NZSL Board and Te Rōpū Kaitiaki welcome new members
Three new members have been welcomed to the New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Board.
“Rāhera Turner, Thora Huebner and Joanne Witko will bring valuable experience, expertise and community connections to the Board,” said NZSL Board Chair Catherine Greenwood.
Rāhera Turner (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Mahuta, Te Patupō, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa) chairs the Board’s Māori-led strategic advisory group, Te Rōpū Kaitiaki, and has experience as a Deaf/NZSL creative consultant in arts, government, and community sectors.
Thora Huebner is a qualified Deaf interpreter with professional and lived experience of the Deaf and NZSL communities. Her expertise spans sign language linguistics, Deaf studies, Deaf interpreting, Deaf education, and Deaf arts and theatre.
Joanne Witko has more than 15 years of experience as a registered psychotherapist, with strong connections to the Deaf community and in-depth knowledge of both health and mental health services.
Te Rōpū Kaitiaki also welcomes the appointment of Tanesha Sleeman. She brings strong leadership qualities for wāhine Turi Māori (Deaf Māori) and rangatahi Turi Māori.
Te Rōpū Kaitiaki works in partnership with the NZSL Board to improve outcomes for Turi Māori including improving access to te ao Māori (the Māori world) through NZSL.
Kim Robinson will extend his term on the board for a further year. Monica Leach has completed her term, and Erica Dawson has resigned from the board to take up a new role.
“The Board sincerely thanks Monica and Erica for their contribution to uplifting and promoting NZSL. We have benefitted greatly from their commitment and expertise,” said Greenwood.
Biographies:
Rāhera Turner is a Deaf/NZSL creative consultant with more than eight years’ experience across the arts, government, and community sectors. She brings strong expertise in accessibility, cultural integrity, and bilingual NZSL practice, alongside lived experience as Turi Māori (deaf Māori). Turner chairs Te Rōpū Kaitiaki and co-chairs Creative New Zealand’s Manga Tipua advisory group of Deaf and disabled artists, policy and disability rights advocates. Turner has previously served on the NZSL Board.
Thora Huebner brings professional and lived experience within Deaf and NZSL communities, including expertise in sign language linguistics, Deaf studies, interpreting, education and the arts. Thora has a Deaf child and is a qualified Deaf interpreter. She has a strong understanding of the connections between language, culture, identity and access.
Joanne Witko brings broad experience across the Deaf community, health and mental health systems, and central government. A Child of Deaf Adults (CODA) and fluent NZSL user, she has deep connections within the Deaf community and a strong grounding in Deaf culture. Joanne Witko is a registered psychotherapist and works in the public sector, bringing insight into government systems and processes.