Parents Centres New Zealand Inc Board
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Board member |
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Sharron Cole, Chair
Sharron Cole has been involved with Parents Centres since 1982, and is now Chair of the Parents Centres Board. She is the CEO and Registrar of the Midwifery Council and has had twenty years experience working in the health regulatory area, particularly a long involvement with Medical Misadventure/Treatment Injury in ACC, two terms on the Medical Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal and seven years as Deputy Chair of the Midwifery Council. Her most recent employment has been as the Director of the Wellington Catholic Education Centre, preceded by two terms as the Deputy Chief Families Commissioner. She was also a three term Board member of the Hutt Valley District Health Board and was Deputy Chair for seven years.
Other current community involvement includes being a member of the Rethinking Crime and Punishment Trust and the Community Action Trust NZ; membership of four institutional ethics committees; and being a lay member on the Lawyers and Conveyancers' Disciplinary Tribunal and the Architects' Investigation Committee.
Sharron lives in Petone and is married with four adult children.
"Parents Centre has always been an organisation “by parents, for parents”. While we have always used evidence and experts to inform and support parents in the best way that we can, the heart and soul of the organisation is its committed and principled members. Parents Centre has provided much valued services and support to hundreds of thousands of parents and prospective parents over the years. It also has had an important advocacy role, ensuring the voice of the consumer has been heard.
Originally, my involvement was at a local levelwith Rotorua Parents Centre. I was a user of services but at the same time, I was starting to establish personal friendships which are still ongoing almost a quarter of a century later. As I moved to committee level, I became aware of the wider organisation, its philosophy and principles and the proud history of the organisation, from its founders onwards.
Parents Centre has given me opportunities to help bring about change for families, from the local right through to the national level. I have given much to the organisation over the years but have received back much more than I ever put in.
My goals for Parents Centres New Zealand Inc as a Board member are that:
- it remains true to its founding principles
- it remembers its proud past
- it continues to offer consistently good information and support to its members and consumers of its services
- it contributes to bringing about a society where parenting really is highly valued and supported
- it is responsive to and accepts change as is necessary but without compromising its principles.
As someone who was born in the year Parents Centre was founded, I have years of experience and knowledge in the areas that Parents Centre focuses on: health, wellbeing and education as they affect families. I have specialised knowledge and skills in the areas of parenting, childbirth education, bioethics, history and health.
New Zealand is a secular society so people can be very scathing and dismissive when a person espouses a Christian philosophy. However, the words “Live justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with my God” fit the way I want to live my life so well it's hard to find a better way of saying it. Anyway, whether people are Christian or not, those values are the ones by which I see many people live their lives. I don't always manage to live up to my personal philosophy but I do try hard."
- Sharron Cole, Chair, Parents Centres New Zealand Inc Board
Viv Gurrey, Chief Executive Officer
Viv emigrated to New Zealand from the United Kingdom where she started her management career in the Information Technology industry. Since then her career has been shaped as a management and governance professional. She brings a wealth of expertise gleaned extensively over 30 years in the commercial, corporate, and social sectors.
Currently as Chief Executive of the largest parenting network and provider of support services for parents in New Zealand, she has a strong profile in the community sector. Viv is a member of the Institute of Directors and sits on several commercial Boards. She also holds positions in the non government (NGO) sector specifically relating to parenting, the community and families. In 2003 she was invited to join the Board of the Parenting Council of New Zealand shortly followed by an invitation to join the Family Services National Advisory Council as one of a ten 10 strong NGO caucus.
Prior to this Viv successfully led the New Zealand arm of the world’s largest enterprise technology organisation as their Managing Director. While achieving significant global results for the business, she also compiled the sponsorship team that put their brand on the spinnaker of Team NZ.
The first 25 years of her career saw Viv work internationally across the UK, Asia, the Pacific and Australia. During this time she held senior executive positions in the IT industry and spent several years in a variety of positions with the IBM Corporation. In particular her expertise in strategic business consulting has seen her influence the business planning process within several significant corporations across Asia and the Pacific.
While on contract in Papua New Guinea, she successfully led a technology company through restructure and at the same time developed an interest in the village life transitions for families. In a country with one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world she assisted with a health and hygiene education programme for women and their babies. This initiative was the impetus for her future involvement in the community sector.
Viv has been married for 20 years and she and her husband have two gorgeouschildren whom they adore. Family is their priority. She has effectively woven her role as a mother and a wife with a highly successful career as a senior executive in the corporate world and then transferred those skills to the non government sector. This rare blend of experience offers her insight into many facets of business and the diverse social issues that face New Zealand right now.
Viv holds a vision for New Zealand that has a successful economy at its foundation. She believes this solid base acts as an enabler for personal achievement offering the opportunity for individuals and families to exercise choices in their lives.
Cheryl Macaulay, Vice Chair
Cheryl Macaulay has been an active member of the Parents Centre Board since around 2000 and currently holds the position of Vice Chair. She has a Masters degree in Business and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Management and the Institute of Directors. Additionally she holds a degree from Ball State University in Ohio in Economic Development. Cheryl also has vast experience on a local business level previously holding the role of Vice President for the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce.
Cheryl is the sole director of Commercial Investment Properties Limited, a property syndication and management company she established in 2003 which currently employs 10 full time staff. She has worked in property development in the UK and has over 25 years experience in business, conveyancing and property. She also operated a successful business consultancy for four years and continues to provide strategic planning and management advice to key organisations.
Cheryl brings this considerable business experience and acumen to the Board of Parents Centre along with an understanding of balancing career with being a wife and mother to two children.
Lyn Campbell QSM
Lyn Campbell has been a Parents Centres Board member since 2009.
Lyn is passionate about the key role of parents in the lives of their children. She is mother to 3 and a grandparent to 6. Her career has been in teaching, local government and advocacy for children and families. She is currently working with seven local authorities in an initiative focussing on planning for and developing family-centred communities. She served 2 terms as a Commissioner with the Families Commission and has worked as a Supervisor of the Fresh Perspective family mentoring initiative in Motueka. Lyn has broad experience in community development, is a member of the Baptist Council of NZ. She has worked with early childhood organisations,schools, NGO's working with families and faith-based organisations on strategic planning, resourcesand developing family hubs.
Hassanah Rudd
Hassanah has been involved with Parents Centres since 2003. She lives in Auckland with her husband and two children. She was involved at committee level for over five years at West Auckland Parents Centre, holding many roles, culminating in Co-President prior to join the Board in 2008 and is currently a committee member of East & Bays Parents Centre. She was elected to the Board of the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority in 2009 and is part of the steering committee for Maternity Services Consumer Council. For many years she was also the Consumer Representative on numerous Forums for Waitamata District Health Board.
