At cbm, we want to create a better world for everyone, everywhere.
We work alongside experienced local partners in the communities we serve, with staff who understand the culture, context, and challenges firsthand. In fact, the vast majority of our team in the field are from the countries where we work.
Just as importantly, we listen to and work with people with disabilities as leaders and decision-makers. Their lived experience shapes the programmes we deliver – helping ensure that our work is relevant, respectful, and truly inclusive.
Our team’s commitment, expertise, and dedication are helping to create lasting change for people with disabilities, their families, and communities living in some of the world’s poorest places.
Our Chief Executive and directors make up our Senior Leadership Team. They provide strategic direction and operational leadership to staff in NZ.
Chief Executive Officer
Murray was born in Wellington and grew up in Thames. From there, he has lived and worked across the world, including a year within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
He joined cbm in August 2018, after working at Tearfund, where he led the department that introduced the Ethical Fashion Guide and the Justice Conference to New Zealand. Before that, he worked in overseas development and anti-corruption in over 10 countries as well as in the fields of social enterprise and governance. Murray lectured philosophy and ethics at the University of Auckland and trained business people in ethics.
Murray is married to Joy and they have two young sons, Finn and Jamie. Murray is an outdoors type and can be found biking, kayaking, playing tennis, surfing and – if really necessary – running.
My passion for cbm
At a young age, I developed a passion for inclusion of the marginalised. I enjoy working alongside people waking up to their power to play a part in positive change, and to live out their values at true depth.
Global development needs are shifting more and more toward the most vulnerable people – and those with disabilities are especially vulnerable. cbm has been an organisation I’ve admired for its focus on serving the most marginalised. I am energised by working towards community transformation and by leading teams dedicated to inspirational goals.
My experiences that affirm this belief
I have friends with disabilities who have taught me a lot about the reality of their lives, and the difficulties they face. These are sometimes hidden – such as how their decision-making power can be taken away from them, even by well-meaning people.
In my career, I seek out organisations that attempt inspiring solutions to contemporary problems and that work toward justice. That’s why I’m proud to be leading cbm New Zealand.
International Programmes Director
Linabel has contributed with work and research in the international development field for the last 20 years. Linabel’s previous experience includes roles in the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs based in New York and as an advisor for the United Nations Environmental Programme. Born and raised in Mexico, Linabel moved to NZ from the United Kingdom in 2008.
My passion for cbm
"For me, the approach to poverty eradication and conservation of biodiversity provides a professional discourse that resonates with my spiritual path based on Christian values. With these principles, I have dedicated my career to contribute towards sustainable development. I have a passion to work from a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, supporting the most disadvantaged in our societies. I feel blessed to have found cbm. As a leading INGO in the development agenda, cbm not only works with poor societies, but the most disadvantaged within them, people with disabilities. I find in cbm the opportunity to offer my professional capacity to contribute to its mission and share the values that move our organisation."
Linabel’s experiences that affirm this belief
Linabel has a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from a Marist University in Mexico where she worked on research projects for sustainable livelihoods and coastal conservation in Mayan societies. She founded a local NGO that continues to work to empower young adults to engage in community conservation in natural protected areas in the Yucatan Peninsula. Creating partnerships for this project introduced her to national networks with NGOs, she held advisory positions in the Mexican Environmental Ministry, and received National Awards in social development.
In the sustainability debate Linabel has offered strong leadership representing minority groups such as indigenous people, women, youth, and now people with disabilities. Linabel participated in the 2-year process for the World Summit for Sustainable Development and in team project evaluations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
A strong academic background supports Linabel’s roles. She completed a Master’s Degree in Environment, Development and Policy, and an MPhil in Development Studies, for her research in Integrated Conservation and Development; both from Sussex University in England.
Finance & Operations Director
Judi has served as a financial auditor for 25 years across industries and sectors. However, over the last few years her passion for her not-for-profit clients, including churches and numerous community agencies grew to the point she wanted to be working for a Christian charity rather than just being a service provider to many of them.
Judi is married to Paul and they have two daughters who keep them on their toes being involved with netball and hockey. She is involved in her local church where she serves in the children’s ministry and prayer team, and together with Paul, hosts a connect group.
Her idea of ultimate indulgence is lying in the sun with a book and a slab of chocolate.
My passion for cbm and experiences that affirm this belief
I grew up in South Africa where I was constantly aware of the starving children in Africa, and teaching Sunday School as a teenager to some underprivileged children stirred my heart towards children, and those less privileged than myself. I was later involved in a team conducting regular visits to a local mission hospital and I saw how much I take for granted, and witnessed the struggle for the poorest of the poor to be able to finance their medical needs.
My dad was profoundly deaf and I was acutely aware of the daily struggle for him to do things hearing people don’t ever stop to consider, and the many conversations he was never a part of, just nodding in agreement so people assumed he knew what was being discussed. He couldn’t talk on the phone and needed my mum to handle all phone calls for him. Knowing his difficulties, living in an urban area where he always had a job and access to medical care, made me realise how much infinitely harder it is for someone with disabilities living in poverty without their basic needs being met.
I have a friend with spina bifida and it saddens me to see how limited her life is. She is a vibrant person but due to her disabilities she is unable to participate in so much that she’d love to be involved in. There are so many little things that make life for a disabled person so much harder: driving a wheelchair along a cracked and broken footpath, having to rely on other people to meet so many of one’s daily needs. My heart broke for her when we had planned a girls’ night out, only for her not to be able to join us, as the taxi company had sent a regular vehicle and not one adapted for a wheel chair. It’s the little things for us that become the significant things for those with disabilities.
I am encouraged to know that the little we all do, such as donating by western standards, a very small amount of money for just one cataract operation, can radically change a person’s life. In turn, a whole family’s lives are changed, leaving a generation echo. I feel so privileged to be a part of the cbm family!
Fundraising & Marketing Director
Richard joined cbm in 2026, bringing almost two decades of experience across media, marketing, and fundraising. A creative storyteller at heart, he has built his career around connecting people with causes that matter, creating meaningful supporter experiences that inspire long-term engagement and lasting impact. Before joining cbm, Richard held leadership roles at World Vision and Mediaworks, helping lead on major fundraising campaigns, digital transformation initiatives, and award-winning creative work.
Richard is married to Genevieve and is a proud “girl dad” to Eden and Emmeline. Away from work, he is obsessed with music, plays guitar, and sings in his church worship band, and creates Spotify playlists with names that are somehow even longer than Fall Out Boy song titles. He is also an avid reader and is working on a novel that he hopes to one day finish (but let’s be real – he probably won’t).
My passion for cbm
My journey into the not-for-profit sector was shaped by my Christian faith. I've always taken the words of Jesus seriously, especially His call to care for those who are poor, vulnerable, and excluded.
When Jesus first spoke in the synagogue, He described His mission as bringing good news to the poor, healing the broken-hearted, proclaiming freedom for captives, restoring sight to the blind, and announcing God's favour for those who had been overlooked. That vision has profoundly influenced how I think about both faith and work.
What draws me to cbm is that I see those same values lived out in practical, life-changing ways every day. Restoring sight, removing barriers for people with disabilities, and helping communities become more inclusive is not just important work. For me, it is the way of Christ.
My experiences that affirm this belief
Recently, I had the privilege of visiting Papua New Guinea and seeing cbm's work firsthand. One of the most moving experiences was being present as patients had their eye patches removed after cataract surgery. The joy in the room was unforgettable. I met a great-grandfather who was able to see his great-grandson for the very first time. Moments like that remind me that behind every donation is a real person whose life can be transformed.
We are governed by our Board of Trustees. The Board meets regularly and is responsible for setting our strategic direction and overall governance, and ensuring the organisation is financially sound and answerable to people with disabilities living in poverty, and our supporters.
Board Chair
Andrew joined the Board in 2019, after retiring from a career in counselling and tertiary education. His previous involvement in mission, particularly in South East Asia, made cbm an ideal organisation in which to invest post-retirement time and energy. He has a particular concern for staff well-being and good organisational practice.
Board Member
Evan joined the Board in 2022. He has worked across the disability sector in various roles over 30 years, including being CEO of an intentional Christian community supporting people with an intellectual disability. Evan holds a degree in Applied Theology from Carey Baptist College, Auckland.
Evan has first-hand experience of mission and development alongside disabled people in the Philippines, South East Asia, and the Pacific region. These experiences of being with people living with the double challenge of poverty and disability, grew a desire to serve and support disabled people across the world.
A long-time supporter of cbm and its vision of “an inclusive world in which all people with disabilities enjoy their rights and achieve their full potential.” As a disabled person Evan fully identifies with this and is passionate about seeing this vision a reality in Aotearoa, and across the world.
Evan lives in the Waimakiriri region with his wife May. He enjoys keeping active, participates in wheelchair basketball, enjoys the outdoors, and travel.
Board Member
Neil joined the Board in 2022. He is a retired eye surgeon who was active, often together with his wife Tania and children, in inclusive eye work in the developing and developed world for nearly 30 years. During this time he has known cbm from both the inside – in the field in West Africa working for cbm for several years – and from the outside, not only as a supporter but also as an observer of cbm activities while involved with other aid organisations. He has a deep understanding and appreciation of the impact of cbm’s work.
Serving as a Board member gives Neil the opportunity to contribute his governance expertise and field experience to cbm, an opportunity he finds both exciting and humbling.
Board Member
Mike joined the Board in 2025, having previously worked in marketing at cbm. His faith, personal and family experience of disability, involvement in overseas mission, and strong understanding of disability frameworks have shaped his commitment to advocating for a more inclusive world for people with disabilities and their families. He is inspired to support cbm by the lives of its pioneers Ernst Christoffel and Dr. Howard Harper.
Mike currently serves as CEO of Disability Connect Incorporated and holds a MCom in Marketing and International Business, as well as a Grad Dip in Applied Theology and Mission from Carey Baptist College.
Board Member
Maja joined the cbm board in 2026 and is grateful to be able to integrate her research interests with supporting missional work on the ground.
Rev Dr Maja Whitaker is Academic Dean and Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at Laidlaw College, based at the Christchurch campus. She teaches in the areas of spiritual formation, leadership, and ministry, and is particularly interested in helping others understand how to follow the way of Jesus in contemporary cultural contexts.
Her research background is in Disability Theology. Her doctoral thesis was published as Perfect in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation (Baylor University Press, 2023), and she is a founding co-editor of the Cascade Series in Theology and Disability.
Maja is married to Dave and they have four daughters.
