I live on a lifestyle block on the border of South Auckland and Franklin. I am an experienced Nurse as well as a Foster Carer with an NGO contracted to Oranga Tamariki. Our journey in Foster Care begun almost 9 years ago, offering a nurturing environment for children aged 5+ including preteens and teenagers. My husband Graham and I were awarded an Excellence in Foster Care Award in 2016 and have loved every moment of our foster care experiences. We have provided care for over 30 children and a short term placement in 2012 resulted in Home For Life. I am a registered nurse with experience in many areas which I feel would be beneficial for a role on the board. In particular, management and leadership of multi-disciplinary teams. My expertise lies in integrity, dedication to excellence, respect and mentorship along with a passion for collaboration. All of these factors, I feel, have stood me well with the foster care experience so far.

My name is Graeme Roil. I am 57 and I have been a foster caregiver off and on for almost twenty years. More recently with my wife Linda, we have been fostering for the past five years through Oranga Tamariki and currently have a baby girl in our care. I have past experience in senior leadership positions within the banking industry. For the past sixteen years have worked in the education and property sector as a Schools Manager and Board of Trustee advisor. I am currently a Director on the Board of New Zealand Catholic Education. My wife and I are passionate about making a difference to children that are placed into foster care and also the important role that caregivers have in this. In 2018 my wife Linda established the Kids in Need Waikato Charitable Trust which provides personalised support packs for any child that is placed into care and in doing so ease some of the stress associated with a placement. I believe I have skills that I can add value to Fostering Kids New Zealand at a Governance level.

My husband Jim and I live on the coast in the beautiful Taranaki region, a fairly recent move up from the Wairarapa. We have 5 adult children and 11 grandchildren. We have been foster parents for over 6 years and are long-term caregivers for 4 siblings. I truly value the work that Fostering Kids New Zealand do and currently as a member I support the organisation in a number of ways: I serve on the North-West Regional Committee. I run a bi-monthly Caregiver Support Group and we open our home to host foster family’s special events such as: summer BBQ get togethers, picnic and beach day and recently a Mid-Winter Christmas Party afternoon tea followed by a pizza meal. These events have not only been enjoyed by the children but have helped to strengthen care-givers relationships with one another, often sharing support and resources. My Governance background and expertise spans over 20 years. I have served 15 years as an elected member on a Public sector Board, the Wairarapa District Health Board (WDHB). During this tenure the Minister of Health appointed me to the role of Deputy Chair for 6 consecutive years. I was also appointed Chair of two statutory committees of the WDHB. I have been a part of recruitment and selection panels for senior executives including Chief Executives and worked with Boards on Strategic and Business Planning, working in Partnership with Iwi Governance Groups. I have Chaired committees for Not-for -Profit organisations. I have assisted community groups to develop good Governance principals and practices. Also having served on school Board of Trustees (BOT) in roles such as Finance: Health Safety and Risk. I am currently on our local school BOT. I see Fostering Kids New Zealand as a progressive organisation that plays such a pivotal and influential role in the sector. I am very keen to support the Board to fulfill the Vision and Strategic goals that have been established, also to enhance the organisation as it enters a new decade and era of defining and supporting excellence in foster care. I appreciate your vote.

Jo is a parent and foster carer with Barnardos who is very caring and has always had a strong community focus. She has a particular empathy for and a desire to help children who are in difficult circumstances. To support her ability to do this she is currently studying a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology with a focus on the wellbeing and mental health of tamariki. This combined with her professional, corporate and community communication roles makes me feel she would be a huge asset to the Board of Fostering Kids NZ.

My wife and I have been foster parents to twins from age 5 ½ years. We started our journey as Oranga Tamaki Caregivers and after 6 years we took Home for Life Guardianship under the Care of Children Act 2004 (CoCA). The journey of fostering vulnerable children comes with challenges, highs and lows and lots of love. We are now walking alongside our children’s journey to young adulthood and the impact of new legislation for transitioning to independence. Shereen and I have been active supporters of the Bay of Plenty Foster Care Association for many years with assistance at events, sponsorship and support and respite for other foster families. I am passionate about the role of caregivers and how critically important caregivers are for foster children. During our fostering journey we experienced quality support, attended training and learning courses, and received good information and advocacy from Fostering Kids NZ. I believe in the principles guiding the work that Fostering Kids NZ provides to caregivers and their families. Bringing my enthusiasm, knowledge and skills to the Board of Fostering Kids NZ I am standing for this board position, to support the planning and delivery of the Fostering Kids NZ Strategic Plan. I am Company Secretary for Best Start Educare Limited. I am also a member of the Institute of Directors and a Trustee of Creative Bay of Plenty. The vision of BestStart to work in partnership with families, whanau and communities to enable children to achieve their learning potential, is in many ways aligned to the Vision and Mission of Fostering Kids NZ. As a society we need to do better for our most vulnerable children. BestStart is New Zealand’s largest provider of Early Childhood Education with over 270 ECE Centres and 18,000 children. At BestStart I lead the Tauranga Support Office in the provision of financial, IT and administrative support for the childcare centres. We are a registered charity owned by the Wright Family Foundation which supports individuals to achieve their full potential through education, health and environmental initiatives. The Foundation is committed to investing in the future of New Zealand citizens where the need is greatest. This includes the work BestStart does with Oranga Tamariki and other agencies throughout New Zealand to support foster children in early childhood education. My role includes management of our Teacher Aide program for children, Foundation Grants for families in hardship, our relationship with Plunket and Centre fundraising. I have a strong mix of governance and leadership skills to bring to Fostering Kids NZ with strengths in strategic planning, stakeholder relations, finance and risk management to compliment my knowledge of the sector. I have a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Business (Accounting). Prior to BestStart I was a Corporate Partner with Bank of New Zealand for 15 Years.

Experience, commitment, enthusiasm. That’s what I offer as a nominee for the Fostering Kids NZ Board. I have been a foster parent since 2010 fostering through Family Works Southland, being part of the Southland Foster Care Support Group most of this time. I am currently a member of the Fostering Kids NZ Lower South Regional Committee. Our family includes Mr 7 (H4L) and four older children 17-23 years. I am very experienced in matters regarding education, child safety, employment, government regulations, leadership, governance, management and business. I completed a Diploma in Child Protection through Child Matters in 2012 and I am an experienced Primary and ECE teacher. I am currently the owner/manager of Riverton Childcare with a team of 14. I have previously been a member of the BOT at Riverton Primary and Aparima College and am currently a member of the BOT for Hope Centre, Riverton. Previously I have been a national trainer for Girl Guiding NZ and was a volunteer with them for over 20 years. My experience has given me the ability to formulate and review policies and procedures, oversee financial management and planning, manage teams and employees, create and follow through with strategic plans, and I have big picture thinking. I have been involved in staff appraisals and performance reviews and have actively promoted different organisations I have been part of. I am Marina Seager and I would be honoured to represent care families as a foster care representative on the Fostering Kids NZ Board.

I have been a caregiver in Canterbury since 1998. I have a vast understanding of a wide spectrum of care needs, having cared for children with significant learning and support requirements. I have attended the Foundations for Attachment Levels One and Two and take the approach of therapeutic parenting and practice in my caregiving. I have the following attributes to complement the Foster Carer Member Board position:

• decades of experience in caregiving;
• an understanding of the foster care sector;
• an awareness of the needs of local caregivers;
• competency to understand and develop further leadership skills;
• an understanding of organisation structure and
• strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Kia ora koutou. My name is Sean Martin,  and I would be proud to represent you on the Board of Fostering Kids NZ.

I have been a foster parent since 2004, and was the recipient of an Excellence in Foster Care award in 2018.

In addition to my role as a foster parent,  I work professionally in social services,  and have experience supporting clients and staff through times of trouble, and in financial management and strategic planning. 

Every vote matters.  Every voice matters.

Kia Ora I am Angela Swinney have been a foster Parent for 22 years caring for both family and other children. Most of my placements have been long term. Currently I care for a teenage boy with high and complex issues. I believe it’s a really tough job caring for a child, so advocacy is really important to ensure caregivers are supported in their role. I have a vast experience working in the NGO sector. I enjoy the variety of work that this encompasses. Currently I volunteer at the Salvation Army Food Bank and am the secretary for the Fijian Social Services Trust. I am the Chair/ Key contact of the Otautahi Foster Care Association. I am very passionate about seeing Foster Carers supported by a whole village around them. Having experienced social isolation once becoming a caregiver, I believe that it is important to create opportunities for caregivers to come together. With the support of the willing committee around me we have hosted events such as Christmas breakfast for carers, Mid Winter party including a meal and Santa, swimming parties, trips to farms, a variety of topical speakers and just some good cups of tea and chats. I believe I will represent carers well as I love to hear your stories and am prepared to be your spoken voice.