Board of Trustees

Peter Meehan (Chairman of the Board)
Peter is General Manager Retail Operations & Risk for ASB Bank, where he has worked, primarily in frontline roles, for over 40 years. He is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and an associate fellow of the NZ Institute of Management. A former board member of New Windsor Primary and for many years a board member of Avondale College including 4 years as Chairman of the Board. He is a keen follower of sport, particularly golf and is a member of Titirangi Golf Club. Peter has lived in West Auckland for most of his life, currently residing in Te Atatu. He is married with two married children.

Carol Ngawati
Carol has been involved in Netball for over 20 years, playing for West City Rollers Club and coaching Secondary and Primary School Netball. Carol is also a keen Touch enthusiast and has been a player, coach, selector, NZ Referee and Administrator. Carol was part of the establishment of Waitakere Maori Touch and today is the Vice President of Maori Touch NZ. Carol works as a Teacher and has a commitment to Maori education and successful futures for young people of Waitakere City. She is the co-founder of He Wero o Nga Wahine, a school for young mothers. Carol is currently working at Unitec, as a Education Partnership Project Manager. Carol is married with three daughters, Maria, Renei and Tiana, and four grandchildren.

Reuben Woods
Reuben is an experienced corporate lawyer, having worked for a large Australasian law firm in Auckland for many years and for a large American law firm in London for four years. He specialises in corporate and insolvency work and is a member of the Institute of Directors, New Zealand Venture Capital Association and INSOL New Zealand. Reuben was born and raised in Massey, playing his rugby for Massey High School, Waitemata Rugby Club and Massey Rugby Club, and having represented Auckland at age group level. He is also a keen touch rugby player, golfer, fisherman and diver, although his biggest sporting passion (other than rugby) is surfing, having surfed the west coast for the past 22 years. Age and old rugby injuries have forced him away from rugby into soccer which he currently plays (very badly) for the Western Wombats in Point Chevalier.

 Linda Vagana
General Manager of Alan Duff Charitable Foundation Books in Homes Programme. After playing 61 tests for the Silver Ferns from 1993-2003, in 2004 took on coaching role for the Samoa Under 21 Netball team and the Samoa National Netball Team. Also established the North Harbour Samoans Netball club in 2004 which currently competes annually Pacific Cup Challenge. Linda has a real passion and interest in working with Pasifika Youth. In conjuction with North Shore Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church she has been involved with youth on the North Shore since 1990 and established youth programmes based on leadership, educational activities, basic life skills and total wellbeing of the individual. Linda is also a representative on the working team for the Samoan Tafesilafa'i Aoga Amata pre-school on the North Shore.

Morag Hutchinson
Morag has been the Principal of Green Bay High School since 2005. She has strong associations with the west having commenced her teaching career at Rutherford College (then High School) where she was eventually Assistant Principal. After nine years as Second Principal of Howick College she returned to the west to lead Green Bay High School in its next phase of development. She is especially keen on the value of sport and physical recreation in education and has lead the development of strategic plans for sport in all three schools with which she has been associated. Morag is a board member of College Sport which is responsible for the management of secondary school sport in the Auckland region. Morag lives in Titirangi with her family, and particularly enjoys skiing.

Tim Livingstone BCom F.C.A.
Partner at UHY Haines Norton (formerly Butts, Bainbridge, & Weir). Actively involved in the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICANZ) and an ICANZ representative on the National Tax Liaison Group with the IRD and the ICANZ National Public Practice Committee. He is also a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. Former Board member of Waikowhai Intermediate School and Henderson High School. His interests include most sports (particularly rugby, squash and tennis) and the outdoors (fishing and gardening).

Dirk Venter MBBCh, DA(SA), FRNZCGP
Dirk is an experienced GP, practicing in West Auckland. He is based at Henderson Medical Centre, a nine-doctor group practice that he co-owns and helped to develop. Dirk has a special interest in obesity and ‘lifestyle-disease’ management. He actively encourages healthy physical activity for disease prevention and often gives exercise prescriptions for patients and their families. Dirk lives in West Auckland with his wife and his leisure pursuits include art, body-boarding, hiking and resistance training.