Board Members

Cherie Cawdron

Board Chair

I joined the Complex Care Board in late 2022, and a year later become Board Chair as Gillian Wright was ready to step down. I am excited to be involved in this capacity and look forward to serving our unique and complex community.  

My husband and I have twin adult children, Mitchell and Holly, and we live in Karaka, South Auckland. Mitchell was born with a rare disorder called Pentalogy of Cantrell, has an intellectual disability, ASD, is non-verbal and requires 24/7 intensive support. His sister Holly, is currently a student of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Auckland and lives between her flat in the city and home with us.  

For the past 20 years I have been managing my son’s support, which has included managing complex medical cares (BiPap ventilation, naso-gastric feeding, oxygen, tracheostomy cares), challenging behaviours, recruiting, training and managing a team of support workers and coordinating therapy, doctors and hospital admissions. But if you are reading this, it is likely that I don’t need to explain this life to you!  

While I have always advocated passionately for my son’s support, in the last few years, I have become a fierce advocate for disabled people without their own voice and for family carers who support those with intensive needs. As Board Chair, I hope to honour the good work that has been achieved by the group before me, and would like to see the complex care community recognised and supported by government with policy and support that works for our families.  

I love learning and completed a BA in Business Psychology in 2016 after studying part time for many years. I work part time as an Executive Assistant at Disability Connect in Penrose and find my job very rewarding. I am currently on the Whaikaha Strategic Advisory Group as a family member representing the Family/Whanau Network. 

Outside of work and family, I love playing golf when I can, doing yoga, walking, crafting, reading and writing a blog. My current ambition is to publish a book around the life and challenges of being a complex carer.  I hope I can get to know as many of our members as possible and always feel free to reach out with feedback and/or ideas that would make a difference in your lives.  

Wendy Brenkley

Co-Board Chair

I have been privileged to be involved with the Complex Care Group since its establishment in 2002.

I am based in Palmerston North and the mother of three.  My eldest has Rett Syndrome variant/severe autism.

We have had an interesting journey in the disability sector throughout my daughter’s life and I was naïve enough to assume that all would be well in world by the time we exited school.  I have greatly appreciated the support and information provided by this group as we have navigated the system.

I am a firm believer in the uniqueness of our population and that each individual has needs that cannot be addressed by a ‘one size fits all approach’.  There are definitely gaps in service provision for those with intensive support needs. The ability of Complex Care Group to report issues directly to the Ministry of Health is invaluable.

I have been a representative on the Consumer Consortium, currently on the Rett Syndrome Association Trust Board, Advisory group for Care Matters and am a Parent-to-Parent support parent.

John Brenkley

Board Secretary

My name is John Brenkley, and I currently live and work in Dunedin. My wife, Wendy, and I are both on the Board. We have three children, with the oldest being Sarah, who has Rett Syndrome and severe autism. Sarah was born in the UK while we were travelling and working. We moved back to New Zealand in 1994. Sarah has always been an important part of our family life. We have been balancing caring for her as best as we can while ensuring that our family, especially our two younger children, are able to lead as normal lives as possible. Over the years, we have experienced many challenges and successes in dealing with the disability sector. I believe that it is crucial for the Board to consist of individuals who have direct experience in living with children with high and complex needs. I take pride in being part of the Complex Care Group because it is designed to provide support for families in various ways. It offers information and support to families with children having high and complex needs. It’s reassuring to know that there’s a group that understands our experiences and can help us connect with others in similar situations. Another important aspect of the Complex Care Group is that it provides information about the needs of our population to government agencies and service providers. I believe we must have a means of communicating real-life issues to the decision-makers who impact how our families live.

Ajay Marwaha

Treasurer

I am a Board Trustee and Treasurer at the Complex Care Group based in Auckland. My journey has been shaped by roles at NZ Business Mentors, where I gained valuable experience in Business Process, IT Strategy, Supply Chain Management, and Change Management. These skills have allowed me to bring a strategic and practical approach to my work with the Complex Care Group.

Alongside my involvement with the Complex Care Group Trust, I serve as a teacher and Dean at Waitakere College. This dual role in business and education enables me to contribute meaningfully to both organisational growth and the development of young minds. I am passionate about creating positive change within the disability community and beyond.

Gillian Wright

Board Member

Hello, my name is Gillian Wright and I live in central Auckland with my two disabled sons, aged 35 and 32.  I don’t think I heard of Complex Carers (now named Complex Care Group Trust) until a real crisis arrived in my life and that of families with similarly aged and disabled children.  We discovered that the respite facilities we were using did not cater for people over 16 years.  We parents formed a lobby group to get some action on this from the Ministry of Health, and Complex Carers were there at our meetings to support us and offer advice, along with other concerned groups.   We were successful in this and the Ministry set up more places for out-of-home respite for older children and young people.  There is still, however, a need for more of these services for families.

Complex Care Group is important to me as it seems to be the only such group that provides support and advice for families who care for children and young people like ours.  I would advise people to become  members to access the expert advice and support that Lisa, our Director can provide. There is a regular newsletter as well, to keep us up-to-date with what is going on.  It is extremely difficult and time-consuming to try and navigate the health, education and welfare systems without expert guidance from someone who has been there themselves.

Stakeholders need to be aware that families are the experts on their particular disabled person and that we appreciate being listened to and working in partnership with government agencies, service providers and paid carers.

Kimberly Graham

Board Member

Tēnā koutou,

I became involved with the Complex Care Group a few years ago when I realised that neither my voice nor that of my 19-year-old son, Finlay Butcher, was being represented at the Government level. Since his birth, I’ve been a passionate advocate for inclusion. From early on, it was clear we would face many challenges raising a child with complex and multiple disabilities. His neurologist once told me I’d become my son’s expert, a statement I wasn’t ready to hear as I desperately searched for answers.

As I fought for Finlay’s place in society, I realised I was also fighting for my own. We encountered barriers that restricted Finlay’s participation in mainstream education, and I found myself struggling to maintain a career. He missed out on playdates, and I was too busy caring for him to connect with my peers. As he grew older, our world seemed to narrow even further. Accessibility became crucial—places had to accommodate wheelchairs, and I was becoming more fatigued. Finlay wanted to explore and have fun, but I was often too tired to make it happen.

The constant hospital visits, the stress of lifting and moving him, and the overwhelming desire to communicate despite the impact of his seizures were exhausting. To fully include Finlay in family life, we needed specialised equipment—things like a wheelchair bike, a hoist, a beach wheelchair, a van, and a wheelchair-accessible home. Thanks to a short period of flexible funding, we were able to afford some of this essential, albeit expensive, equipment.

This is why I joined the Board of the Complex Care Group. With Finlay turning 20, I often wonder, what’s next for him? What’s next for me? Our new Coalition Government has undone years of progress for the disability community, leaving much work to be done. The voices of our children with high and complex needs must be heard, and the Complex Care Group is determined to ensure that happens.

Tony McLean

Board Member

It is an honor and a privilege to be invited to serve on the Board of the Complex Care Group. I live in Papamoa with my wife, Ange, and our three children. My journey into the world of disability began as a young man on my OE. Through a series of events, I became the direct supporter of a man with significant challenges — that was in 1993! This ‘chance encounter’ changed the trajectory of my life.

Since then, I have worked and volunteered in many areas within Aotearoa New Zealand’s disability sector, engaged with services and organisations in various countries, and worked in International Aid and Development with cbmNZ. In 2017, our eldest daughter, who was ten at the time, developed a significant neurological condition that changed her life. I wish I could say that my previous years of experience made the journey easier, but that simply hasn’t been the case. Little can prepare you for the challenges of advocating (fighting) for your own child’s needs, helping siblings make sense of their new reality, and learning new ways to function as a father and husband.

I believe that families are the fundamental building blocks of our world. By supporting families, we are doing what we can to create a better world.

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