Our People

CRF is governed by 8-10 Board members. As a refugee-led organisation, 80% of our Board is composed of people from refugee backgrounds who represent the interests of all refugee-background communities, rather than merely the communities they belong to.

Our board

Michael Gebrehiwet

Board Member

Michael cares to bring all Eritreans together by maintaining the identity, culture, heritage and history of Eritrean origin. He enjoys promoting and sharing these values across cultures. He also is passionate about assisting in the integration and full participation of members in all political, economic, social and environmental aspects in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Yobanny Laurean

Board Member

I am extremely identified with three ethnic communities in New Zealand as Latin American, LGBTQIA, and refugee background. My academic knowledge and my New Zealand life experience as being a New Zealander give me the capacity to contribute and support other communities.

Mardia Abdulaziz

Board Member

My name is Mardiya from the Somali community, currently studying a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and was born in New Zealand. It’s such a pleasure to be representing the community as a youth and I hope to inspire more youth to be on different board groups too.

Farhan Ased

Treasurer

“My name is Farhan Ased and I hail from Eastern Ethiopia. I arrived in Aotearoa back in 2011 and currently residing in Brooklyn, Wellington with my wife and kids. Professionally, I hold a master’s degree in Accounting, and I am a Chartered Accountant currently working in the Public Sector.”

Sarjon Warde

Board Member

Shlama and kia ora, my name is Sarjon Warde. I am originally from Iraq and I migrated to New Zealand in October 2000, since then I have been living in the wonderful city of Wellington. I do speak four languages including my mother tongue Assyrian as well as Arabic, English, and Spanish. I worked for a long time as an interpreter, then I finished my university qualification in New Zealand and I gained a Bachelor of Social Work. Currently, I work as a social worker in the Red Cross

Amin Vakili

Board Member

Amin Vakili is passionate about supporting the Afghan Community, organising social, educational and wellbeing activities for community members including youth and women. His aim is to increase inter-community interactions for a better cohesive Aotearoa.

Nathan Diggs

Board Member

My passion for the refugee background community and society, in general, has led me into establishing a number of initiatives, which includes:

Destiny Centre Int’l (Educating underprivileged children from refugee-background in Malaysia)
Vic Without Barriers (a refugee-background students’ initiative at the Victoria University of Wellington)
Diversity Network (a network of refugee-background communities coming together to celebrate cultural diversity across Aotearoa)

Shahd El-Matary

Board Chair

I’m passionate about using my blessings to help those around me to the best of my ability. I hold a BA (majoring in Political Science, International Relations and English Literature) from Victoria University and an MBA (Defence and Security) from Massey University.

Ameha Wondirad

Deputy Chair

My name is Ameha Wondirad. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian Community in Wellington. I have extensive experience in the legal profession. I am passionate about community development and love working with refugees helping them for a smooth integration in their new county of settlement.