Two New Members JOIN NZAF Trust Board

29 February 2012

Two New Members JOIN NZAF Trust Board

Two people with a wealth of skills in governance and strong connections to the gay and HIV positive communities have been appointed to the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) Trust Board. Alastair Cameron, NZAF Trust Board Chair announced today that Vaughan Meneses and Stephen Rainbow joined the Trust Board, as a Co-opted Board Member and Appointed Trustee respectively, at the Board’s first meeting of the year in February.

Meneses, the Co-opted Trust Board member will join the seven NZAF Board members, four of whom are elected by the membership of the NZAF, and three who are appointed by the Board. Hamish Allardice stood down after four years as an elected Board member in November 2011 and the February meeting also marked the end of Cherry Sonderer’s term as an Appointed Trustee.

Vaughan Meneses has a long association and history with the NZAF and has been involved extensively in HIV related activities since 1986. He has strong connections within the HIV positive community and has lived in Auckland, Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Christchurch. Vaughan is the General Manager of OUTLine, a role that ensures that he connects with a large and diverse group of people from all parts of the community. He has worked at a governance level in many organisations over the years including: NZ Red Cross (Youth Representative to National Council and National Executive); Pink Health (Founder); Hero (Board Member); OUTLine (Board Member); and was part of the interim committee working on establishing the governance structure for the Auckland Pride Festival. Vaughan has a solid, working knowledge of tikanga Māori and a basic knowledge of NZ Sign Language.

Stephen Rainbow currently works as the Key Relationship Manager at Auckland Transport. Previous roles that he has held include the general manager of Transport at Auckland City Council; the Head of Urban Strategy at Wellington City, and the Chief of Staff for Auckland City Mayor John Banks.

Stephen has a doctorate in political studies, with a thesis on green politics undertaken in New Zealand and Scandinavia. He was a three term city councillor in Wellington and other governance roles have included membership of the Board of the Historic Places Trust. Stephen has three children from his marriage, and recently became a grandfather for the first time. His long-term partner died in 2007 after twelve years together, and Stephen subsequently lived in a sero-discordant relationship for several years. Stephen is a regular columnist for express magazine, a member of the Gay Classic Car Club (owning several old Fords) and, apart from his passion for travel and architecture, loves to escape to his art deco retreat in Nelson, near where he grew up.

Cameron says “We’re very pleased to welcome Vaughan and Stephen to the Board. They bring with them a high level of personal experience and knowledge about HIV, leadership and the communities we serve. The NZAF Board is now in a very strong position with the addition of their skills and their connections to the communities most at risk of HIV.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media