Applications to join the 2025–2028 term of the Seniors Advisory Panel are now closed. We will appoint the new panel in February once the recruitment process is complete.
Read more on OurAuckland.
The Seniors Advisory Panel offers advice based on their experiences living as senior citizens, to help us improve outcomes for this community.
They will:
Standing from left to right: Bruce Davies, Gavin Jones, Claire Dale, Lindsay Waugh, Fia Turner, Leigh Featherstone and Suzanne Tapsell. Seated from left to right: Janis McArdle, Zari Fazelnia, Gayle Marshall and Edwina Pio (resigned).
Claire lives in the central city and works part-time at the University of Auckland in the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity Hub in the Economic Policy Centre at the Department of Economics.
Claire researches and writes for academic and media publications about key policy areas such as intergenerational equity, pensions, health and housing.
Her work also sees her organising public events to provide and promote discussion and dissemination of age-related information and issues.
She is passionate about age-friendly cities and spaces.
Claire is also founder and trustee of Ngā Tāngata Microfinance. This organisation works nationwide with Kiwibank and financial mentors to provide no interest loans to people on low incomes.
It also promotes social justice, financial capability and inclusion, and protection from predatory lenders.
Bruce Davies currently lives in rural Warkworth.
He has family connections to Aotea / Great Barrier Island through Ngāti Rehua, Ngāti Wai and also Ngāti Porou.
He is serving a second term on the Seniors Advisory Panel.
As a retired Auckland business owner, he understands the issues and interests of people living in Auckland City and rural Auckland.
He served on the Auckland Conservation Board for six years where he assisted with translocation of endangered birds and animals around the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.
He has held various other positions with school boards of trustees, Glenfield Lions Club, Omaha Marae and Rodney Rams Committee.
He is a Justice of the Peace and served as a court-appointed trustee on the Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Trust Board.
Gavin Jones MNZM has a background in law enforcement, community safety, emergency management and investigative assessments and reviews.
Gavin retired from the New Zealand Police in June 2009 at the rank of Assistant Commissioner (Investigations and Intelligence) following 36 years’ service – of which 33 years were spent in Auckland City.
Since 2009 Gavin has been an adjudicator for the Judicial Control Authority (JCA), now the Racing Integrity Board (RIB).
During the lead up to the Rugby World Cup (2012 RWC) Gavin was appointed as a member to the RWC Authority. This was set up to enable timely RWC related licensing applications (Liquor and Resource Management) to be heard.
Gavin retired from Crimestoppers New Zealand Board of Directors and as a trustee in 2016 – having been a founding member since Crimestoppers was established in 2009.
Born in Tāmaki Makarau, Gayle lives in the west and is retired.
Waiheke Island is her second home as this is where her Ngāti Paoa heritage lies.
Gayle has had two businesses, been an elected member of local government and also a licensing trust.
She is very involved in the community and chairs two charitable organisations, Parent Aid Waitākere and Whau Ace (Adult Community education).
Gayle also does community service as a funeral celebrant.
She believes Auckland City is a city of challenges and more so for the aged population.
Communication and understanding of how councils work and why decisions are made are a must for all aged communities of all cultures and diversities.
Auckland is now recognized as an age-friendly city facing the challenges for the future.
Scottish-born Janis McArdle grew up in Papatoetoe and Manurewa before heading to Waikato University to complete an undergraduate degree in social sciences. She then went to Canterbury University for a postgraduate diploma in journalism.
She also studied business administration and holds a masters degree in management from Massey University.
Janis’s professional career has ranged through broadcasting journalism, public relations and marketing roles to fundraising in support of community organisations.
She has also held senior manager roles in both central and local government.
She currently works as a leadership coach and facilitator from her home base on Waiheke Island.
Leigh Featherstone is a Londoner who has made Aotearoa his home these past 20 years.
From a background in science, his career moved to a focus on business and including his own design and manufacturing company in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Increasingly driven by social purpose Leigh was Director Residential at the New Zealand Green Building Council and General Manager of a conservation charitable trust. He now acts as a consultant and advisor, helping business owners.
After an early career as a designer and art director for film and television, Lindsay progressed to develop a long history of involvement with local government in a variety of fields.
This includes three years with the Safer Communities Crime Prevention initiative and subsequently coordinating Settlement Support in North Shore City.
She was also the first general manager of the Takapuna Beach Business Improvement District. During this time, she coordinated with local business and council to promote and develop Takapuna Beach as a destination.
With this background in local community initiatives, Lindsay was elected to the Birkenhead Northcote Community Board in 2007. She subsequently served for three terms on the Kaipātiki Local Board as inaugural chairperson.
Lindsay did not seek re-election in 2019 but has applied her knowledge and experience to serving as a member of Auckland Council’s Seniors Advisory Panel as well as on Auckland Transport’s Public Transport Accessibility Group and the Capital Projects Accessibility Group.
Lindsay is delighted to be confirmed as a member of these three panels for the next three years.
Misa Fia Turner was born and raised in Samoa and speaks fluent Samoan.
She is the mother of four adult children and the grandmother of seven grandchildren.
Her passion for the health and wellbeing of the people lead her to a career path in psychological counselling.
She worked for many years in the development, management and provision of counselling services in the community.
She studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Counselling and Master of Indigenous Studies (Counselling) with honours.
She has been a full member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, since 2009.
She has held governance and leadership roles on various local, regional and national advisory committees and boards of trustees for the government and non-government organisations.
Currently, she works as a Senior Academic Research Lecturer at the Manukau Institute of Technology, teaching the Bachelor of Applied Counselling programme.
She is passionate about the wellbeing and safety of the people, especially the seniors in our communities.
Susanne Tapsell’s whakapapa stems from Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Pikiao.
Susanne has had two careers, working firstly in education as a teacher and then in local government - in Auckland City, with City Planning and then in the new Auckland Council in Plans and Places.
She was an active delegate for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi ( PSA).
She represented council staff as the Hinonga Māngai Māori and as the chair of the delegates committee.
She also sat on the Ethics Committee.
Towards the end of her time at council she was employed as one of the two PSA delegates for all PSA staff.
In 2018, she was awarded the Marlene Pitman prize for her work at Auckland Council by Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina o Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
She is currently volunteering as an interviewer at the Citizens Advice Bureau and is Chair of her body corporate.
Zari is an Iranian New Zealander who immigrated to New Zealand with her family in 2006.
Prior to immigrating she was manager of the Investment Department at the Bank Tejarat (one of the biggest state-owned banks in Iran).
Her role was to manage and supervise 20 of the bank’s affiliated companies.
Her journey in Auckland began by working as a volunteer for different NGOs.
Meanwhile, to get acquainted with Māori culture, she attended a Māori cultural awareness workshop and studied the Treaty of Waitangi.
After working for New Zealand Ethnic Social Services for a year, she began to teach ESOL at Rutherford College Community Education and retired in 2017.
She joined Waitākere Ethnic Board in 2016 as an executive board member for two terms.
At Waitākere Ethnic Board she worked as a super connector in west Auckland, bringing cultures together.
She joined Waitākere Health Link as a board member and treasurer.
Waitākere Health Link is a community driven organisation fostering collaborative relationships between healthcare providers and the west Auckland communities.
She worked for the Auckland Council Seniors Advisory Panel for one term and was a member of the cross-panel elections working group.
The Seniors' Advisory Panel holds scheduled meetings and a number of workshops with staff each year.
Scheduled meetings are open to the public.
For dates, agendas and minutes, see Seniors Advisory Panel meetings.
Email seniorsadvisory.panel@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz to:
