Our Team
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Nicole
MANAGER
My role is to make sure that our services run smoothly and staff are supported to provide this important resource for women and non-binary whanau in Pōneke.
The Collective has been operating since 1986 off the strength and commitment of its volunteers and staff, and it’s a privilege to be part of this work.
While I don’t meet with clients directly, I’m always around the office and I make a pretty good cuppa. -
Libby
TRIAGE COORDINATOR
I have been working in the mental health and addictions sector for 2 years which has shown the importance of supporting women across Aotearoa.
In my nomadic upbringing, I have been inspired by the strength and individuality of many women I’ve met. I am dedicated to working in a culturally and trauma-informed way to provide care and aroha for Wellington women.
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Adele
COUNSELLOR
Kia ora. I know that reaching out for help can feel overwhelming, and my priority is to create a safe, supportive space where you feel heard and valued. I believe that everyone has unique needs and perspectives, so I tailor my approach using a range of counselling modalities to best suit you.
My goal is to work collaboratively—combining my expertise as a counsellor with your strengths and experiences—to help reduce the impact of challenges in your life. Open communication is important to me, and I welcome feedback to ensure our work together is meaningful, respectful, and effective.
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Marcela
COUNSELLOR
I am a firm believer in the power each one of us hold, no matter how hard our circumstances or the feelings we are navigating. As a counsellor, I put my clients at the centre, valuing their unique aspirations, experiences, needs and abilities. I provide a safe, warm, professional and respectful place where we can openly explore together your feelings and thoughts, so we can create space to move forward.
I am originally from Chile and migrated to Aotearoa in 2006. I am a mum of three young humans and one furry companion. In my free time, I love doing weaving and textile work.
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Jo
FUNDING COORDINATOR
I have worked in the not-for-profit sector for the past eleven years, and I am delighted to be able to use my knowledge and experience to support Wellington Women’s Health Collective to help other women in their well-being journeys.
While my role is very ‘behind the scenes’ at the Collective, I am enjoying calling on my experience in the fundraising field to make things happen for the women of Wellington and to support my colleagues who are integral to helping those who come to us for support.
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Angela
STUDENT COUNSELLOR
Kia ora! My name is Angela, and I love my work as a trainee counsellor. My counselling style is rooted in compassion and trauma-informed care. I use evidence-based therapies to work collaboratively with you to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. I aim to hold space for you to feel safe and respected so that you can show up authentically as your whole self. Together we can bring our curiosity toward life situations or aspects of yourself that you'd like to connect to and/or better understand.
Our Committee
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Anita
CHAIR
I’m passionate about accessible mental health support and love being a part of WWHC. I have held various roles here, including volunteering as a Counsellor for two years as a member of the Change Committee and now as a committee member.
We’ve had a busy few years, and I am proud to be part of an amazing group of people who come together, bound by feminist beliefs and the desire and capacity to give time, energy, knowledge, and skills. With a shared intention to sustain and grow our services, I am excited to see some of our new initiatives develop in the coming years.
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Caroline
SECRETARY
I joined the Committee in late 2024 and am honoured to support this amazing team to deliver a vital service to women in Wellington. I am a public servant and have spent the majority of my career in policy and operational roles in areas of child well-being, family and sexual violence and women's health. I trained as a lawyer at Otago University, and am currently studying towards a Masters in Counselling. I love working with others on a shared mission to help individuals, whānau and communities thrive.
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Mandy
TREASURER
I’m a chartered accountant with a background in financial management and compliance. Now retired, I’m pleased I can use my skills to support WWHC’s services for women in our community. As WWHC’s treasurer, I help maintain the organisation’s financial health and sustainability. I support the Committee with clear, accurate financial reports that help it make decisions and raise funds.
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Jessie
COMMITTEE MEMBER
I'm passionate about helping community organisations achieve their goals. My background is in government relations, communications & engagement, and project management, and I have held roles across the Public Sector and at Parliament. I joined the Committee in May 2023.
Our Story
40 Years Of Service
The Wellington Women’s Health Collective has been operating for nearly forty years. Throughout this time, our core purpose has remained the same: Offering a safe and compassionate space run by women, for women, to access information, mental health support and build community connections.
Founded in 1986, the Collective was part of a vibrant community of organisations providing services to local women. In the early year, we shared a building with Women’s Refuge and Wellington Rape Crisis, and we continue to maintain strong relationships with the women’s health sector today.
Filling a gap
While progress had been made towards gender equality and reproductive rights, throughout the 1970s and 80s, many women continued to face barriers to quality information and support about their health.
The original emphasis of the Collective was helping women to feel informed and empowered when dealing with health professionals. We built up a library of health resources - many donated by the Hecate Women’s Health Collective, an earlier women’s group focusing on health. Hecate also donated their original ‘Hot and Cold Doctor File’ which recorded women’s experiences with different doctors in Wellington.
We expanded this idea to cover all kinds of health practitioners and created a ‘Comments Database’, recording women’s experiences with different health services. For many years these files helped us to monitor sexism and abuse in health services, as well as to help women find capable and sympathetic doctors.
An archival screenshot of the Comments Database
Over time, as the changing socio-political landscape meant more people had access to health information (through things like the internet and other central information services), the focus of the Collective shifted to emotional and mental health. Women who were trained counsellors would offer sessions for free through the Collective to help ensure low-income women could still access quality mental health support.
Counselling is now our core service, and we are privileged to be a trusted provider of compassionate mental health care to women in Wellington.
Our structure
For much of our history, the Collective operated through a cooperative structure where clients, volunteers, workers, and governance members shared in the decision-making of the organisation.
As the organisation grew and changed, we became an Incorporated Society and a registered charity, and while we now have a more formal structure, this collaborative kaupapa still underpins all our work.
Our operating structure, finalised in 2021, now includes a governance Committee, paid staff (including lead counsellors) and student counsellors.
Our name
The Hecate Collective with the ‘Hot and Cold File’ in the early 1980s
This knowledge sharing was a powerful, grassroots response to the unfortunate reality that women in same-sex relationships and women seeking abortion care would often be treated differently by healthcare providers. The Collective provided resources on women’s health issues, patient rights and up-to-date information on what women could expect from doctors and health services in the region.
The 2009 WWHC management group
Our name reflects the importance of community and peer support to the overall health and wellbeing of wāhine. The term ‘collective’ represents the original non-hierarchical operating structure, but also our ongoing commitment to walk alongside our clients.
As well as informing how we provide our counselling services, the kaupapa of a Collective is also embedded through our workshops. As well as helping build skills, these free or low-cost events are also a way for women to build connections and grow their community with other women facing life’s challenges.
In 2010, we adopted a bilingual name to reflect the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. Our name in te reo Māori is Wāhine ora o Te Waimāpihi, which comes from the Waimāphi stream that runs under Te Aro. This reflects that the Collective has always been based in the Te Aro area of central Wellington.
