OUR TEAM
MARIE PATERSON
GENERAL MANAGER
Marie lives in Mount Maunganui and between her and her partner, they raise three children and 2 dogs. In 2021, she stepped into the General Manager role at Kura Kai. With over 20 years of experience working and volunteering in the community sector, Marie is deeply passionate about supporting others. Through her work at Kura Kai, she is dedicated to empowering volunteers and schools, and making a positive impact on the lives of rangatahi and whānau.
KATIE THOMAS
SOCIAL MEDIA & ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Katie Thomas lives in beautiful Titahi Bay, Porirua and has been involved with Kura Kai from the very beginning as the Wellington CBD volunteer coordinator. Katie is the face behind our Facebook and Instagram content and is excited to be part of the team that will be sharing our kaupapa across the motu! A Senior Consultant working mostly within government, Katie has always had a passion for supporting her community and has been involved with a number of charities and non-profit organisations outside of her day to day job for a number of years
JASON LOUGHER
TRUSTEE
Born and raised in Whakatāne, Jason is a chartered accountant whose passion is helping small and medium sized businesses. He is a Director at Calc which is a modern and innovative accounting firm that takes a proactive role in growing our clients’ businesses. They believe in collaborating with our clients to understand their business and ensure their success.
JARED RUMBALL
ACCOUNT AND IT SUPPORT
A self-employed IT consultant originally from Dunedin who now calls the Bay of Plenty home with his partner and two energetic tamariki. Family is first and foremost for Jared, believing in lifting others up and putting people before profits. With over 20 years in the IT industry, Jared has learnt a lot and enjoys his work most when helping others. Jared is the business owner of 42IT and by partnering with Kura Kai, we can use his skills to help feed our rangatahi and their whānau, and be part of the solution.