Council

Dot has three children and six grandchildren.

Her life experiences have been shaped by physical disability resulting in long relationships with hospital services.

Dot works part time as a workplace chaplain, and is Southland District Advisor for The Personal Advocacy Trust. She is experienced in the area of advocacy for people with disability, teaching self-advocacy, human rights, motivation, encouraging people to work together and making change towards a more inclusive society.

She is a re-elected member of the Southland District Health Board (second term) serving on the Hospital Advisory Committee and the combined Disability Services Advisory Committee for the Southland and Otago District Health Boards, member of Parent to Parent Southland Committee, Secretary for Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA) Southland, Member of National Executive of DPA (NZ), Chair to DPA Women's Caucus, and DPA representative to the Workbridge Council.

Dot brings to the Workbridge Council skills and knowledge from a grassroots perspective, identifying with all people, especially with disabled people.

Barbara was appointed legal adviser to Business New Zealand after working in a similar role with its predecessor organisation, the New Zealand Employers' Federation.

Barbara's employment relations experience includes a period as employer representative on the former Labour Court as well as involvement in the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and attendance at ILO seminars on workplace equal opportunities.

Barbara was involved in the setting up of the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust and has been responsible for preparing booklets for employers on the employment of disabled people and on human rights issues in general. She has contributed articles on employment relations and employment law to a number of legal publications and has assisted with the development of legal unit standards for the Qualifications Authority.

As well as representing Business New Zealand on the Workbridge Council, Barbara is currently its representative on the National Council on the Employment of Women.

Beryl works for Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU) and is the Rep for CTU on the Workbridge Council.

Beryl has lived with a disability for a long time and believes this adds to her credentials to be on the council.

She worked supporting people with Intellectual Disabilities into Employment and so working alongside Workbridge to facilitate this prior to joining SFWU.

Beryl is currently on the Intellectual Disability Tripartite Group between Ministry of Health and providers and unions, the Disability and Aged Care Executive Group with Work and Income, unions and providers.

Beryl is leading the Up Where We Belong Campaign with SFWU and the PSA to get better recognition of the work of the caregiver in the disability field.

She is also working on the Violence in the Workplace Project, the Code of Ethics Project between unions and providers and is part of the Governance group for Learning Reps in the Workplace with the CTU.

Beryl is on the Advisory Committee for People First project around "Your Rights at Work" for people with disabilities, and has worked on the Pay and Employment Equity (PaEE).

As a young child, Bev lost both eyes to cancer. She completed her education in Auckland, including time at Homai College in Manurewa, the purpose built school for the blind.

After leaving school, Bev worked as a librarian assistant at the RNZFB in their Talking Book and Braille Library. This was followed by a number of telephonist/reception positions, including at Housing Corporation, where she was part of a group that wrote their first Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (EEO).

Bev later gained several counselling certificates and computer skills, and began guest speaking engagements on behalf of the RNZFB. Bev is a Life Member of the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand (ABCNZ), and was for many years involved both locally and nationally, holding a number of leadership roles. Bev has been a member of DPA, and was actively involved in Camelia House (refuge for Women and Children with Disabilities). Bev has held various positions in a number of Lions Clubs, and is currently a member of the Papatoetoe Lions Club, where she is standing for First Vice President. Bev has also participated in a Lions Club Senior Leadership Institute.

In 1989 Bev helped form and today remains a member of New Zealand Vision Impaired Empowering Women (NZVIEW). Since March 2002 Bev has been employed at Teletech NZ as a Customer Service Representative providing emergency assistance for a number of different companies, primarily insurance based, both here in New Zealand and in Australia. In Bev's spare time, she and her husband, who is partially sighted, enjoy travelling here and overseas.

Bev represents the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand Inc.

Debbie Bridge, works for the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ) as their HR Careers & Education Manager.

Her role with HRINZ ranges from managing HRINZ sub committees, providing career development advice, writing best practice guides for HRINZ to representing HRINZ on various external committees.
Debbie has worked for HRINZ for 2.5years after working overseas in a variety of HR and Business roles for several years.

As HRINZ's Corporate Member of Workbridge, Debbie brings to the Workbridge Council her skills and knowledge from a business and corporative perspective, along with her ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Maaka's tribal affiliations are Ngati Porou and Whanau Apanui.

Maaka is totally blind.

He is currently employed as General Manager Maori Health & Disabilites for Tairawhiti District Health.

He was the recipient of the Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship Award.

Maaka is currently serving as a committee member of the National Health & Disability Committee and the Social Work Registration Board. Maaka is also Chairman of Taurawharona Maori Farming Incorporation on the East Coast of the North Island.

Maaka was past President and currently Vice President of Ngati Kapo o Aotearoa Inc and member of DPA. He is committed to the advancement of indigenous persons, particularly Maori.

He has enjoyed full and continuous employment upon leaving school some forty years ago and has a strong desire towards supporting others to achieve.

Rachel represents Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand

Robert was born in Samoa in the village of Vaisala in Savai'I, and educated in New Zealand from Primary to ATI in Engineering. He is married with four children and four grandchildren.

Robert became totally blind in a sporting accident in 1985, and carried on in his job as a production superintendent until 1992. He then returned to study at Auckland College of Education for two years and ATI for another two years to obtain Certificates in Social Work and Business Management.

Robert was a member of Ngati Kaapo's Tumuaki Advisory Committee for RNZFB, and chaired it for a term. He is presently assisting in advocacy for the vision, physically and mentally impaired Pacific Island Community, relating to immigration, medical, legal and cultural matters and issues of personal concerns.

Robert is also assisting in setting up a consumer group for the vision impaired Pacific Island members of the RNZFB. He is a volunteer telephone counsellor for Youthline once a Week, and is very much involved as a Parish Steward, and Council & Leadership member of the Auckland Central Parish of the Methodist Church.

Rosemary lives in Dunedin and is a long standing member of People First New Zealand Inc. She has held many local, regional and national positions and is currently the Southern Regional chairperson.

Rosemary is a strong self advocate and a mentor for others with a learning disability. Rosemary works part-time for IDEA services as a receptionist and administration support. She believes employers needs to be educated to so they adapt work places and jobs and provide accommodations do that more disabled people have paid work.

In her spare time Rosemary enjoys reading, playing bowls and listening to music.

Wendy Neilson MNZM., J.P. M. Ed (Hons) Dip Tch

is a Teaching Fellow at the School of Education, University of Waikato. She has also taught at primary, secondary and tertiary level and has worked on contract for a number of Government Departments. Her Master's thesis investigated how women with congenital disabilities saw success.

Wendy lives with disability and is actively involved with disability issues at both a personal and political level and is on a number of national Boards/Councils including Workbridge (Vice-President), Podiatrists’ Board (Government appointed lay member), SPARC Disability Advisory Group (Chair) and is President of DPA NZ. She is an Accredited Barrier Free Auditor. Wendy is contracted by CCS Disability Action to deliver Disability Awareness workshops to schools and corporate bodies in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty . In her 'spare' time Wendy and her husband love gardening and hosting friends, but her greatest joy is being a grandmother.