Two new board members with "a wealth of skills and expertise in high-level NGO governance and leadership," from Greymouth and Auckland, have been appointed to the Trust Board of the NZ AIDS Foundation. Kathryn Leafe of Greymouth has had extensive international practice working in NGO management and governance and wide-ranging experience serving people living with HIV, according to the Board's interim chair, Alastair Cameron. She has worked for HIV and drug-rehabilitation fields in the UK including work in prisons and has also been involved in the design and management of LGBT services and drug and youth services. Aucklander Cherry Sonderer has "wide-ranging experience in the public health and NGO sectors, financial acumen and strong rainbow community connections. She has been involved in fundraising for HIV-related causes and LGBT organisations and has a strong track record of working with the communities most at risk from HIV." The NZAF Trust Board has seven Trustees, four of whom are elected by the membership of the NZAF, and three who are appointed by the Board. Two current Trustees, Mark Henrickson and Richard James, formally step down from the Board in February. Cameron says the Board received twelve applications for the two positions and "was in the lucky position of being able to choose from a number of qualified candidates. These appointments will bring necessary financial, governance and management skills to the Board as well as representation from outside the main centres," he says. "Kathryn and Cherry were outstanding candidates and their skills, experience and most of all, their commitment to the communities we serve, will enhance the work of the Board and the NZAF.” While the NZAF Board, which consists of four elected and three appointed members, has generally been a largely gay male domain, two of its earliest chairs were Kate Leslie and Deirdre Milne. And until she stepped down in 2006 Sue Crengle had served three and a half years on the Board.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 25th December 2009 - 10:29pm