LLLNZ Board Profiles
Director
Alison Stanton
As Director, Alison chairs the LLLNZ Board and overseas the affairs and business of LLLNZ. Alison lives in Manukau, with her husband Denis and the youngest four of their seven children. She is also Nana to three darling mokopuna. Her involvement with La Leche League began in 1978 and she became a Leader in 1990. Alison has found plenty of scope for her background in Adult Education within La Leche League as Workshop Coordinator, Communications Skills Tutor, and Administrator of Communication Skills. She has represented LLLNZ at verbal submissions to Parliamentary Select Committees and is coordinating the LLLNZ History Project. In recent years Alison has been actively involved in the promotion and support of the LLLNZ Peer Counsellor Programme (PCP).
Administrator of Leaders
Janet McClean
"Home for us is Plimmerton, just north of Porirua City. My husband Peter and I, along with our six children love our seaside environment. I have been a La Leche League Leader here since 1989. For me, this has been a wonderful way to fulfill the passion for community education I discovered working as a dietitian before I had children. As part of my La Leche League 'career' I have had roles in the Leader Accreditation Department, the Communication Skills Department as well as the Leader Department.
Paid work in our family business allows flexibility for my family's needs and for me to remain involved with our amazing organisation. This is a return to the Board for me as I was Area 3's Board Member earlier this century."
Administrator of Leader Accreditation
Linda Dockrill
Linda lives in Christchurch with her husband, Dave Newey, and their three children. Linda has been a Leader since 2001 and has been involved in the Leader Accreditation Department for the past 7 years as a CLA and ACLA for the South Island. She was previously on the Board as Area Board Member for the South Island. Until recently, Linda was involved as a Consumer Reviewer for NZCOM with Midwifery Standards Review, a role she held for 7 years. She spent many happy years at Playcentre and remains as a member of her children's primary school Board of Trustees. After spending 12 years at home, Linda returned to work at the beginning of 2010. She is employed in a part time Social Work role for a not for profit organisation and once again is responsible for the South Island! Linda finds that her new role includes a strong emphasis on peer support - something that LLL Leaders do very well! She believes that the power of mother to mother support creates networks and strengthens communities in a way that cannot be recreated by 'experts'. Her focus for the Leader Accreditation Department is to continue to support women to make the time to support other mothers with breastfeeding while becoming competent, confident Leaders who enjoy what they do.
Administrator of Professional Liaison
Debra Graham
Debbie lives near Lake Karapiro, Cambridge with Tony and their 3 children, Debbie has been a La Leche League Leader with the Cambridge and Te Awamutu Groups since 1996. She has worked in the Leader Accreditation Department, the Leader Department and is now the Administrator of the Professional Liaison Department. Before having children, Debbie worked as a nurse and midwife. Since then her enthusiasm to help mothers with breastfeeding challenges led her to further study and attaining her Lactation Consultancy qualification. She now works part time as a Clinical Midwife Specialist in Lactation at Waikato DHB and aims to put all her skills and knowledge together to assist Leaders with their own learning.
Administrator of Communication Skills
Hilary Henderson
"I became a Leader in 1998 and have been active with the Mornington (recently renamed Dunedin Harbour) group in Dunedin ever since. I have two children: a fabulous 17 year old daughter and a wonderful 12 year old son and a honey of a husband who has been extremely supportive of my La Leche League activities all the way through. As Administrator of Communication Skills I am privileged to be part of a superb team of Leaders who are as passionate about adult education as I am. My main paid work has always been in the world of finance and accounting, although I am also a Speech and Drama teacher. This is a second stint on the Board for me, but in a new role."
Administrator of Publications
Lisa Manning 
I joined La Leche League following the birth of my daughter Maia six years ago. The local Leader in Pukekohe supported me through some difficult times and it was great to be around other mums who were so positive and welcoming. In a previous life I was a TV reporter for the BBC and TVNZ where I worked in News and Current Affairs, Holmes and Fair Go. So, after becoming a Leader, it seemed only natural to use my journalistic knowledge to support an organisation which means so much to me. As Administrator of Publications I oversee the preparation of LLLNZ publications including Aroha and Mosaic. I also write for magazines outside LLLNZ and am a regular columnist for Kiwiparent. In addition I'm our Media Relations Coordinator. I live in rural Waikato with my thespian husband John, Maia, John's big boy Ben, Rose the rascally rabbit and a few cows.
Funding and Marketing Project Leader
Janine Pinkham 
As Funding and Marketing Project Leader Janine focuses on increasing the effectiveness of current services and initiating new programmes for the long term sustainability of La Leche League New Zealand. Janine lives in Kaiapoi, North Canterbury, is married with four sons who are in their teens or older. She has been a La Leche League Leader since 1993 and has had many roles within LLLNZ. Janine is active in the Canterbury Breastfeeding Network, is a member of the board of the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority, has been a Baby Friendly assessor and involved with Baby Friendly document reviews. Janine believes that every mother deserves the chance to find out all about breastfeeding and to have plenty of support to discover what it means to be a parent.
Area 1 Board member
Melissa Peterson
Melissa Peterson lives in Auckland with her husband and three children aged 11, 8 and 5 years of age. She has been a La Leche League Leader for 7 years with Central Auckland group. She has held the position of Workshop Co-ordinator and is currently Co-ordinator of Leader Accreditation as well as Area Board Member. Melissa also works for Auckland Playcentre Association as a Centre Support worker and Facilitator. She has a busy family life and enjoys being part of La Leche League as it is an organisation that supports mothers to have confidence in themselves. Her various roles in La Leche League have been and continue to be inspiring and rewarding.
Area 2 Board member
Kristina MaConaghie 
Kristina lives in Taupo with Stuart Hickman. They have three sons, Zachary (6) and Daniel (3) and Benjamin (6 months). Kristina has been a Leader since April 2007 and she reactivated the Taupo Group in September of that year. Immediately prior to having children Kristina was a Lecturer in Health Care Ethics at AUT and she is currently a member of the Lakes District Health Board Research and Ethics Committee. Kristina attends at Taupo Family Playcentre, plays the ukulele and likes reading.
Area 3 Board member
Christine Vaughan 
My husband Richard and our three children live in Eastern suburbs of Wellington, in close proximity to the airport. My involvement with LLLNZ as an adult started with my first child in 2001 when I joined the Kairangi, Wellington group, soon after that I trained as a leader and have been a leader for six years. I have spent most of the last four years living overseas and being involved in local groups where I was living. On return to New Zealand I reestablished myself with the Wellington Group. It is rewarding to support mothers and babes as they discover their new abilities and roles.
South Island Board member
Mary Roache
Mary lives in Dunedin with Ian and the youngest of their five children, Liam. Mary had her first contact with La Leche League in Wanganui 28 years ago before her first child was born. She became a Leader in Christchurch at the start of 1988 and has since been an LLL Leader in Invercargill and Dunedin. She has been a member of the LLLNZ Board previously and is back as the Area Board Member for the South Island.
Beyond LLL she was involved with Midwifery Standards Review since its inception and is now a member of the local College's Resolutions Committee. She has also been a member of a school Board of Trustees for the last 9 years. Over the years her paid work has been in the education field; at all levels from pre-school to tertiary and for all ages.
Treasurer
Normita Armstrong 
Normita was recently (March 2011) employed part-time at the LLLNZ Office as Treasurer, which gives her a non-voting position on the LLLNZ Board. She would like to utilise her skills in accountancy and at the same time support an organisation she believes in. She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of people around her, especially to women and children. Normita has always been a strong advocate for breastfeeding as she herself breastfed all her children for six years, between the three of them, to give them a very good start in life.
Normita is originally from the Philippines, where she met her husband in 1983 and is now living here in New Zealand with their three children aged 18, 15 and nine.
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EDITORS
Editor of Mosaic, LLLNZ Leaders' Journal
Liz Lightfoot
As well as soliciting articles from NZ Leaders themselves, Liz's role as Editor involves gathering articles from LLLI international publications that may be of interest to NZ Leaders. Her aim is to provide up-to-date information and encouragement to Leaders and Leader Applicants in the invaluable and often sacrificial work they undertake in order to support mothers and babies in their local communities. Liz has been a La Leche League Leader in the Waikato since 2004 and lives with her primary school aged daughter and son.
Editor of Aroha, LLLNZ Members' Journal
Angela Lovett
Angela is a married mother of two little people and a La Leche League Leader with the Matamata group. Having worn several different hats pre-motherhood, she now has a particular interest in self-sufficiency, and finds that the rewards of a back-to-basics lifestyle far outweigh its challenges. Passionate about breastfeeding and all things child and family related, Angela is thrilled to be in a position to facilitate the sharing of information and inspiration through Aroha.
Website Editor
Lorraine Taylor
Lorraine has been a Leader for eight years, and held national positions including Aroha Editor, our members magazine for breastfeeding families. Mothers are increasingly looking for breastfeeding information and community online and Lorraine is enthusiastic about presenting the face and heart of what La Leche League is all about on our website.
Lorraine lives in Wellington with her husband Aaron and their four children.
Social Media Coordinator
Donna is married with four children born between 2001 and 2009 and lives in Auckland. She has been a Leader for eight years, mostly with the Central Auckland group. Donna's first encounter with LLL was via an old copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (1st ed.) given to her by her mother. Donna is enjoying embracing technology to reach mothers, and volunteers as the text message contact on the LLLNZ brochure, Are You Pregnant or Breastfeeding? as well as managing the LLLNZ Facebook page and offering help and information via the email help. She is interested in helping LLLNZ embrace the challenges of utilising new methods of communicating, whilst maintaining the heart of our organisation that was so evident in that early publication. Donna's career background is in retail sales, service, management and training, but has more recently worked part-time in a community library, and currently at the local school library.
