Seeflow

Dear Be. Community,

This week we farewelled John Allen who has been Chair of Be. Board since 2011. During that time he has made a huge contribution to the shape and growth of Be. and we greatly value his expertise and experience. Thank you, John.

John reflects on his time with Be. over on our blog. I encourage you to read his reflections which are a true testament to his commitment to our vision and mission.  (https://www.belab.co.nz/items/farewell-john-allen)

At the end of last year we appointed 3 impressive new members to the Be. Board and this week we came together for our first Board meeting for 2024. (Meet our board members over on our “Our People” page- https://www.belab.co.nz/our-people)

It was an opportunity to meet with the Be. Team, and build understanding about how, together, we can provide excellent governance and support to continue the great work that was started in 2011 by the wonderful Minnie Baragwanath.

We have achieved great results that are taking us closer to our vision of 100% accessibility for all New Zealanders – but there is still much work to do. Consequently, after 5 years as a board member, I am delighted to accept the role as Chair of the Be. Board and commit to co-creating an inclusive, accessible Board and team culture.  I deeply believe in the value of accessibility and its potential to create resilient, sustainable, thriving communities, workplaces and economies.

We are starting 2024 with a motivated Board to support our diverse and talented Be. Team. It’s a very exciting time to be in this space, as there is more awareness in every sector of the opportunity presented by accessibility to create better business experiences and results.

Increasingly organisations are aware of the importance of investing in accessibility as stakeholders are seeking to support socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Unfortunately disability and accessibility can sometimes be left out of this conversation. People can sometimes see accessibility as onerous and difficult – whereas it is an opportunity to release new talent and creativity.

Boards can increase brand loyalty, create inclusive and productive workplaces, and increase bottom lines by prioritising accessibility.

My challenge to you in 2024 is – don’t make accessibility something you put off until next year. Start the journey now, step into a leadership role - invest in creating accessible environments to realise the rewards.

Our experienced team have developed programmes and tools to take the complexity out of it for you, and to support you to achieve your goals. I encourage you to get in touch with them to learn more today.

Kindest regards,

Dr David Wilson

Chair

In other news:

Programme Leads Lesley Slade, Erin Rapley and Emily Steel have recently shared their reflections on their areas of expertise on LinkedIn. Links below:

Lesley Slade’s blog here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/disability-accessibility-board-agenda-lesley-slade-r5l8c/

Erin Rapley’s blog here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-weve-learned-attracting-retaining-disabled-talent-erin-rapley-3fh5c/

Emily Steel’s blog here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-steel-430979179/recent-activity/all/

And finally,

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the sudden passing of Neville Pulman last month. Neville was a loved member of the Be. Team, joining in 2016, leading the Be. Welcome Programme and stepping in as our Chief Operating Officer in 2020, and during the first few years of the pandemic. Our thoughts are with his sons, and their family at this sad time.