Chris has held many positions in Hato Hone St John. He has been an Ambulance Officer and St John Events Group team leader in South Auckland and a member of the Priory Chapter Volunteer Support Group.
Alongside a busy full-time role for Hato Hone St John in Business Change Management, Chris is still a passionate volunteer with the Manukau Area Committee, as the liaison with their volunteer Operations Events groups. He is also the AED Project Lead, equipping the community with 24hr access, and a Peer Supporter.
Chris is extremely passionate about connecting the work of the Manukau Area Committee with the Pasifika Community. He was instrumental in driving the Hato Hone St John involvement in the concept, organisation, and running of some of the essential Pasifika Covid Vaccination Drives at the end of 2021. This work contributed to almost 3000 members of the Pasifika community in Central and South Auckland getting access to a vaccination. He has also been a champion for Maori and Pasifika scholarships for Paramedicine training.
Chris’s leadership style attracts volunteers and encourages them to deliver the most professional level of patient care.
In his own words, Chris reflects: “Since becoming a member, I have volunteered and continue to do so with St John Events and Ambulance Operations, having been a volunteer team manager of 25 adults, as an events duty manager for 10 years and still active operationally. As a paramedic, I work primarily in Auckland but have been deployed to work in Christchurch after the earthquakes, Solomon Islands for the Pacific Games supporting St John there, and to disaster-stricken Napier and Hastings after Cyclone Gabriel in 2023.
I am in a St John Youth support role, as well as an Area Committee member implementing community programs such as AED in Marae, Churches and public places as well as advocating for Indigenous Māori, Pasifika and ethnic minority communities. I volunteer as an Operations and Corporate Peer Supporter which involved me searching for Mental Health and Wellness Peer Support programs in Australasia and qualifying there before advocating for the Queensland Ambulance Service “Priority One” Peer Support system to be adopted by St John in New Zealand.
I am passionate about volunteerism, serving on the Priory Chapter Volunteer Support Group and am on the Diversity Council to promote this within St John. I am currently seconded to a government program representing the ambulance sector building a digital radio and cellular network solution for the New Zealand emergency services (Ambulance, Fire and Police) which will eventually be adopted to other New Zealand government agencies.”
