John is the current Principal Cultural Advisor to the Minister of Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. He regularly provides consultancy services to the Crown Law Office, the Office of the Treaty Settlements, and the policy division of the Ministry of Justice.
Sir John is of Ngati Porou and Ngā Puhi decent. He was born and raised at Te Araroa on the East Coast and is a fluent speaker of Te Reo Māori.
Sir John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Māori. His degree was obtained mainly as a part time student while pioneering the teaching of Māori language at Wainuiomata College. He also holds a Diploma in Teaching.
Sir John has played a major part in Māori-Crown relations and has been the principal cultural advisor to all Ministers of Treaty Settlements for more than 25 years. He has conducted eight major inquiries as a member of the Waitangi Tribunal. In 2023 he successfully conducted mediation on the South Island Customary Fishing Regulations involving involving eight iwi o Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Maui (top of the South Island). Sir John is currently the longest serving chairperson of the Māori Heritage Council Aotearoa New Zealand, deputy chair of the Board of HNZPT (Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga) and principal advisor to the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation and Pharmacy Council. He is a Responsible Trustee of Te Rimu Ahuwhenua Trust and Tokararangi Forest Trust. He is also a former Trustee of the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Ann Frank Trust.
Sir John has held numerous senior management positions in the public sector, including Chief Executive of the former Ministry of Māori Affairs, Director Māori Ministry of Justice and Group Manager Development of Justice. From 1992 to 1996 he served in the role of Race Relations Conciliator and Human Rights Commissioner.
Sir John has an excellent and thorough understanding of Māori issues. His role with the Foundation includes providing advice on the various aspects of tikanga Māori and protocols, and representing the Foundation to raise awareness within the wider Māori community and with other key stakeholders.
Sir John was awarded the 1990 Commemoration Medal for service to Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2011, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) and in 2018 he was elevated to Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) for his service.
Professor Hancox is a respiratory specialist who combines epidemiological and clinical research to investigate why people develop diseases such as asthma, allergies, and chronic lung disease, then seeks better ways to assess and treat these disorders.
He is a professor of Preventive & Social Medicine at the Dunedin School of Medicine in the University of Otago and a respiratory physician at Waikato Hospital.
Letitia has over 25 years extensive experience in the health sector, which includes the introduction of new health technologies, improving access to medicines, initiating imaging and diagnostic trials and establishing international healthcare networks.
Letitia was the recipient of the 2023 President’s Award by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand’s (TSANZ) for her advocacy and education around the dangers of vaping.
She holds a Bachelor of Science, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business and a Masters in Health Management, from the University of Auckland. Letitia has sat on a number of international and national advisory boards, and been an invited speaker at both New Zealand and overseas conferences. Her most recent appointments include; GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma) 2020 advocate and being recognised as a leader in the field of Asthma; Chair of the Patient Focal Group Planning Committee (GARD) and Co-Chair of the Western-Pacific Region for (GARD) - the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD).
She has held senior management positions in both the corporate diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry, and collaborated with many NGOs over the years - which ignited her passion for the not-for-profit sector.
Joanna is responsible for overseeing and managing the development and implementation of key education programmes. She sits on the ARFNZ Scientific Advisory Board and assists in the development and dissemination of the NZ Child Asthma Guidelines, the NZ Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines and the NZ COPD Guidelines.
Joanna is a registered pharmacist with an extensive background working in community pharmacy.
She believes that through education and provision of high quality tools to primary health care providers, the best outcomes can be achieved for New Zealanders, particularly for our Māori people who carry a greater burden of respiratory illness.
Chloe is the head of the Marketing team at the Foundation, working to promote the organisation and increase awareness of respiratory disease through media and across all other channels.
Chloe, who has a personal connection with the Foundation as she is one of the 700,000 Kiwis living with asthma or a respiratory disease, hopes her work will help make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
Chloe has a background in communications and events management. Prior to this, she was business and general news print journalist for Stuff and The Post (formerly The Dominion Post).
Sam is our Marketing and Communications Advisor and works to promote the organisation and its activities across all our channels, as well as leading our in-house graphic design. Sam has previously worked with charity organisations in the UK and has prior experience coordinating a recruitment team focused o finding high quality educators for disadvantaged schools across England and Wales.
Jack supports the marketing team to promote the Foundation and wider marketing activities across all our channels. His focus is on content creation, web and graphic design, and resource development. Jack has had asthma since he was young, and feels a personal connection to the 700,000 Kiwis in the respiratory community in New Zealand. He hopes that the work he does has a positive impact for New Zealanders.
Pam is responsible for managing the Foundation’s grants fundraising programme enabling the Foundation to continue its vital work in supporting those living with respiratory illnesses. Her work includes developing and submitting grant applications, outcomes reporting to funders, and identifying and engaging with new grant funding sources.
Pam has seven years of grants fundraising experience, a strong knowledge of the New Zealand grant funding landscape, and a network of personal relationships within grant funding organisations. Pam is a member of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand.
Christina has a background in donor care and administration with four years’ experience in the fundraising sector. Christina is a member of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand.
Martin joins us with a strong focus on growing the Friends of the Foundation programme, alongside Annie. He is passionate about opportunities that will help the Foundation expand its work and reach. Martin has a background in account management, property management and hotel sales.
Annie joins us as a Corporate Sponsorship and Engagement Advisor and will be focused on growing our Friends of the Foundation programme. Annie has previously worked in non-profits in Chicago, IL dedicated to ensuring young people have access to adequate mental healthcare and receive trauma-informed care. Annie’s background is in development, fundraising and grant writing.
Sharon is the Māori Community Liaison Officer for the Foundation and will be supporting the goals of the Foundation’s Māori Engagement Strategy. Building relationships with whanau hapu and iwi organisations to identify how best to support their work in respiratory health will be a key focus for Sharon.
Sharon has a background in population health, service development and whanau engagement with previous roles at Tairawhiti DHB, The National Heart Foundation and The Health Quality and Safety Commission.
Sharon brings a wealth of personal experience with her 19 year old daughter Tomairangi living with severe asthma and bronchiectasis.
Pene joins us as a Community Liaison, based in Auckland. I whakapapa to Ngapuhi and was born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her background is in smoking cessation and population health. Her role visiting schools and talking to the tamariki is special to her as she has a great passion to empower rangatahi and communities to better care for their health and wellbeing.
