Tina Mackie

I began in my current role as Programme Manager for Tonga and the Cook Islands at VSA in 2016.

Immediately prior to VSA I lived in Cambodia, volunteering within the community development and education spaces.

My work in New Zealand and overseas has always been in the community sector, and my passion is supporting the development of people and communities to become the best they can be. My role at VSA entails working with local partners to help them to identify the areas in which skilled New Zealanders could assist them, supporting the volunteers who arrive in country, and managing the projects we are involved in. I particularly love working alongside our partners, assisting them in defining their goals and aspirations for the future.

I am currently studying my way towards a Master in International Development, study which both challenges and reinforces the work I do.

If I had to describe myself in three words, they would be:

• Creative
• Curious
• Adventurous

It is important to me that any work I engage in aligns with my personal values and this is one of the reasons why I love working at VSA. I value the way that anything we do is in collaboration with local communities, and that we are not telling anyone what to do, but rather working alongside in a mutual exchange of ideas and information, skills and knowledge.

I love the Pacific and it is a privilege to live and work here.