Our People

KAUPAPA

The Featherston Community Centre provides a community space for services, ongoing or one-off events, activities and classes for public and private users and promotes a high level of well-being in the Community by acting as a pivot in the co-ordination and delivery of appropriate services to the people of Featherston and throughout the South Wairarapa.

VISION

The Featherston Community Centre enhances the well-being of the entire community.

Featherston Community Centre Charitable Trust Board:

The Board meets monthly. Its purpose is to set the vision, mission and direction for the Centre and determine how the Centre should operate by way of policy. Its role also includes overseeing financial matters such as budgeting and funding.

We strive for a Board that reflects the diversity of the community and the needs of the Trust. The Trust constitution allows a maximum of nine board members with provision to co-opt 2 additional members for special, short term projects.

If you feel strongly about supporting the Featherston Community and would like to investigate what board membership entails, please contact the board chair at jay.jensen@fcc.nz for information.

 

 

Jay Jensen - Chairperson

What I bring to the organisation is a strategic, action-focused leadership style and a strong commitment to building a sustainable organisation that delivers real outcomes for the community. I am is known for being direct and driven.

I like to move quickly, setting clear priorities, and holding high standards for both the board and the operations team.

Professionally, I work in the financial services industry as a Financial Adviser at FoxPlan, helping everyday New Zealanders build control, confidence, and certainty with their financial journey, through practical, values-led advice. I am passionate about financial planning, business development, and being part of something bigger than myself, which is a big part of why I serve in governance roles outside of my day-to-day career as an adviser.

I have strong roots in the Wairarapa and have spent significant time in Featherston from childhood through my teen years, including many days riding horses with my grandmother and learning the rhythms of rural life. I care deeply about the future of the district and rural community, and I’m especially passionate about breathing belief into young people, encouraging them to aim high, back themselves, and take steps toward extraordinary outcomes.

My leadership is guided by this whakatauki: Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini (My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective).

Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective.

 

Darrin Goulding - Treasurer

I have been a resident of Featherston for some ten years developing a ‘life style block’ along the Tauherenikau River.
Previously I was a Director at St John New Zealand and more recently a Programme Manager within Capital and Coast DHB and Hutt Valley DHB COVID Response Team.

As Treasurer of the Trust, I provide critical oversight of the Trust’s financial stewardship. I support the Board to understand the numbers, maintain strong financial controls, monitor budgets and cashflow, and ensure decisions are grounded in sustainability, accountability, and good governance practices.

Nykki Porteous

Nykki Porteous - Secretary

Foster Mama. Ex DJ. Writer. Believer in dragons.  Lucky wife. Crone. Still trying.
I am a relatively new member of the South Wairarapa community.
We moved our family here from Australia after a planned trip to Martinborough. (We never made it there!)
It was Matariki 2023, and we went past bookstores and crystal shops... saw kids pronounce the stars, saw the stars being hung in the park.
We've craved this sort of community forever.  Found it here.  Mostly through the Featherston Community Centre.  Now I want to give back.
I bring marketing and promotions experience from my broadcasting career.  As well as process development from my "grown up" career in telco.
Thanks for having us!
Nykki and the Porteous Posse

 

Marianne McMillan - Board Member

I am a Chartered Accountant whose career has been in Audit and Risk across Government.   I have lived in Featherston for over 20 years and have raised two children here.   Featherston has been good to us and I love being part of the community.   Being the Community Centre’s Trustee is a privilege and is my way of giving back to the community.   Being a lover of animals, we have a small farm in Featherston where my partner and I raise a few cows, alpacas and horses.

 

Dave Porteous

Dave Porteous - Board Member

I moved to Featherston 18 months ago after 7 years away from New Zealand and haven’t looked back.

The immediate sense of community is what attracted my family and me to this special part of Aotearoa.

My background is in engineering and technology with a large serving of contract and commercial thrown on top.

Outside of work and family, I spend time on DIY (our home being a work in progress) and trying to learn guitar, reading classic literature and entertaining friends.

I’m honoured to have been chosen to serve on the Board and am excited to explore what we can do to support the community that we’ve chosen to call home.