BOARD

Chairperson of the Lifestyle Trust Board Karen Gillum brings 23 years experience in the human sector to her role.

Karen became a Board member in 2005 after serving for a year on the executive committee. She was previously Quality Manager for Lifestyle Trust, introducing skills and knowledge about meeting the needs of individuals, with the organisation’s move towards person-driven work.
Trained at Tokanui Hospital, Karen had a role in the closure of the hospital and in moving people with intellectual disabilities back into the community. As Training Officer, she worked with people at the hospital to give them skills for independence.

Karen is self-employed in the area of organisational capacity building, training and development. She is the mother of three girls and enjoys gardening and the outdoors.

Anthony (Tony) Baggs joined the Lifestyle Trust Board in the mid-1990s when the organisation was known as the Hamilton Workshop and Training Centre Inc. Tony became involved in Lifestyle Trust through his eldest daughter, Josephine, who has come along to Lifestyle Trust since leaving school.

Tony has seen the organisation go through considerable change in structure and culture – change which will continue as the Board strives to assist disabled people to lead lives which meet their desires within their own communities.

As a member of the Patricia Avenue Special School committee when the first Hamilton satellite class was set up at Woodstock Primary School, Tony was involved with endeavours to integrate people with intellectual disabilities into the community. He joined the Woodstock School P.T.A. to assist with the transition. The association between the schools has been a great success.

Born at Kingston-upon-Thames, London, Tony came to New Zealand as a six year-old where he settled in Kelston, Auckland, with his parents. He is a public servant, married with four daughters and a son.

Service to the community is central to the lifestyle of Gareth Duncan– whether it is to the children of the school where he is Principal, his family, the sports teams with which he is involved, or people with disabilities.

Gareth has lead Te Awamutu Primary School for the past two years, where he “chooses to dance in the trade” by spending time in the classroom whenever he is able. He was previously Principal of St Patrick’s in Te Awamutu for five years.

Gareth and his wife, Maureen, are parents of two sons, aged six and sixteen. Managing his older son’s basketball team is a major sporting interest. Another is a long-term commitment to Waikato Rugby Union where he coaches an age-group team and managed the Air New Zealand Cup B team.

The opportunity to work in communities where people may be marginalised drives Gareth’s desire to help Lifestyle Trust. He has also been on the Visually Impaired Committee at Deanwell School.

Mark McLaughlin is the Sport Development Officer at Sport Waikato. His work includes development of sports clubs and support for coaches and officials. He works with the recruitment, retention and recognition of volunteers, is involved with injury prevention and management, and manages a number of events including the Waikato Regional Sports Awards.

Mark was a Board member of Touch New Zealand, the Waikato Touch Association (where he also served as president) and of Hamilton Marist Softball Club.

A Lifestyle Trust Board member since November 2005, Mark sees similarities between Lifestyle Trust and Sport Waikato. Both organisations strive for inclusiveness in the community, both are progressive organisations with great people working to serve others, and both have a goal-oriented strategic focus, he says.

Tegan Morris brings to the Lifestyle Trust board enthusiasm, optimism and creativity in her approach to work. Commitment, thoughtfulness and collaboration are key in communicating and achieving group and individual goals.
She has completed her bachelors degree in Social Science,majoring in Human Development. Her combined life experience and past study have provided insights and understanding as to the realities of general services that support people with disabilities. This has focused her interest on Lifestyle Trust as an organisation that is getting things right and can continue to grow and influence others in a constructive and beneficial manner.

The opportunity of becoming a board member and being invovled in the growth of such an organisation is one that she sees as providing an opportunity for mutual benefit.

John Ross has worked pragmatically with many organisations mostly in New Zealand but also in the wider Asia Pacific region to improve business and leverage technology since 1982.

His specialist areas of expertise include general management, business management, consulting, account management, project management, information strategy and business analysis.

He has worked with organisations to achieve transformational change. He demonstrates a collaborative but outcomes focused approach to achieving stakeholder goals.

He has been engaged in consulting, services management and business development since 1990 working with a broad range of New Zealand private sector companies, government organisations and international technology firms.

These have included United Networks (now Vector), Westfield NZ, TOWER NZ, Revera, Shorecare Medical Services, Trans Pacific Industries, North Shore City Council, NZ Customs Department, PHARMAC, Silicon Graphics, Hitachi Data Systems and many others.

John takes a strategic approach to helping organisations grow in maturity and perform better through projects that promote the personal development of individuals, groups, organisations and communities.