Health Care Aotearoa. 

She is committed to helping organisations see the value of sharing knowledge and processes. 

Jac also volunteers with an urban search and rescue team in Wellington and performs in the troupe “The Drag Kings”.



Mary Pecekajus - National Moderator

Mary has been with the ITO since 2004 when she was the Central Region Moderator. In 2008, she was appointed national moderator. In this role, Mary moderates materials from educational providers and work-based assessors. 

Mary has a background in nursing, nursing education and management. She was the Ambulance ITO’s Executive Officer when it was a stand-alone entity. In addition, she moderates in core health for NZQA as National Moderator.



Margaret Hansen - Literacy Adviser

Margaret joined the ITO team in May 2009. Her role is managing the ITO's Embedded Literacy and Numeracy Project. 

She is originally a Wellingtonian but has lived at Makarori Beach, Gisborne, for the last few years. 

Margaret brings an extensive background in education. She has worked from primary to tertiary level. She has spent the last 15 years in adult education, training tutors at Tairawhiti Polytechnic and as a Literacy Professional Developer in the Tertiary Education Commission’s Literacy and Numeracy Professional Development initiative. 

She has developed and delivered training for a number of other organisations and purposes, but sees the embedding process as being the vital link between trainees and their success.



Sujata Vepa-Sandilya - Instructional Designer

Sujata Vepa-Sandilya’s role as Instructional Designer is to ensure we provide the highest standards in educational resources and assessments.

Her job involves producing, implementing and evaluating all the learning resources and assessments for the ITO. That includes all the things involved with producing workbooks and making sure the Unit Standards are met.

With Masters in English Literature and in Open and Distance Education, Sujata has a passion for education and learning having taught at both secondary and tertiary organisations.

When Sujata isn’t helping us to make a difference, she likes to spend time expressing her artistic side.

She  likes to do cross stitch and needle-point tapestries. She also enjoys painting china.



Shaun Twaddle - Policy Advisor

Shaun Twaddle is the man to talk if you’ve got some big decisions to make. As Policy Advisor to senior management and the board, it’s Shaun’s job to get his head around the all the niggling little details of our sector.

He undertakes policy and research to provide sound evidence based advice for the board and senior management, which they use in their decision making.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Bachelor of Commerce, Shaun’s studies had a focus on social wellbeing.

Along with reading policy at work Shaun, also reads New Zealand non-fiction political books in his spare time and loves going to the gym, although the gym is falling behind a bit recently.



Ben Mashiter - Workforce Development Coordinator

With his eye firmly on the future, Ben Mashiter is enjoying the challenges his new Workforce Development Coordinator role brings.

Ben is developing models of practice for learning and how assessments are going to look in the future.. He also helps transition current trainees through their learning to gain their qualifications.

Ben first became involved in the social services industry, specifically mental health, back in the UK, where he hails from. He enjoyed the work so much he pursued it at University graduating from Swansea University in Wales with Honours in Psychology and Sociology. Later, he gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Youth and Community Work.

Having worked in social services for the last 15 years, Ben has developed a real passion for what he does.

During the summer months, Ben likes to catch a few waves with his surfboard, and in winter he is kept very busy during the soccer season.



Tanya Kaihe - Workforce Development Coordinator

Tanya joined the ITO in November 2008. Her job is to promote the ITO's work-based education to potential trainees and employers in the social services industry. 

She is committed to education and has a real dedication to ensuring all people, particularly Māori, have the opportunity to learn, up-skill and become qualified. 

Tanya is a trained social worker and has worked in the field for 20 years. Before joining the ITO, she was a Child and Youth Planner at the Manukau City Council, while also owning and operating a small cafe. 

Tanya is an advocate for Te Reo Māori me ona Tikanga. She is an avid supporter of Te Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori and has been involved with kura life for over 12 years.



Trina Coombs - Finance Officer

Trina helps out with the ITO’s finances.

Trina has been working for the ITO in different roles since 1998. 

In 2004, she left the ITO to start a new role as Business Manager for Wilkinson Insurance. However, she was never far away because she continued to support the ITO’s work-based education coordination throughout the country. In December 2007, Trina returned to full-time work with the ITO.

In February 2010, Trina moved to a part-time contract position as Finance Officer.



Stacey Woodcock - Help Desk Coordinator

After jumping back across the ditch from Australia, our Help Desk Coordinator, Stacey Woodcock, is new to the social services sector.

Stacey  used to work in the Recruitment Industry, most recently in Perth for Oil and Gas, but she’s got a lot of experience in Administration and Project Coordination with a number of different organisations.

At the ITO, Stacey works with the Work Based Assessment team, coordinating the operational aspects of processing new trainees, updating existing trainees and liaising with assessors.

On the weekends Stacey likes to spend lots of time with her Whānau and, when she gets a chance, likes to escape on holiday to the East Coast.



Lil Hall - Senior Administrator

Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa

Lil is Senior Administrator at the ITO. Her responsibilities include administration tasks for all work-based learning. She works with the ITO’s registered assessors and trainees. She also supports the Work-based Education Manager and Office Manager. 

Lil joined the ITO in November 2005 after having been a full-time mother of two boys. Prior to that, Lil worked in several administration positions at NZQA and the Career Services Rapuara.



Ngauru Taiaroa-Downs - Administrator

Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu
Morehu from Rātana Pā

Ngauru has been with the ITO since May 2007. She supports our Quality Systems Manager, Work-based Education Manager and Office/Finance Manager. She is an experienced administrator and is responsible for administering the ITO's national moderation system.

Ngauru's background has predominately been in finance, administration, file management and library resource management. She has worked in the finance and banking sector as well as for Te Puni Kokiri.