Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors focus on governance and strategic issues such as our purpose and direction.

The Board may have up to eleven directors. Our members elect eight of them, associate members elect one, and the remaining two directors may be co-opted to the Board for their specific skills or experience. Directors serve for a term of three years. See the RNZFB Constitution.

Richard Hoskin, Chair 

Richard was elected to the Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2009 and following the Board elections in November 2011 he was elected as Chair. He is the owner and director of PhysioACTION, a physiotherapy clinic which employs 26 staff in clinics throughout Auckland. Richard has also previously worked at the Foundation’s Adult Rehabilitation Unit as well as the switch-board. Richard has been a member since he was 17 years old.

Email: rhoskin@rnzfb.org.nz

Geraldine Glanville

Geraldine has been a Board member since 1995 and was re-elected in November. Geraldine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Canterbury University. She worked at IBM, Auckland, in a variety of business-related roles for 25 years before taking early retirement. Geraldine was previously involved with blindness advocacy through the Association of Blind Citizens. Geraldine is a member and guide dog handler.

Email: gglanville@rnzfb.org.nz

Daniel Kerr

Daniel was elected to the Board in 2009. He was top of the class at the University of Otago from where he obtained his first class honours degree in Law and a degree in Politics.  A Commonwealth Bursary recipient, Daniel also holds a Masters in Law from the University of Cambridge. He is a barrister in Napier and specialises in civil dispute resolution. Daniel has been a member since birth.

Email: dkerr@rnzfb.org.nz

Jillian Mills

Jillian was first elected to the Board in 2003. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Canterbury University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Secondary School Teaching. Jillian is a full time teacher and has spent the last 14 years teaching at Fielding High School. Her teaching subjects include Tourism, Social Studies, Special Needs and ESOL. Jillian is partially sighted and has been a member since birth.

Email: jmills@rnzfb.org.nz

Keith Appleton

Keith is an East Auckland based Chartered Accountant in Public Practice. He has a keen interest in education, having held executive positions on two schools' Board of Trustees. Keith is an advisor to the New Zealand Association of Private Education Providers and the Quality Commission. He holds several company directorships. Keith's adult daughter has been sight impaired since birth.

Email: kappleton@rnzfb.org.nz

Paul Sullivan

Paul steps into the Associate seat, currently holds the position as Senior Advisor in Value for Money Programmes in a Government Ministry and has served on several not-for-profit Boards. Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury, and a Masters in Strategic Studies from Victoria University. He is also embarking on a Masters in Professional Accounting which he will complete part-time from January.

Email: psullivan@rnzfb.org.nz

Dr Neville Bennett

Dr Neville Bennett was elected to the Board in 2003 and is chair of the Audit Committee. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and taught at Canterbury University before retirement. He is a weekly columnist for the National Business Review and a Trustee of New Zealand Universities Superannuation. Neville has broad experience in local government and environmental concerns.

Email: nbennett@rnzfb.org.nz

Dr Greg Morgan

Dr Greg Morgan has been involved with the RNZFB since the 1970s, first as a volunteer, then from 2000 to 2005 as library manager and as research and policy manager. He currently holds a senior management role in a large public library. Greg has also worked in university libraries and in community development; he has served on two other boards in the voluntary and disability sectors. Greg is an associate member of the Association of Blind Citizens NZ (Inc.).

Email: gmorgan@rnzfb.org.nz

David Heather

David has worked in both economics and accountancy and in a senior management capacity in the transport and shipping industry. He currently works as Finance Director with publicly listed company Mowbray Collectables Group operating out of Otaki, near Wellington.

Having a child with visual and hearing disabilities started David’s involvement in the disability sector, and with other parents and families he helped form the national networks of parents and families now known as Parents of Vision Impaired NZ and the NZ Federation of Deaf Children.

David has previously served as a Trustee of the Foundation for a 10 year period, representing parents and families of blind children. He was also Chair of the Vision Education Agency of NZ, a charitable trust that developed the new model for education service delivery for blind and low vision children in New Zealand. 

Email: heatherdavid1945@gmail.com