RNZFB Board Elects Chair and Vice Chair

The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) Board of Directors met on 2 December and has elected Mr Clive Lansink (Remuera, Auckland) as Chair of the Board.

Mr Lansink was first elected to the Board in November 2016 although he also served on it previously from 1991 to 1995.  Blind since birth, he has spent much of his personal life working on behalf of blind and low vision people. He has an engineering degree as well as a law degree. Much of his career has been spent in the computer industry, and in the blind community.  He is now semi-retired running his own business from home, doing consulting and projects in areas of technology and making information accessible to blind and low vision people.  Mr Lansink’s stated commitment is to the Board’s focus on services, and building a productive partnership with consumers, their organisations and other stakeholders.

Ms. Anne Marie Taggart (Wairarapa), was elected as the Vice Chair of the Board.  She joined the RNZFB Board in May 2022 to fill a casual vacancy.  Ms Taggart is an experienced senior leader within the NZ public sector. She began her career as an HR professional but in recent years has branched out and has led both corporate and operational functions. Recently she joined Te Kawa Mataaho (Public Service Commission) as the Executive Coach in the Leadership Development Centre. In this role she works closely with senior public sector leaders to support their professional development journeys.  Anne Marie is committed to ensuring that members and clients of Blind Low Vision have access to the services and support they need to live full and independent lives by ensuring that their views are represented at the Board level.

The RNZFB Board members include in alphabetical order by surname – Fraser Alexander (Auckland), John Billings (Wellington), Donna McCaskill (Ashburton), Richard Patete (Wellington), Ron Scott (Tauranga), Judy Small (Hamilton) and Martine Abel – Williamson (Auckland).