Theresa Cooper
ChairpersonTheresa joined DAHL in November 2021 and is the Chairperson for the Board. Theresa is a well-known advocate for accessibility for Deaf in the arts sector. She grew up in Wellington, is Deaf and fluent in NZSL, and is active in the Deaf Community. Theresa freelances as a NZSL consultant assisting a variety of organisations, recently Te Papa, to develop a mobile guide in NZSL. Over the past 20 years she has worked in cultural heritage advisory roles in central and local NZ government and even had a stint with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Kevin O’Neill
Kevin grew up in Wellington with three deaf sisters. His father was heavily involved in promoting deaf education and Kevin is proud to continue his family’s involvement in the Deaf community. He has worked in the not-for-profit sector in his role as a Chartered Accountant, with a focus on health. Kevin is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Scots College and has also worked for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Ministry of Health and as Chief Financial Officer for Access Home Health.
Kevin brings his business acumen and knowledge of government systems to DAHL. He hopes these skills will support the growth of the services Deaf Aotearoa provides, while maintaining the organisation’s values and reputation for outstanding, innovative services.
Lachlan Keating
Chief ExecutiveLachlan has worked in the disability sector for more than 20 years, firstly in Australia for Wesley Mission Brisbane, and since early 2006 at Deaf Aotearoa. Initially working in Christchurch as an employment consultant, Lachlan progressed to the roles of South Island Regional Manager and then General Manager – Community Development, before being appointed as Chief Executive in 2012.
Lachlan attended the prestigious Harvard Business School in 2015 and has been a strong advocate for Deaf Aotearoa staff gaining additional qualifications. Leadership development has been a key focus during Lachlan’s tenure, with eight Deaf people appointed to leadership roles in the past 10 years. Lachlan has led a programme of organisational transformation and restructured the organisation in 2015 to ensure an increased level of quality, professionalism, accountability and performance at all levels.
Steven Wilson
Steven is from Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Tura Te Ngākau. He has extensive experience across a wide range of fields and combined with his qualifications (BSc, MBA, Environmental Commissioner), means he is well used to applying current business thinking and theory to market place realities. He recently finished two terms as the Deputy Chair of the Environmental Protection Authority Board and has served as chair, treasurer and secretary of a number of hapū and land block boards. He is also a former Group Manager Environment and current Treaty Specialist Advisor for an Iwi Authority.
Established in 2005, Steven is the Chief Executive Officer of Maximize Consultancy Limited which has a focus on maximising opportunity, creating value and building relationships in Māori organisations and in the ability of Corporate and Government organisations to work productively with Māori in the environmental and planning area.
He worked for Deaf Aotearoa as the Contracts Manager 18 years ago. This was followed by a brief period on the Executive Board and he joined the DAHL Board in 2023.