CURRENT EXECUTIVE 2011

Wolfgang Theuerkauf

Wolfgang has worked in the AOD field in New Zealand since 1989 in a number of roles and organisations including ADDS (Presbyterian Support Services) and CADS from 1990 to 1996. He was a senior lecturer and manager of AOD training programmes with CIT and WelTec from 1997 until 2004 and since 2005 is the manager of the Auckland CADS Counselling Service, the CADS Pregnancy and Parental Service and more recently the CADS Dual Diagnosis Service.

Wolfgang has been a member of the dapaanz Executive since 2004 and its Deputy chair since 2006 until his election to the chair in November 2011.

Claire Aitken

Claire has 20+ years of experience in the AOD sector and prior to that in the Mental Health and teaching sectors. She is a Clinician who is a Registered Practitioner as well as having managerial responsibilities. She is passionate about addictions in general, criminal justice clients in particular, family inclusive practice, group work and cultural competence.

Tim Harding

Tim’s key roles are managing Care NZ (NGO addiction treatment provider) and chairing dapaanz from its inception in 2003 until November 2011. These roles and his work with the National Committee for Addiction Treatment (NCAT) and the Drug Foundation give him the opportunity and privilege to further the cause of the addiction treatment sector, the people who work in the sector and most importantly those we ultimately serve, our clients.

He comes from the foundation of his own recovery from addiction and has a post-graduate qualification in addiction treatment. Over the last 18 years, he has worked as a volunteer/peer support worker, counsellor, programme director and CEO. This has included outpatient, residential (both short-term and therapeutic community) and prison based services. His greatest challenges have been starting the first prison based TC, being the Arohata Women’s Prison therapeutic community programme, and being CEO of Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer. He has a passion for supporting the client, the workers and the sector as a whole and considers them his vocation.

Dr. Fraser Todd

Fraser is a psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist from Christchurch with a particular interest in Co-existing Substance use and mental health problems. He has been a member of the dapaanz executive since its inception with significant involvement in the competencies, ethics and education functions of dapaanz. He is also involved in reference groups for the Ministry of Health and Matua Raki.

Takurua Tawera

Takurua has worked in the Health and Social Services sector for 24 years; he is employed with Te Hauora Runanga O Wairarapa, current Maori representative on NCAT, Wairarapa PHO, WelTec AOD, NAC, and an executive on Te Upoko (Central Maori Mental Health). He is married to Catherine (of Scottish descent), they have 3 children (the last has just moved out) and 10 grandchildren.

Takurua is Super Maori Fullas who along with the Patriots Defence Force Motorcycle Club supports the White Ribbon campaign.

Vanessa Caldwell

Vanessa is of Ngai Tahu descent. She is a registered Psychologist and also holds an MBA. Vanessa has been working in the addictions field for nearly 20 years. Based in Wellington, she has worked as a manager at the Bridge Programmes, Director of Hanmer Clinic and Executive Director at Instep, a behavioural healthcare company with a particular focus on providing AOD education and support in the workplace.

She is currently a Project Manager at Matua Raki leading a number of developments including resources for methamphetamine treatment, a web based AOD and Gambling decision support tool for General Practitioners, frameworks for the peer support workforce and implementation strategies for the changes to the ADA Act. She has a commitment to life long learning and is currently a doctoral student at AUT.

Vanessa lives on the beautiful Kapiti Coast with her husband and children. She enjoys serving on the Board of her children’s school and is an avid fan of the Waikanae under 9 Highlanders Rugby team and Kapiti Jets cheer squad.

Aukusitino Senio

Aukusitino was born and raised in Samoa, from the villages of Matatufu-Lotofaga and Luatuanu’u – Anoama’a in the Island of Upolu. He is a proud father of two beautiful children. He has been working in the addictions sector for the last eight years and currently working as a Pacific Family Alcohol / Drug and Gambling Clinician for TUPU Services (Waitemata DHB).

In 2010, he completed a Bachelor of Alcohol & Drug studies.

Ross Bell

Ross is the Executive Director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, a position he’s held for 7 years.

Prior to that, Ross was the social policy manager at the national office of the Citizens Advice Bureau for 4 years. Part of that work included gathering evidence from the volunteers about the issues facing their clients and then taking those issues to Parliament, government and government agencies.

Before that he was with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a group called the APEC Task Force, which managed the APEC 1999 meetings hosted by New Zealand. Ross worked in the Communications Team of the Task Force, and had responsibilities for engagement with non-government organisations, trade unions, church groups, human rights advocates, anti-free trade activists, etc.

Ross moved to Wellington from Auckland to work at MFAT. Before that move, Ross studied, researched and worked at the University of Auckland. He holds degrees in international aid and development, and human geography. He worked as a researcher and teacher across a range of subjects and departments including: the Maori & Pacific Health Research Centre (researching cot death), the Centre for Development Studies, NZ Asia Institute and APEC Study Centre.

Ross was born and raised in New Plymouth.