Statement:

My interest in the mission and intent of Amnesty goes back to the 1980s when friends of mine introduced me to it. We both shared a deep passion that justice and human rights be endorsed, supported and defended in the world. From that point on I have been monitoring the work of Amnesty, while not closely, certainly periodically when an issue of injustice arose that boosted my concerns. After leaving the corporate and business sector in 2002, I began working in the nonprofit fundraising and marketing sector, working for numerous charities including Oxfam. I was recruited to Oxfam by Grant Bayldon and have followed his career ever since. That has included visits to Amnesty during the time he was ED. My experience in the nonprofit fundraising sector is strongly biased in favour of boosting philanthropic engagement with our citizens. A result of my learnings is a soon to be published book called Cracking Generosity which is a guide for any nonprofit to help them engage with what I call the Citizen Generosity Factor. Now with some 20 years of that experience behind me, I hope that I can bring to Amnesty advice, insights and governance that might aid its ability to grow in New Zealand and continue its vital mission.