New appointments to the Health Promotion Agency (HPA) board have been announced today by Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa.
Jenny Black will become HPA's new board chair, while Mafi Funaki-Tahifote, Dr Teuila Percival and Professor Boyd Swinburn will all join the board for a three-year term.
"HPA has an important role in promoting health and wellbeing in Aotearoa, and those joining the board will bring much valued skill and expertise," says Jenny Salesa.
"The new board members have extensive health sector backgrounds – from leadership roles to working on the ground in the health profession. All have been long-time champions of healthy eating and healthy living.
"Ms Black, a clinical dietician by training, is currently the chair of Nelson Marlborough and West Coast DHBs. She also chairs the DHB executives committee and DHB Chairs group.
"Dr Percival has been a consultant paediatrician for 25 years and has a specific interest in Pacific people's health. Ms Funaki-Tahifote is currently the chair on the Board for Agencies for Nutrition Action, and Professor Swinburn is a director of the World Health Organisation's Collaborating Centre for Obesity.
"The new board members will be a great fit for HPA as the organisation contributes toward the Government's commitment to achieving equitable health outcomes in New Zealand.
"I would like to acknowledge the outgoing chair Dr Lee Mathias and board members Professor Grant Schofield, Tony O'Brien and Jamie Simpson, who have done great work for the board over many years," says Jenny Salesa.
Board member information:
- Jenny Black has extensive health sector governance experience. She currently serves as the Chair of DHB Chairs and chairs the DHB executives committee. She is also the Chair of the Nelson Marlborough and West Coast DHBs. She has also worked as a clinical dietician.
- Dr Teuila Percival is a Consultant Paediatrician at KidzFirst Children's Hospital & Middlemore Hospital, and Senior Lecturer in the School of Population Health at Auckland University. She has worked as a consultant paediatrician for 25 years, and is a current member of the World Health Organisation Emergency Medical Teams. She has a specific interest in Pacific people's health, evidenced through her roles as the Deputy Chair on the Pacific Panel for Oranga Tamariki, and as the Director of the Pacifika Medical Association.
- Mafi Funaki-Tahifote has extensive experience in the health field, having worked for the New Zealand Heart Foundation since 1998. Within this organisation she has held dietetic and managerial roles. Ms Funaki-Tahifote also has considerable governance experience, currently holding the positions of Chair on the Board for Agencies for Nutrition Action and Co-Chair to the Pacific Island Food and Nutrition Action Group. She has also worked with HPA previously, in her role as a member of the Pacific Advisory Group.
- Professor Boyd Swinburn is a lecturer at both Deakin University (Melbourne) and Auckland University, and has worked in the academic and research fields for nearly 30 years. He has governance experience as the Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Obesity, Co-Chair of the Policy and Prevention Group of World Obesity, President of the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society, and as the Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity.
