About us

The Board ensures the College maintains a steady direction in line with our vision, and stays positioned to our core mission and purpose.

About the College's Board

The College Board is composed of 10 members.

View the Board minutes (member log-in required)

Board member profiles

Dr Samantha Murton

President and Chair 

Distinguished Fellow and Wellington GP, Dr Murton was voted President during the College's 2018 presidential election. She was the College's inaugural Medical Director, is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, and has been involved with the College's education programme for many years.

In 2021, Dr Murton was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in Queen’s Birthday Honour. 

Dr Kiriana Bird

Te Akoranga a Māui representative

Dr Kiriana Bird (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngati Porou) is a GP and the Medical Director for Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga (TTOH) in Hastings. She has a passion for Māori health and equity and has worked her entire career with Māori in Hawke’s Bay.

Kiriana is the Board’s Te Akoranga a Māui representative and in 2014 she was the College’s first Board apprentice.

She was appointed to the Board in December 2020.

Dr Joanna (Jo) Blakey 

Elected member

Dr Blakey is an experienced GP practice owner who works at Manly Medical Centre, Whangaparaoa on the Hibiscus Coast. She holds post graduate diplomas in Child Health, Obstetrics, and Sports Medicine, and has a passion for medical education, having been a GPEP year 2 and 4 medical educator since 2009. Jo was the College’s 2015-2016 Board apprentice.

Dr Blakey was elected to the Board in July 2017.

Dr Daniel McIntosh

Elected member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

Dr Daniel McIntosh has a unique background, combining medicine and accounting, a skillset that makes him a valuable addition to the Board.

Daniel's first experience with the Board was in in 2016 when he was appointed as the Board Apprentice for a twelve-month term.

Dr McIntosh was elected to the Board in 2021.

Dr Karl Cole

Elected member

Dr Cole, of Ngāi Tahu descent, works as a GP in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. 

Dr Cole was elected to the Board in July 2022.

Susan Huria 

Independent director 

Susan is based in Auckland and has a management background in marketing, human resources, internal audit, environment and communications. As an Independent Director, she has more than two decades of governance experience, Chair of Ngāi Tahu Property, and a Director of Connexis (an industry training organisation), Construction Health and Safety NZ and the Chair of the Steering Group for ‘Growing up in NZ’ (an Auckland University longitudinal study).

Dr Kerryn Lum

Censor in Chief (Ex officio)

Dr Kerryn Lum is working GP based in Hawke's Bay.

As Censor in Chief, Kerry is an ex-officio Board member and is responsible for deciding if a doctor should be awarded a College Fellowship,  approving internationally trained doctors, and overseeing the academic training programme.

Stephan Lombard

National Advisory Council Chair (Ex officio)

As Chair of the National Advisory Council (NAC),  Dr Stephan Lombard is an ex-officio member of the Board. 

Stephan has worked in big practices and is now a solo practice owner.

Stephan was appointed to NAC Chair role in June 2022.

Dr Andrew Morgan

DRHM Chair (ex-officio)

Dr Andrew Morgan is a rural hospital doctor based in Blenheim.

As Chair of the Division of Rural Hospital Medicine (DRHM), Andrew is an ex-officio member of the Board..

Andrew was elected to the DRHM Chair role in 2021.

Dr Geraldine Wilson 

Board Apprentice (Ex officio) 

Dr Wilson was appointed to the Board in 2022.