Meet the Team
Lydia Cook
President
Lydia joined the APODC community in 2022 looking for community after her youngest daughter Thea was diagnosed with profound bilateral hearing loss. Thea’s diagnosis came not long after her birth and during the 2021 Auckland lock down. APODC has provided a way to connect with other families and has been a source of real encouragement for us. She’s been with the committee since 2022, first as Secretary and, as of 2026, as Committee President.
Thea, now approaching four years old, wears cochlear implants. Thea is developing her NZSL skills with some excellent First Signs support and she signs enthusiastically at home and at daycare. Attending APODC events has been a fantastic opportunity for the whole whānau to build on their NZSL skills, meet members of the Deaf community and share experiences with other parents and siblings of Deaf and Hard of Hearing kids.
When Lydia isn’t practicing her own NZSL skills, she is working as a senior legal counsel and company secretary. She brings her governance experience and enthusiasm to the Committee and is passionate about helping the Committee bring meaningful connections and events to the Auckland community.
Rhian Thompson
Treasurer
Rhian is married to Michael and has two children, Audrey and Gethin. Her son was born profoundly deaf and received bilateral cochlear implants at the age of 6 months and her daughter recently experienced hearing loss and uses a hearing aid. Rhian joined APODC in 2022 to re-build connections with other families of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, which she felt had fallen away since her children started school.
Rhian believes that having a support network connecting families of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children is vital for the wellbeing of our parents and their children. She feels APODC provides a valuable service enabling families to share knowledge and experiences, access information and build relationships and wishes to give back some of her time to help APODC thrive.
Rhian has a background in banking and commercial law and has worked at law firms, financial institutions and large corporates. She currently works part-time as consultant for a law firm and is otherwise a stay-at-home mum. Rhian has experience in project management, governance, finance and compliance. She is learning NZSL and hopes to reach a level where she is able to easily converse with other NZSL users.
Anna Park
Committee Member
Anna, her husband James, and their son Theo have been members of APODC since 2017. Theo, who is now 11 years old, has bilateral severe to profound hearing loss. He wears hearing aids on both ears.
Joining APODC introduced Anna and her family to others who knew the complex and rich experience and shared the struggles of raising a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing child in a hearing world. It has also meant Theo has met heaps of kids who are just like him. Anna volunteered for the committee in 2021 because she wanted to give back to APODC and help to keep it thriving. In the last couple of years, Anna has helped with hosting events and planning. She has also been a point of initial contact for members and non-members who had questions or concerns or just needed information.
Theo, James and Anna use spoken English as their primary means of communication, but they are all learning NZSL via a mix of classes, online resources, and attending Deaf events. They use NZSL every day at home and out and about. The benefits of being able to communicate with each other in NZSL have been enormous for their family.
Anna works as a Research Librarian. She and her family live in West Auckland. Anna also volunteers at Theo’s school Breakfast Club during term time.
Chelsea Andrews
Committee Member
Chelsea joined the APODC community in 2024, after her daughter Lucia was born profoundly deaf. Lucia received bilateral cochlear implants at six months old and is growing up with access to both spoken English and NZSL. Their family’s journey has been shaped by brilliant medical teams, a generous Deaf community, and organisations like APODC that made sure they never had to figure it out alone. Chelsea joined the committee in 2026.
Chelsea leads the B2B Product Marketing team at Canva — a global technology company — where she specialises in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and building programmes that scale. She brings this capability directly to APODC: in how the organisation reaches new families, communicates its impact to sponsors and partners, and positions itself for long-term growth. Chelsea is committed to ensuring newly diagnosed families find APODC early — before the overwhelm sets in — and to strengthening APODC’s voice and visibility across Auckland.
Christa Napier-Robertson
Committee Member
Christa has been a member of APODC since 2018, after her daughter Esme was diagnosed with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. She and her partner were deeply moved by the way the APODC and broader Deaf community welcomed and helped guide them through what initially felt like quite a frightening situation. Christa will never forget watching Esme engrossed in play with other children at APODC camp — all of them wearing hearing aids just like her. Engaging with the APODC community has been invaluable in helping Esme and her family build confidence, skills, pride, and friendships. Christa joined the committee in 2026.
Christa is passionate about helping New Zealand Sign Language achieve a more generalised appreciation and use in Aotearoa, befitting its position as an official language of New Zealand. She has been collaborating with other parents to build an NZSL programme at their children’s primary school, and as a current intermediate teacher, has made sign language an essential and joyful part of her classroom. Christa holds a Masters of Social and Community Leadership and brings significant leadership experience working with children, youth, and adult teams — with particular expertise in engaging learners through the visual arts.
Robyn Voigt
Committee Member
Robyn joined the APODC community in 2021, shortly after her youngest daughter was born hard of hearing. Over time, her daughter’s hearing deteriorated, and she received bilateral cochlear implants in November 2025. APODC has provided Robyn and her family with a valuable sense of community, shared experience, and practical support throughout that journey. Attending events has helped the whole family grow their confidence in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing world, and they are continuing to learn NZSL together — with Robyn hoping to become fluent one day. Robyn joined the committee in 2026.
Robyn is a Chartered Accountant with extensive professional experience in governance and financial management. She is currently a board member of The Little Miracles Trust and brings strategic thinking and a strong commitment to supporting organisations that make a meaningful difference for families.
Rodney Simchowitz
Committee Member
Rodney has a deaf family. Three of them — Rodney, his son Ryan, and his daughter Fallon — have cochlear implants, and his wife Melanie wears hearing aids. Having moved to New Zealand from South Africa in 1997, their children are now grown and living independently, and Rodney and Melanie are proud grandparents of two grandsons. This personal experience has strongly shaped his passion for supporting the Deaf community and families.
Rodney previously served on the APODC committee from approximately 1998 to 2004, and he rejoined the committee in 2026. Professionally, he has been working full-time as a First Signs Facilitator since 2020, supporting children aged 0–5 and youth aged 6–17 — work that is very close to his heart. Rodney looks forward to sharing his experience, building strong relationships with APODC families, and supporting a better future for children and their whānau.
Stuart Duncan
Committee Member
Stuart joined the APODC community in 2022, introduced through The Hearing House. He is dad to Holly, who was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss at birth. Holly was fitted with hearing aids at 8 months old, received her first cochlear implant at two and a half, and received her second in 2026. Holly’s primary language is spoken English, and as a family they are learning NZSL through First Signs, online learning, and night classes. Stuart has valued the opportunity to connect with other families and attend events, and joined the committee in 2026.
Stuart is the CEO of a large retail business and brings experience in leadership, governance, and strategy. He looks forward to contributing these skills to support APODC’s continued development and impact.
Alison Verona
Operations Manager
Alison is a mother of two little boys. She left her corporate job to work with us, full time, as she’s passionate about supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their whanau.
As our Operations Manager you have likely met her at one of our many events or liaise with her about membership, support and any other general queries.
Alison has been learning NZSL through online and in-person courses with Auckland Deaf Society and has used NZSL to communicate with her sons from birth. Her oldest boy enjoys uses his signs at daycare and has helped to encourage his teachers to learn signs and incorporate them in their everyday play with the other children. With help from the Deaf community, Alison has been able to practice and improve her signing and hopes to one day be fluent.
Sarah Burgess
Bookkeeper - Little Black Books
Sarah is a Virtual CFO offering advisory and bookkeeping services to small to medium sized businesses in New Zealand. Sarah has been running Little Black Books for 5 years with a growing team. Her goals are simple: to empower you, hold you accountable and make a difference to not only your charity or business but to your lifestyle.
Sarah enjoys life by the beach in Devonport with her three children and has a Bachelor of Accountancy and over 15 years’ experience in financial services as a Management Accountant, she is Xero Certified Advisor and a member of the Institute of Certified bookkeepers. Having worked for various hedge funds overseas as well as in analysis roles for PR and telecommunication companies, Sarah moved back to New Zealand and started her own company Little Black Books so she could spend more time with her growing family.
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