Family Start Manukau is governed by a Board of Trustees who employes the CEO to operationalise the will and vision of the Trustees and to ensure the objectives are upheld. The CEO reports to the board of trustees.

CEO - Colleen Fakalogotoa
Colleen Fakalogotoa is passionate about nurturing families with young children as they launch into life. Colleen is a registered nurse with a strong nursing background. She began her career as a Well Child Nurse and has held leadership positions in the well child speciality area, nurse advisory and management. She also worked as a senior nurse and manager within the South Auckland community and eventually became  the General Manager of Operations for the Royal Plunket New Zealand Society (inc.). 

Colleen, the CEO of Family Start Manukau said Family Start is about supporting families during the early, often fragile, stage of family life. "That time of life for families when their children are so small and the family can feel enormously vulnerable - financially, socially, psychologically, and emotionally - is also a time when children are undergoing terrific and significant development. "In Family Start we can work with families to enable their children to reach their potential and support families at a vulnerable time to develop their strength. They need support and input to reach their full potential."  

Management
The management team comprises of the Service Manager, Practice Mentor and HR Advisor/Office Manager who support the CEO in organisational decisions.

Clinical Leaders
Family Start Manukau have three Clinical Leaders. The Clinical Leaders report to the Service Manager and are responsible for in house supervision of Whanau Advocates.

Team Leaders
Family Start Manukau also have three Team Leaders who report to the Service Manager. The Team Leaders lead two teams each and staff within those teams report to their Team Leader on a day to day basis.

Whanau Advocates
Whanau Advocates visit families in their home and provide encouragement, support and guidance. We have many examples where families have achieved their goals as they have followed the plan that they have developed with support from their Whanau Advocate.

Whanau advocates come from a mix of professional backgrounds including social workers, early childhood teachers, registered nurses, counsellors and social workers in training. The ethnicity of staff is made up of Maori, European/Pakeha, Indian, Chinese, English and Pacific nations; Samoa, Tonga, Cook Island, Fiji and Niue.

Whanau Advocates are:

• Sensitive to cultural needs and values
• Able to assists families to meet their goals
• Able to advocate on behalf of the client
• A practitioner of the strength-based philosophy

Support Staff
Support staff include our Receptionist/Administrator, Accounts Payable and contracted positions such as the Accountant and Quality Developer roles.