Mandy Bathan retires from BTSNZ board

Brain Tumour Support NZ founder and inaugural chair, Mandy Bathan, has retired from the charity’s board.

Following surgery to remove a brain tumour in 2017, Mandy was appalled at the lack of support and information available to people diagnosed with brain tumours. In 2018 she set about bringing together a team of like minded advocates, including founding trustees Chris Tse and Gavin Starling, and the nucleus of Brain Tumour Support NZ was formed. The group was joined by Marie Waterhouse and John Brydon and in 2019 the organisation became a registered charity, with Mandy serving as the inaugural chair.

Current chair, Chris Tse, paid tribute to Mandy and her significant contribution to the organisation. “Mandy did much more than lead the board in the charity’s formative stages. She was hands on answering the phone, responding to emails, posting on social media, maintaining the website. She was instrumental in establishing our core support services, including the monthly online support groups and the Brain Boxes. However, most importantly Mandy set the tone for our charity’s culture and attitude. Her compassion, diligence and integrity are the foundations on which Brain Tumour Support NZ is built,” Chris said.

“Quite simply, our charity would not exist without Mandy’s vision and hard work. The brain tumour community in Aotearoa New Zealand owes her a huge debt of gratitude. On behalf of my fellow trustees and everyone in the organisation, we thank Mandy for her incredible sacrifice over the past five plus years and wish her all the best in this next chapter of her life,” he added.

You can read more about Mandy’s story in an article in Brain Tumour magazine in 2021 and Brain Tumour Support NZ has established an Our Founder’s Story page on the website.