The board of the Auckland Pride Festival are seeking new members for the upcoming 2017 Auckland Pride Festival and beyond.

The Board would like to express its gratitude to retiring members Phylesha Brown-Acton and Shirley Allan. Phylesha has decided to step down from the Board after two festivals to pursue other community interests including the launch of a new support service while Shirley has personal reasons.

Phylesha joined the Board in August 2014 and has given no shortage of enthusiasm and energy to Pride during her two years. Shirley joined in July 2015 and brought to the Board her endless care for the community and a huge understanding of major event production. Shirley will be remaining on board as a consultant member of Pride.

Co-chair Kirsten Sibbit says “We are extremely sad to lose Phylesha and Shirley from the Board. Both have contributed a great deal to the development of the Festival and to ensuring that Pride enhances the wellbeing of the communities that it supports. Phylesha was a hugely valuable voice to have around the Board table and we’ll miss her presence and perspective. Shirley brought a great energy with her and had such a strong ability to engage with our communities.”

Ongoing Volunteer Roles

The board is seeking interest for a number of volunteer opportunities which will help to shape the 2017 festival: Board members; sub-committee members and Board assistants.

Roles:

1. Board Members
   • The Board is seeking new members who have a passion and enthusiasm for our Rainbow Communities and an ability to dedicate time to guiding the direction of the Auckland Pride Festival. We believe that a Board that represents our diverse communities is essential to ensuring the long-term success of the Festival and we are particularly keen to add to our current representation.
2. Sub-Committee Members
   • To support the Board, Pride will have four new sub-committees that will have responsibility for driving the direction of certain areas and making recommendations to the Board for approval. These are:
     1. Strategic Planning – The big picture taking Pride in the Future
     2. Finance & Marketing – Getting the figures right; Sponsorship, Evaluation of Event feasibility, Budgeting & Forecasting.
     3. People & Culture – Ensuring Pride has adequate policies in place to look after our people and to help with Recruitment of Volunteers for the Festival – including rewards scheme(s).
     4. Events – This group will shape all our events, from working on developing events like the Parade and Gala, to also considering new events and the ability to support community initiatives. This group will be formed as one, then split into the Parade Committee & Festival Committee.
3. Board Assistants
   • The Board is looking for two Board Assistants who are in sync with our Rainbow Communities and can help with keeping the Board up to date on ‘the happenings’ around Auckland. They will also help out in an admin function with Board minutes, proposals, meeting times and ensuring that Pride Board members get to as many community events as possible. This is a voluntary role, flexible to the time you have to give.

Apply:

To be considered for any of these roles, please apply by emailing chair@aucklandpridefestival.org.nz with a cover letter setting out why you would like to be involved and short CV by no later than 29th July, 2016.