News | 7 December 2021
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Our Community: Meet some of the team

Wellington City Council is made up of hundreds of passionate staff who help ensure our capital is a safe, inclusive and vibrant place to live, work and play. Meet some of our dedicated team.

Sofaia Kolinisau smiling on a city street.
Sofaia Kolinisau

Sofaia Kolinisau 
Community Youth Advisor 


What’s the best part of your job? 
What gets me excited every morning is the opportunity to use my connector skills across a wide cross section of the city dwellers, especially the vulnerable and those needing extra support.  

How do you help serve our city? 
A lot of rangatahi who relocate to Wellington see the capital as the city to be in to fulfil their dreams, without realising the many hidden costs (emotionally, socially, financially) of living here. Being able to connect them to the immediate urgent services they need, elevates their mental wellbeing and makes them a valuable resource to our city.  

Alice Goodwin sitting on the edge of a swimming pool in her Club Active uniform.
Ali Goodwin

Ali Goodwin 
Fitness Consultant, Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre 


What’s the best part of your job?  
From a young age I had a very keen interest in human movement and biomechanics. The best part is simply working in an industry I love, and I feel fortunate to do so. 

How do you help serve our city? 
The human body is an amazing machine and I never stop learning more about it. To teach and train people in my community on how to get the very best out of their bodies is how I feel I serve my city in a positive way. 

Bobby Semau smiling, sitting on a couch in an office.
Bobby Semau

Bobby Semau 
Senior Safety Advisor, Homelessness 


What’s the best part of your job? 
Seeing a person who has been rough sleeping get adequate, sustainable housing – it’s really rewarding and makes all the mahi that everyone has put in worthwhile. 

How do you help serve our city? 
I build and maintain connections between council, government agencies and our NGO partners who are working hard on the frontline to address homelessness in Wellington; ensuring that we’re all working together to get the best results possible. I also respond to local residents’ and businesses’ concerns about rough sleepers. 

Rebecca Baron smiling in front of a white wall.
Rebecca Barton

Rebecca Barton
Web Producer


What’s the best part of your job? 
Knowing that I am helping to provide our customers with a great experience when they visit wellington.govt.nz. As the biggest touch point most people have with the Council, it’s really important we get our website right, and people leave with the info they were looking for. 

How do you help serve our city? 
By ensuring all our information on our website is inclusive and easy to find. This means listening to our customers and solving problems they’ve told us about. It also means partnering with teams around Council to work together to create user-friendly content and experiences across wellington.govt.nz.  

Tim Kirby sitting at a desk with a wall of screens behind him.
Tim Kirby

Tim Kirby 
Project Manager Signals 


What’s the best part of your job? 
Playing Sherlock Holmes – investigating, hypothesising and resolving traffic signal-related problems, using some amazing (Australian!) software. 

How do you help serve our city? 
Our small team of engineering staff maintains, upgrades and operates 137 signalised sites. In operating the signals, we try to find the appropriate balance between safety and efficiency, as well as between the various modes of transport. 

Lorraine Boennic smiling and standing in a green park.
Lorraine Boennic

Lorraine Boennic 
Waste Educator 


What’s the best part of your job?  
Getting to spend time with the inspiring and curious students and teachers in our Wellington schools. Encouraging positive behaviour patterns around waste and sustainability with our youngest Wellingtonians feels meaningful and exciting. 

How do you help serve our city? 
Giving our tamariki and rangatahi the knowledge and skills needed to reduce waste at school and home. I hope that the children who participate in our Zero Waste Education programme go on to be life-long waste reducers, re-users, recyclers, and composters, thereby having a positive impact on our city and our world over the long term.

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