John is the current Principal Cultural Advisor to the Minister of Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. He regularly provides consultancy services to the Crown Law Office, the Office of the Treaty Settlements, and the policy division of the Ministry of Justice.
John spent the early part of his career in education which spanned over 25 years, and included time spent teaching in Awanui, Wairoa, Te Teko, and at Epuni Primary School. He 'pioneered' the teaching of Te Reo at Wainuiomata College, and over his educational career went on to become principal of Ngata Memorial College, Ruatoria and Wellington High School and Community Institute.
John has an excellent and thorough understanding of Māori issues. His role with the Foundation will include, providing advice on the various aspects of tikanga Māori and protocols. John is a fluent speaker of Te Reo Māori, and represents the Foundation to raise awareness within the wider Māori community and with other key stakeholders.
John has held numerous high-level roles including Chief Executive of the Ministry of Māori Affairs, former Race Relations Conciliator and Human Rights Commissioner of Aotearoa New Zealand. He is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), which was awarded in 2011 for outstanding service to Māori.
In May 2018, John was named a knight companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) at Government House to be honoured for services to Māori and heritage preservation.
The Foundation is privileged to have John's support, and we thank him for offering his services to us.
Dr James Fingleton is a respiratory physician and Clinical Leader Respiratory at Capital and Coast District Health Board, where he runs the severe asthma service. He is an Asthma and COPD Programme Director at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Otago.
Dr Fingleton’s research interests focus on the treatment of airways disease, especially severe asthma and COPD. He has a particular interest in personalised medicine. Dr Fingleton has over 50 peer reviewed publications and research expertise in the areas of personalised medicine, asthma, COPD and phenotyping respiratory disease.
Letitia has over 25 years extensive experience in the health sector, which includes the introduction of new health technologies, improving access to medicines, initiating imaging and diagnostic trials and establishing international healthcare networks. Letitia was the recipient of the 2023 President’s Award by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand’s (TSANZ) for her advocacy and education around the dangers of vaping.
She holds a Bachelor of Science, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business and a Masters in Health Management, from the University of Auckland. Letitia has sat on a number of international and national advisory boards, and been an invited speaker at both New Zealand and overseas conferences. Her most recent appointments include; GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma) 2020 advocate and being recognised as a leader in the field of Asthma; Chair of the Patient Focal Group Planning Committee (GARD) and Co-Chair of the Western-Pacific Region for (GARD) - the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD).
She has held senior management positions in both the corporate diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry, and collaborated with many NGOs over the years - which ignited her passion for the not-for-profit sector.
Joanna is responsible for overseeing and managing the development and implementation of key education programmes. She sits on the ARFNZ Scientific Advisory Board and assists in the development and dissemination of the NZ Child Asthma Guidelines, the NZ Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines and the NZ COPD Guidelines.
Joanna is a registered pharmacist with an extensive background working in community pharmacy.
She believes that through education and provision of high quality tools to primary health care providers, the best outcomes can be achieved for New Zealanders, particularly for our Māori people who carry a greater burden of respiratory illness.
Chloe is the head of the Marketing team at the Foundation, working to promote the organisation and increase awareness of respiratory disease through media and across all other channels.
Chloe, who has a personal connection with the Foundation as she is one of the 700,000 Kiwis living with asthma or a respiratory disease, hopes her work will help make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
Chloe has a background in communications and events management. Prior to this, she was business and general news print journalist for Stuff and The Post (formerly The Dominion Post).
Amy-Rose leads the Friends of the Foundation sponsorship programme and is responsible for acquiring new sponsors and account managing existing sponsors. Through growing the portfolio of sponsors for the
Foundation, Amy-Rose also works closely with the marketing team to help raise the profile of the Foundation through our sponsors.
Sam is our Marketing and Communications Advisor and works to promote the organisation and its activities across all our channels, as well as leading our in-house graphic design.
Sam has previously worked with charity organisations in the UK and has prior experience coordinating a recruitment team focused on
finding high quality educators for disadvantaged schools across England and Wales.
Pam is responsible for managing the Foundation’s grants fundraising programme enabling the Foundation to continue its vital work in supporting those living with respiratory illnesses. Her work includes developing and submitting grant applications, outcomes reporting to funders, and identifying and engaging with new grant funding sources.
Pam has seven years of grants fundraising experience, a strong knowledge of the New Zealand grant funding landscape, and a network of personal relationships within grant funding organisations. Pam is a member of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand.
Christina has a background in donor care and administration with four years’ experience in the fundraising sector. Christina is a member of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand.
Sharon is the Māori Community Liaison Officer for the Foundation and will be supporting the goals of the Foundation’s Māori Engagement Strategy. Building relationships with whanau hapu and iwi organisations to identify how best to support their work in respiratory health will be a key focus for Sharon.
Sharon has a background in population health, service development and whanau engagement with previous roles at Tairawhiti DHB, The National Heart Foundation and The Health Quality and Safety Commission.
Sharon brings a wealth of personal experience with her 19 year old daughter Tomairangi living with severe asthma and bronchiectasis.
