Shannon Pakura, MNZM (SWRB chair)
Ko Aotea te waka
Ko Ruapehu te māunga
Ko Whanganui te awa
Ko Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi te iwi
Ko Ngā Paerangi te hapu
Ko Kaiwhaiki te marae
Ko Shannon Pakura ahau
Shannon Pakura has served as SWRB Chair since 2019. She is passionate in her advocacy and support for the social work profession and was the first social worker to be registered in Aotearoa. Over the years, she has actively lobbied for mandatory registration of social workers in New Zealand.
Shannon was previously the President of Aotearoa (NZ) Association of Social Workers and remains a life member. She has worked extensively in both the Statutory Child Protection and the Youth Justice social work sector. She was the former Chief Social Worker for the Department of Child, Youth and Family and also the Māori Service Development Manager for Barnardos. She served as a non-judicial member of the NZ Parole Board from 2008 to 2020.
Shannon holds a number of advisory and advocacy roles, including membership of the Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board
In recognition of her services to social work, Shannon was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2022.
Andrea Nichols
Andrea is a registered social worker with over 25 years of experience working with children, young people and their whānau within both NGO and statutory settings. Until recently she worked in the Office of the Chief Social Worker where she led professional social work practice at a national level. She is currently Director, Safety of Children in Care at Oranga Tamariki, a unit that is responsible for reviewing and reporting on harm caused to children in care. Andrea has a strong interest in supervision and professional development for social workers.
Rose Henderson
Rose Henderson has a long history in the social work profession. She began as a social worker in the Invercargill office of the Department of Social Welfare in the late 1970s and found time, amidst a busy family life, to establish and co-ordinate the Invercargill Women’s Refuge. After working in a range of social work positions in Southland, Rose then moved north to Christchurch, continuing to work in the Women’s and Mental health fields. After working in a number of leadership roles she became a Director of Allied Health in Canterbury. She has provided clinical leadership in various disaster response and recovery roles and has led a range of teams in both urban and rural Canterbury.
Rose was President of the ANZASW, from 2003 to 2009, and again in 2016 and is now a Life Member of her professional body. She is also the Immediate Past Vice-President of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and Immediate Past President of the Asia-Pacific region of IFSW.
Rose is a registered social worker and has a depth of knowledge across health social work and employer relations and many experiences of representing social workers at a national and international level.
Gisa Dr Moses Ma’alo Faleolo
Gisa Dr Moses Ma’alo Faleolo or Moses is a Sāmoan born in Aotearoa and the son of Leaula (Falelima & Sāleaula) and Pepe (Luatuānu’u-Leusoali’i). His paramount chief title, Gisa, is bestowed on him by the village of Falelima in Savai’I, Sāmoa. His social work career spans over three decades and includes being a case manager specialising in Youth benefits for Work and Income New Zealand, a residential and youth justice social worker for Child Youth and Family Service, a youth worker specialist for Youth Horizons Trust and Pasifika Healthcare (now trading as The Fono), and a senior social work lecturer for Manukau Institute of Technology and Massey University – Albany campus; regarding the latter he was also an Associate Dean – Pasifika for the College of Health.
Moses is a registered social worker. His highest educational qualification is his PhD in social work, which was the first of its kind as it featured life histories collected from gang-involved Sāmoan young men and discovered the employment of Sāmoan cultural practices as part of gang activity. His study and other work has been showcased on television and radio nationally and internationally including his publications, invited conference presentations, and contributions to the research community. He recently switched to criminology and is now based at Victoria University of Wellington where amongst his roles he is currently leading a Marsden-funded project that seeks to construct a new criminological strand called, Pacific criminology, or explaining and understanding criminology from a Pacific lens in order to generate specific, Pacific solutions. He views the SWRB as an essential vehicle for the organisation’s goals particularly in building closer and trusting relationships with the Pacific and non-Pacific community, in seeking ways to ensure the continuation of resourcing and supporting of Pacific social workers and social work educators.
Paula Rose QSO
Paula has a wide range of experience across the policing, welfare, community, and media standards sectors. She is a former National Manager Road Policing, NZ Police and was involved in implementing MSD’s action plan for vulnerable children.
She sits on the boards of WorkSafe NZ, Brackenridge, and the Broadcasting Standards Authority, is a Commissioner on the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, a member of the Parole Board, and is on the South Island Trust Board for St John. In 2013 she was awarded a QSO for her contribution to policing and the community.
Jeff Sanders QSO
Jeff has experience as a senior manager and chief executive in the NGO sector, working in organisations focused on providing services that make a positive difference to people’s lives. These include IHC NZ, the Methodist Church, Relationships Aotearoa and Barnardos NZ, from which I retired as chief executive in early 2019.
His career has allowed him to be connected to local community needs which has given him a desire and ability to seek out systemic change and ensure excellent provision of services. He has strong relationships across the NGO and government sector and has built effective leadership teams in the organisations that he has led. He has experience and understanding of how governance structures operate and what is required when considering and governing strategic and the implementation of programmes of work.
He understands and is committed to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
With his wife, Rosemary Rishworth, he has 4 adult tamariki and 4 mokopuna and enjoys the company of his extended family and friends. He is a keen swimmer and relaxes by gardening, watching sport and cooking.
Adam Davy
Adam is experienced in the area of governance, both in the business and social space.
A fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors, Adam consults to accounting and advisory firm BDO and was previously its National Head of Advisory and Director of Innovation.
Adam is Virtual CFO of Veterinary Professional Insurance Society and on the board and audit committee of Emerge Aotearoa Housing Trust. He is also Chair and Director of the health and safety consultancy HazardCo Ltd.
As well as governance, Adam’s expertise includes strategic and business planning, business growth facilitation, and management, merger and acquisition negotiations.
Adam brings energy and passion to the board table, with a leaning towards opportunities over risks. He has enjoyed helping organisations get to a level of critical sustainability in order to be able to deliver their strategic objectives.
Board meetings 2023
The SWRB Board meets throughout the year to approve registration applications. Only a completed application will go forward to the SWRB Board for approval. An application for registration must go through all the required checks and have police results back before going to a Board meeting.
Applications that require reviewing prior to approval i.e. Fit & Proper concerns & Section 13, have specific dates scheduled throughout the year (these exclude electronic Board dates).
Board lists close 10 working days prior to a Board meeting to allow our staff time to process the information required for our Board members.
If you have provisional registration and have now completed the requirements for full registration, this needs to be approved by the Board and you will be added to the next available Board meeting.
You will receive an email when your application is going forward to the Board and again, once the Board has approved your registration.
Board meeting dates – 2023
3 March
28 April
22 & 23 June
25 August
26 & 27 October
8 December
The SWRB Board also reviews registration applications during their electronic meetings which are held on a fortnightly basis.
