The Chairperson of NZCOSS, Andrew Beyer, has sat on the Executive of NZCOSS for the past nine years; he has been Chairperson for four years and has sat on the Executive Board of Auckland District COSS since 1989.  He lives in Manukau City and is employed by a voluntary organisation covering the Auckland and Northland regions.  He is an avid fisherman and boatie and a very happy father and grandfather to a troupe of comedians who continue to grow and develop at a pace!

Graham Foster who joins the Executive Committee this year has been a social worker for 24 years and a beneficiaries advocate in South Auckland for the past seven years.

He is a member of ADCOSS (Auckland District Council of Social Service), and has a longstanding involvement in the Trade Union Movement and is a drug and alcohol counsellor.

Chrissy Hodkinson also joins the Executive Committee this year.   She has been been Coordinator of Raglan Community House since 2009, having held previous positions at Unitec in the Academic Quality Office and the Division of Postgraduate Studies, the University of Waikato, the National Library of New Zealand, the Crafts Council and New zealand Defence at Waioru Military Camp. 

Her present responsibilities at Raglan Community House consist of ensuring the effective and efficient management, coordination, administration and promotion of the operations and activities there. 

Owen Lloyd (Nga Ariki Kaiputahi, Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Whatatohea) has served on the Executive Committee of NZCOSS for the past three years; also, he is a member and/or chair of a range of other organisations. These include the Social Services Industry Training Organisation, Gisborne Council of Social Services and Nga Ariki Kaiputahi Iwi.  He is part of the negotiation teams for Turanga Treaty claims negotiations and fulfills a number of governance roles.  He has a background in General Management and Maori health management and funding and planning for health services including for Tairawhiti District Health Board.

His networks within Tairawhiti are: Chair of the Tairawhiti Truancy Service, Member of Youth Offending Team, member of the Tairawhiti Policy Maori Advisory Board, Member of the Itanga A Mahiki tribal trust, and trustee on Mangatu Marae, the District Arts in Public Places Trust, the District Council navigation project and many years of community involvement with both Maori and non Maori.

Another new member of NZCOSS Executive Committee this year, Denise Lormans has been employed at the Southland Community Law Centre since July 2007, working to develop strong and viable community networks as well as maintaining involvement with existing ones.

Currently, she is the Manager at the Community Law Centre, a member of Future Directions Network which is an NGO network made up of agencies supporting clients and families with mental illness.  She is a representative within the Southland Interagency Network, a supervisor for employees of various organisations, an Executive Member of the Coalition of Community Law Centres Aotearoa.

She is passionate about providing equitable, accessible and relevant community services that in turn, should enrich and empower New Zealanders, with a particular emphasis on the belief that all who live here, have a basic legislated set of standards human rights standards which mean that everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

This will be Jocelyn Frances O'Kane's second year on the NZCOSS Executive Committee and also has been a member of the Wellington Council of Social Services for the past eight years; she has Chaired WELCOSS since 2007.  She has a background in residential social work, social work training and community work, and coordinated the Wellington People’s Centre from 2003 to 2007.

Jocelyn is based at Well Health in Newtown, Wellington where she supports and links community based social services with the primary health strategy to increase the range of services available to support vulnerable people – especially those on low incomes, Pacific and Maori.  This work involves building relationships across all kinds of networks and feeds in nicely to the work of WELCOSS.  The WELCOSS Executive aims to be the ‘go to’ group to take up the issues for the sector.

For the past five years, Alan Shanks has been the membership support and services/administrator at the Council of Social Services, Dunedin.  Alan worked in banking for 19 years: seven in a community bank responsible for lending and customer service and 12 years with a commercial bank.  He also worked for ten years in the legal profession as a legal executive, specialising in conveyancing.  Alan held the position of general manager for a community trust responsible for managing a hotel and conference centre and completed a Ministry Internship Diploma (MIDip) in Theology.  He is a recipient of a Priory Vote of Thanks, one of St. John's highest awards for financial administration.

Sharon Torstonson, is the Executive Director of Christchurch COSS and has been a member of the NZCOSS Executive for nine years.  She lives with her husband Murray at Waikuku, a small beachside community north of Christchurch.

Originally from Upper Hutt, Sharon first became involved with the community and voluntary sector in Wellington, when she was a volunteer at Catacombs, an evening café for inner city residents run by the Inner City Ministry. Following that she became involved, as do so many parents, with early childhood groups such as kindergarten and the community crèche, and went on to serve on the Board of Trustees at her sons' school.

After completing a B.A. in the mid-90's, Sharon was employed by the Council of Social Services in Christchurch. This work introduced her to Te Runaka ki Otautahi o Kai Tahu; the relationship she has developed has been most fulfilling.