​​​​​​​Stephen has been on the Touch NZ Board since 2017 and Chair since 2019. By day, he is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Kernel Wealth, a wealth accumulation platform. His qualifications and background are in marketing and product development as well as being a qualified management accountant. He holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge in England. 

Previously while living in Zürich, he started Switzerland's first ever Touch module. He was National President of the Swiss Touch Association in 2012 and 2013, and involved with the formation of the European Touch Federation. Stephen played internationally for Switzerland at the 2011 World Cup, and at the 2010 and 2012 European Championships. 

Stephen was born and raised in Wellington but now lives on Waiheke Island with his wife and 3 children and manages the Waiheke Touch module.

​​​​​​​Ben Douglas is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years’ experience in finance and accounting. Originally from Te Anau, Southland, Ben attended Otago University where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce. Ben is a Director of Johnston Associates South Chartered Accountants, employing 30+ staff in Nelson and Marlborough.He is also a co-owner of the Sprig & Fern Tahuna Tavern located conveniently next to the Tahuna playing fields home of the Tahuna touch module.

Ben has played competitive rugby in Southland, Otago & Tasman and has always enjoyed playing social touch rugby in the summer months.

After 30 years in the Stock & Station Business John spent the balance of his working life in the Sporting industry.  A strong background in rugby administration, including Club and Sub Union Chairmanships, led to him forming a Touch Module at his Rangiora Rugby Club.

From there John was appointed as Provincial Touch Manager for Canterbury in 1997.  In 2001 he accepted a volunteer position as Tour Manager for Touch NZ.  Shortly after this he was seconded to Touch NZ to progress the sport throughout the South Island as well as be responsible for all the NZ Senior Touch Teams.  He managed 2 World Cup Campaigns (Japan and South Africa) as well as 2 Trans Tasman Series, the All Nations Tournament in Christchurch and a development Tour to Queensland.

After completing his contract with Touch NZ he went back to Touch Canterbury for a brief period to facilitate the repayment of a substantial debt that had been incurred.

John is a Life member of Touch Canterbury where he is still a Board Member and the President.

He was elected President of Touch NZ in 2009, a position he held until 2018.

Married to Carole for 62 years they have 2 married children and 5 grandchildren.

​​​​​​​Leanne has a long history with Touch playing at 4 World Cup tournaments with the NZ Open Women’s side, Auckland, 1991, Hawaii, 1995, Sydney 1999, Kumagaya, 2003. A stalwart if the Waikato Open Women’s side she played 21 consecutive Nationals in the Open Women’s grade before eventually turning her hand to coaching a variety of teams at various levels.

Also a Double Olympian Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 in the sport of basketball, Leanne has been involved in High Performance Sport in both playing and coaching roles for a number of years, coaching a range of grades through to the Senior Women’s 3x3 National Women’s team, Gold medallists in the 2018, Asia cup.

Leanne and her husband Eliu (also a Waikato Touch rep) have 3 daughters who have at various times represented their province and country in basketball and touch. Leanne is looking forward to the opportunity to serve the Touch community.

She is currently a teacher and Lead Dean at St Peters Cambridge, as well as part of the Olympic Women in Sport Leadership Academy.

​​​​​​​Kirsty is an associate with Hamish Fletcher Lawyers in Nelson since 2018 in their Property Commercial team. She is a graduate from the University of Otago. 

Kirsty has an ambition to specialise in sports law. She is a successful sportswoman in her own right, having achieved in a variety of different sports including international rowing achievements and national and regional success in basketball, netball and rugby sevens. Representing New Zealand on the world stage alongside being the Secretary for the Otago University Rowing Club and more recently the Jacks Netball Club.

​​​​​​​Born and raised, and still residing in West Auckland, Karyne has worked in sport for over 20 years, but involved for a lifetime. Netball was her main sport being involved with Te Atatu Netball Club where she is a Life Member, and has played basetball, touch and indoor netball. Karyne's career has been wide and varied, starting in Customs and Freight Forwarding, owning a Restaurant, to Marketing and PR, followed by a committed stint within a Professional Athlete Management Agency, then into community sport as General Manager of Netball Waitakere, and now into a Regional Sports Organisation as Community Netball Manager at Netball Northern Zone. During this time Karyne completed a Master of Business in Sport Leadership and Management with AUT, graduating with First Class Honours in March 2021.

Karyne's passion lies very much in the grass roots sports and participation space with a strongly held belief of the value involvement in sport adds to the social fabric of our communities. With Karyne's children now of young adult age she is in a position to give back to sport through volunteering in the Governance space. Karyne is delighted to become part of the Touch NZ team.

​​​​​​​Keri emigrated to NZ in 1993 as junior Doctor from the UK. She has spent her career in the NZ health sector, working initially as a GP, then completing further study to complete her consultancy in Psychiatry. Until recently she led the Southland Mental Health Services as the Clinical Director for 16 years. Keri has a particular interest in rural NZ and finding ways of building health, wellbeing and resilience in communities.

Keri is married to Mark. They have 3 children all of whom have played Touch at regional level; the elder 2 also playing in the National Secondary Schools competition. Keri has been involved in coaching at primary school level for Touch, along with volunteering and managing various other sports teams. A keen sportswoman herself, she participates in a variety of codes including multisports, most recently enjoying the Breca swim/run events.

Keri has completed the chartered assessment with the IOD and has governance experience across the agricultural, education and health sectors.

​​​​​​​Harley Wall is a sports administrator and an experienced leader in the event management industry, currently working for the New Zealand Olympic Committee as the NZ Team Operations Manager.

Prior to this role, Harley was a widely respected and well-regarded member of the Touch New Zealand whanau, first launching our Tamaki Makaurau Regional Development strategy as Manager then as our National Events Manager. He is an active level 4 touch referee for over 10 years and has officiated at every level including the Touch World Cup.

He has also held roles with New Zealand Rugby League, Aktive and the Rugby League World Cup. Harley currently serves as a Director for Māori Touch NZ, Trustee for Pacific Cup Touch and as Referee Director for Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Rugby League.

He is passionate about making a positive difference in our communities through sport, play and culture. Harley has whakapapa to Taranaki and currently lives in Mount Wellington, Auckland.

Dayna Taramai proudly whakapapa from Samoa and the Cook Islands. Born and bred in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, she now resides in Tāmaki Makaurau. As Tangata Pasefika, Tautua (service) is central to her identity and approach, influencing her commitment to building strong relationships and fostering a sense of belonging in all that she does.

Dayna's professional journey spans diverse sectors, including government, the charity sector, education and startup spaces, providing her with a unique perspective on how to build, lead, and adapt. Her experience as Chief Operating Officer at Hauora Aotearoa showcases her ability to translate vision into tangible outcomes, scaling programs and driving significant impact. She combines an entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative mindset to see challenges as opportunities.

Dayna's passion for sport is deeply rooted in her youth, when she represented Wellington in Touch Rugby from U13 to U18. She strongly believes in the transformative power of sport, particularly for Māori and Pasefika communities focusing on solutions "for the people, by the people, with the people" that leverage sport as a platform for positive change. Dayna contributes her governance expertise to both Touch NZ and Sport Auckland, where she is dedicated to shaping strategies that promote active lifestyles, community wellbeing, and the long-term sustainability of sport.