Kay has been a Broadcaster for 40 years. Her roles have included being a reporter and Weather Presenter for TVNZ and Co-host of the Breakfast programme. She is currently a Radio Newsreader for the NewstalkZB network.
Kay has had extensive involvement with charities, including Parkinson's Auckland, and Dress for Success where she was their ambassador for two years. She has served on the board of the Sky City Community Trust and the Neurological Foundation National Council
Kay has been a Marriage and Funeral Celebrant for 20 years. She is actively involved as a volunteer for Rowing New Zealand and a very keen golfer.
Kay says she didn't hesitate when asked to become involved with MS Waikato.
"I have a friend whose daughter was diagnosed at the age of 32, so I was already aware of the need for a big support network'.
Chairperson
Currently 56, Keith lives with his partner David in Cambridge. He has two grown up Children, his daughter Hannah lives in Napier and son Callum in Christchurch.
Keith is a Registered Architect and is the sole in house Architect for the Te Awa Lifecare Village Development in Cambridge and The Grange Lifecare Village in Mosgiel. He previously had his own architectural practice KS Architecture based in Hastings where he grew up and spent most of his life.
Keith has been actively involved with Rotary over a number of years and has held many Club, District and National roles. Keith has relapsing remitting MS and was initially diagnosed almost 30 years ago. He has enjoyed being involved with the MS Waikato board over the last few years and is now in his second year as Chairperson.
A passionate traveller and lover of wine and food. Life is a mix of balancing what you can do, doing things you enjoy and putting something back into the community.
Deputy Chairperson
Dave has been living with MS for about 14 years. He had been physically active his entire life and enjoyed an active career in the Navy whilst also involved with sport. His life was somewhat upended with his diagnosis of MS. However by making some significant life changes, Dave was able to adjust to living a full and active life with MS. He is now a co-owner and director of Blanchard NZ and enjoys helping people and organisations flourish by equipping leaders at all levels with the skills and tools to maximise their performance and engagement. He still likes to keep as mobile and as fit as possible and regularly frequents his local gym. He also enjoys gardening and music, and he can often be found, entertaining locals with his guitar.
Dave is enjoying being part of the MS Waikato Board of Trustees giving something back to the organisation that helped him out a lot in the early years of his diagnosis.
Amber is an Australian who moved to New Zealand from Europe in the late 2010s to do her PhD. She survived, and is now an award winning researcher interested in community, media, identity, belonging, health, loneliness and social systems.
Amber’s career in communications has been full of fascinating opportunities around the globe, from Alice Springs to Belfast. The time she spent working for the MS Society in England and Wales gave her a glimpse into the daily lives of people living with MS and she has been a passionate supporter of research and support initiatives ever since. Amber has a particular interest in supporting carers.
For Amber, joining the board of MS Waikato means helping to ensure the governance structures are in place to enable the MS community to pursue their goals and aspirations with confidence.
Euan along with his wife Claire and 3 young children, live on their 3rd generation 360 cow Dairy farm at Waitomo. Euan was diagnosed with MS in 2015.
Euan has been involved with NZ Young Farmers and more recently with the NZ Jersey Cattle Breeders association. Within these organisations he has held a variety of roles from event organiser, competitor, secretary, treasurer, chairman. More recently, Euan has progressed into a governance role on a large sheep and beef station in Whanganui.
Euan sees the co-opted role with MS Waikato as an opportunity to serve the community in a not-for-profit role, bring some diversity to the board and build on his current governance skill set.
I was born in Te Awamutu and have lived in Hamilton most of my life. I am a happily married, father to three young adults, a grandfather and guardian to a consortium of animals including our two dogs who strayed into our lives. I believe that compassion lies at the core of what it means to be human. For me compassion is noticing the troubles and issues of others. I believe in the Butterfly effect, which is a concept that states that small causes can have large effects.
I have over 25 years’ experience working in the Social Services Sector in a variety of different roles including, Registered Psychologist, Family Therapist, Registered Social Worker, Manager and tertiary Educator. While clinical Manager for Presbyterian Support Northern I was instrumental in establishing a Social Worker in Schools programme in the Waikato. I then worked for Youth Horizons Trust and was responsible for setting up an Intensive Clinical Support Service for Youth with High and Complex needs.
Currently I am a Social Work Educator and have been a previous recipient of the Wintec Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award. In 2015 I was the winner of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers Quality and Innovation award for demonstrating excellence and innovation in social work education.
Ko Taupiri te Maunga
Ko Waikato te Awa
Ko Waikato Tainui te Iwi
Ko Ngati Mahuta te hapu
Ko Waahi te Marae
Ko Brenda taku ingoa
Born in Huntly, I have lived in Kirikiriroa for 29 years. I have three adult children who all live here in Kirikiriroa with their whanau and I am the proud Nan to 9 Moko.
My family have owned their own businesses in Huntly for over 20 years.
In 2020 I retired from MSD Work and Income after 25 years of Public Service where I was a Case Manager and also had the role of a Childcare Co ordinator for 12 of those years. I am currently employed as a Community Facilitator at Nga Mara Atea a Te Ao Maori, Marae based service at Kirikiriroa Marae working with our Disabled whanau.
I am currently a Board member on the Board of Trustees of Nawton Primary Kura Kirikiriroa. In the past I have served as a Board member of the Huntly Museum and held various roles on Community committees.
I have a special interest in the health and wellbeing of whanau, especially those who are most vulnerable. I also have a strong interest in the development of communities and am always seeking opportunities to add value in these interest areas.
I believe in an equity lens over the whole community and there should be no barriers to anyone wanting to be involved in their community.