Te Mana WhakahaereGovernance

Governance

The Mary Potter Hospice Foundation's Board of Trustees provide governance

The Mary Potter Hospice Foundation’s Board of Trustees provides governance for the Hospice on behalf of the people we serve.

Mary Potter Hospice Patron

Dame Kerry Prendergast (CNZM)

We were delighted when Dame Kerry Prendergast became the Patron of Mary Potter Hospice in 2017. Dame Kerry is the former Mayor of Wellington and former Vice-President of Local Government New Zealand and holds an MBA from Victoria University.

Dame Kerry is currently Chair of the New Zealand Film Commission and the Royal NZ Ballet. She is a Director of Oceania Healthcare, deputy chair of NZ Conservation Authority and a Trustee of the Wellington International Arts Foundation.

Dame Kerry was awarded a CNZM in 2011 for her services to local government, and is a distinguished Alumni of Victoria University. In July 2016 Dame Kerry was also awarded a Lifetime Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to Local Government.

Our Board of Trustees

Steph Dyhrberg, Chair

Steph Dyhrberg (Kāi Tahu) is a well-known employment barrister in Wellington and on the Kāpiti Coast. She has been on the Board for 7 years. Steph is involved in community and professional organisations including the Rotary Club of Kāpiti (Youth Director), Kauri Theatre (Patron) and a member of the judging panel for the Electra Business Awards.

In 2018, Steph was awarded Wellingtonian of the Year for her work in tackling sexual harassment in the legal profession. Steph and her husband Murray Bell are long standing supporters of the Hospice, as donors, volunteers and advocates for our work. They have 2 adult daughters.

Professor Gregor Coster (CNZM), Deputy Chair

Prior to being Professor Emeritus at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Gregor was Professor of Health Policy and Founding Dean of the Wellington Faculty of Health at Victoria University. He previously held the role of Elaine Gurr Professor of General Practice at the University of Auckland after fifteen years in full-time general practice.

He is a past Chair of District Health Boards New Zealand and Chairman of the Counties Manukau and West Coast District Health Boards. Other past positions include the founding Chair of WorkSafe New Zealand which is the national health and safety regulator, and Board Member of the Accident Compensation Corporation, Deputy Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) and of Health Workforce New Zealand. Gregor was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2007 for services to public health.

Martin Lenart

Martin, a chartered accountant, is a business consultant and mentor with Business Mentors NZ and provides advisory support to 12 SMEs. He holds a number of directorships including Arthritis NZ on which he chairs the Investment committee.

Martin also gives his time generously to volunteering and has served the Hospice in that way for many years, and is a Trustee of the Forever Foundation.

Sr Margaret Lancaster, Little Company of Mary

Sister Margaret began working in the Mary Potter ward of Wellington’s Calvary Hospital in 1974 which at the time specialised in geriatric care.

Sister Margaret became aware of the writings of Dame Cicely Saunders and Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who were advocating better treatment for the terminally ill through holistic care. She lobbied with a number of doctors for palliative care beds to be offered to the terminally ill which resulted in five beds being designated for palliative care. She followed this with a paper for the Little Company of Mary advocating the establishment of a centre to care for the dying. The proposal was accepted and it led to the development over the next few years of a hospice ward designed to cater for the needs of the dying and the provision of holistic care involving the patients, family and friends, the provision of physiotherapy, grief therapy and occupational therapy.

Sister Margaret raised awareness in the health sector of modern hospice care by undertaking an extensive programme of speaking engagements to medical practitioners and health professionals. Her deep knowledge of modern hospices has been an inspiration for those working in the New Zealand palliative care sector.

Tui Te Hau

Tui Te Hau is the Founder of Bird Island – Innovation for global good, and formerly led the public experience team at the National Library of NZ. In her work, Tui has sought opportunities to deliver greater value for communities, whanau, hapu and iwi.

Tui is an experienced leader, a scholarship recipient for the 2017 Global Women Breakthrough Leaders Program and finalist in the government category for the Wellingtonian of the Year 2017.

Anthony Carter

Anthony is a New Zealand born Pacific Islander of Samoan, Kiribati, Tuvalu and English descent. He holds numerous leadership roles including Co-Chair – Wellington City Council Pacific Advisory Group, Lead Manager/General Manager – Central Pacific Collective, Governance/Management – Vaka Atafaga Pacific Nursing Service, a member of the Wellington Regional Skills Leadership Group, among many more community-focussed organisations.

He also serves as the Chair of the Mary Potter Hospice Pacific Advisory Group, a role which has given him the opportunity to contribute and further serve the Hospice and our Pacific communities.

Catherine Epps

Catherine was drawn to serve on the Board of Mary Potter Hospice after a positive experience of the services a hospice can provide when her Dad passed away when Catherine was a teenager.

Catherine has since qualified as a Speech-language Therapist specialising in working with adults who have neurological impairments- including those who have chronic or progressive disabilities. Catherine has thrived when supporting others to achieve, and has done this via Senior Leadership roles at ABI Rehabilitation, Capital and Coast District Health Board, and currently at PHARMAC. Catherine is a member of the Institute of Directors, holds a Masters in Human Communication and Deaf Studies, plus is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers.

Catherine migrated from the UK to Aotearoa in 2006, and now identifies as a kiwi who loves pastimes that mean she can enjoy the best of this country; good food, tramping, sailing, and being with her family.

Peter Chew

Peter is a partner at KPMG and has over 20 years of consulting experience supporting the UK and NZ governments on performance improvement, the development of performance measurement frameworks, value for money, operational efficiency, project and programme management, and change management.

Peter has had a wide range of community involvement over many years – he is currently the Board Chair of his local primary school, as well as leadership coaching to school Principals through Springboard Trust.

Dr Tim Jefferies

Tim Jefferies is a partner and general practitioner at the Onslow Medical Centre in Johnsonville. He specialises in family medicine, with specific interests in aged care, allergy and occupational medicine. He has extensive experience working in aged and palliative care in rest homes and in general practice.

Hori Waaka

Kia ora my name is Hori Waaka

He uri ahau no Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti koata, Ngāti kuia, Te Ati awa me Ngai tahu

E noho ana ahau ki te rohe o Pōneke engari ko Wairau toku kainga.

I am the Manager of Hei Oranga Ake – a community based, nurse lead Hauora hub.

I have been in iwi lead Māori health services for over 10 years, my passion is to provide preventative medicine in the primary health care sector and to support our community with harm reduction.

Te Pou Tautoko

Te Pou Tautoko provides advice and supports the Hospice to implement the Māori Service Plan and ensure our services meet the needs of Māori communities. The group ensures that a Māori voice is maintained through all levels of Mary Potter Hospice.

Te Pou Tautoko has contributed to projects that influence palliative care on a nation-wide basis. The group has assisted with education and research projects, as well as providing support at formal ceremonies and occasions. All Hospice staff have the opportunity to seek guidance and advice from Te Pou Tautoko when working on specific projects.

Pacific Advisory Group

The Pacific Advisory Group supports Mary Potter Hospice to increase awareness of Hospice within the Pacific communities of our service area and gives advice to the Hospice to ensure culturally safe services are accessible to Pacific patients and families.