Adam Dade
Northable Matapuna Hauora (Whangarei)
I am keen to be considered for a position on the NZDSN Board. My leadership experience in both the UK and New Zealand, across the social and disability sector has equipped me with valuable insights to navigate the current complex environment.
I have experience in social sector governance in both countries which gives me an understanding of the complexities and nuances across different regions. My background in innovation, service design, and delivery, coupled with my role at NorthAble, has allowed me to modernize services and gain a comprehensive understanding of both the funded and funding environments from MSD and Whaikaha.
I also have governance experience, including a role on the UK’s Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Board. At NorthAble, I oversee the delivery of seven contracts including the NASC, giving me a unique perspective on the system’s intricacies. My focus on person-centred innovation and continuous quality improvement aligns with the principles of Enabling Good Lives.
I am confident in my ability to build relationships and facilitate robust conversations, essential for leading and influencing NZDSN’s role in shaping the funding and delivery of supports across the sector. I am committed to ensuring NZDSN’s voice is clear and heard.
Androulla Kotrotsos
CEO at Access Community Health.
Androulla is a practicing Registered Pharmacist, and it was this work in Community Pharmacy that sparked an interest in the wider health teams and how they can work together to help people in their day to day living. This lead to many roles including the Ministry of Health, Pharmacy Council, and Pharmaceutical companies, as well as in professional support roles for the Pharmacy profession, and a number of sector governance roles.
It was during her many years with Green Cross as a Professional Services Manager that Androulla saw firsthand the positive difference the Access teams make in people’s lives every day
Androulla is Wellington based and a current board member of the Pharmaceutical Defence Association of NZ, and the Wellington Associated Pharmacy Group.
Bernadette McEvoy
Totara Farm Trust (South Auckland)
My name is Bernadette McEvoy and have led Totara Farm Trust since 2018. Based in South Auckland, the Trust supports 31 adults with an intellectual disability in a residential environment.
I am passionate about advocacy and will bring this energy and commitment to the NZDSN Board – advocacy for the people we all support and the membership organisations.
The changes in the sector drive my interest in joining the Board. The NZDSN has a crucial role in informing Government agencies and Ministerial decision-making. I am persistent, if not relentless, in raising and contributing to addressing the myriad of equity issues the disabled community faces daily. Good decisions at Government level can only come from good information; contributing to the NZDSN Board and CEOs efforts is a genuine way to achieve this.
Ultimately my CE role is advocacy for the people we support and their whanau. Joining the Board will build the ability to advocate not just for our direct sphere of influence but for the wider residential provider membership.
I am on the Whaikaha CEO Forum, the employer steering group related to Pay Equity and involved in various initiatives related to my role as Auckland representative for the NZDSN.
I would consider it an absolute privilege to be on the Board and embrace the opportunity to advocate with passion and determination for people with disabilities.
Charlaine (Chaz) McConachy
Paulownia Trust, Christchurch
Kia ora, I am Charlaine McConachy but I prefer to be called Chaz.
I am offering my candidacy for the NZDSN Board as a way of ‘giving back’ to the sector. My work history has given me an understanding of Government/Community engagement, policy and procedure development and implementation, along with ‘coal face’ operational management and leadership.
Prior to accepting the role as manager at Paulownia Trust in 2020 I had a long career as a Public Servant in Youth Justice and Corrections. Before that I worked in the disability sector as a Community Support Worker and for Riding for the disabled. I have a love of horses and value the therapeutic value they bring to people’s lives.
I have a lifetime commitment to and passion for the people we care for. My philosophy, which guides all my decisions, is based on the view that they have entrusted us to be their voice around their own personal choices, hopes, dreams and passions. Our role is to enable them to lead a full and inclusive lifestyle within the community based on their will and preferences.
My current responsibility as Manager at Paulownia Trust, is as a small provider operating two homes caring and supporting 11, mainly elderly, residents. This environment gives me a deep understanding of the challenges that many of us have and still face in these challenging and uncertain times.
I look forward to making a positive contribution and thank you for your consideration
Chaz
Donna Mitchell
IHC (Wellington)
I have spent a career working in disability in a variety of senior roles. Core to this, I passionately believe all New Zealanders, including disabled people, have the right to live a great life. I am currently General Manager of Service Development & Strategy and Human Resources for IHC. I am an experienced and strategic leader with a keen understanding of the disability sector. I am driven by a desire to effect meaningful change and would like to apply my skills and expertise to the NZDSN Board.
Our sector faces, yet another, point of significant change. This requires a strong voice from NZDSN to advocate for the rights of disabled people to support them to live a good life, the rights of providers to be funded for the important and valuable work that we do, the importance of an enduring strategy to invest in the disability workforce, and the shared responsibility of funders and providers with respect to issues like our obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Fern Ryan
ConneXu (Te Awamutu)
Fern has extensive experience and qualifications in adult education, business management and human services, as well as behavioural assessment and management. Fern has held senior roles and served on boards within the sector in some capacity for over 30 years and held the role of CE for ConneXu for a decade.
Fern is committed to community development and enabling people to determine what is a good life for them, however that may look. She would be thrilled to be appointed onto the NZDSN board of trustees and to work with CE, board, membership other stakeholders to achieve the best outcomes for the membership and the people they partner with.
Fern has lived in Te Awamutu for over 30 years and is married with an adult daughter (who is travelling the world) and has a labradoodle – Archie. She enjoys reading, walking, travelling, and spending time with friends and family.
Jackie Long
Healthvision (Auckland)
Healthvision is delighted to nominate Jackie Long for Board Member NZDSN and offer this short bio on her behalf. Our nomination comes with the full support of Healthvision.
A mental health nurse by trade, Jackie has worked in the health and disability sector for more than 35 years, serving our people in a variety of roles. While currently the Chief Operating Officer for Healthvision managing our portfolio of contracts and nearly 1500 staff, Jackie has worked as a Chief Executive Officer in aged residential care, served at senior level in mental health, worked as a nurse, managed facilities, been an auditor, worked for free, developed and grown charities, and given tirelessly to the people we work with. At Healthvision she has driven our commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi, and our efforts in Enabling Good Lives.
We recommend Jackie to you several reasons. While her work history is long and rich and provides a deep well of knowledge and expertise, she offers more.
Jackie is a constant advocate for people’s rights, choices, and autonomy, and for organisations such as funders and providers to strive to find new ways to support people to live the life they choose. She believes deeply in self-determination and the right to makes one’s own choices. By character she is conscientious and responsible, reliable and trustworthy, with a solid work ethic and good sense of humour. In her thinking she demonstrates flexibility, creativity, and a strong, pragmatic, problem-solving approach. She has a restless energy to learn and improve, which is evident in her approach to new situations. While responsible and an extremely safe pair of hands, Jackie is comfortable with risk, and willing to invest in opportunities. She has a can-do attitude and will happily roll up her sleeves to help others. At the same time, she has comprehensive experience in governance and can work across all levels of an organisation.
Clearly, we can’t speak highly enough about what we believe she can contribute, and we are happy to speak to any of our comments. We recommend her as a Board Member for NZDSN.
Dr Karleen Edwards
MBChB, MBA, FRANZCP
I have a long history in the Disability sector within New Zealand and Australia, as a service provider, funder, policy development, improvement and innovation specialist and, most importantly, as direct whanau support caring for my sister who had an acquired brain injury.
I have held senior leadership and sector governance roles for many years culminating in my current position as Chief Executive for MASH Trust, a Mental Health & Disability Service for the lower North Island and supporting approximately 1800 people. I am very proud to be part of the disability sector with like-minded people all committed to empowering people to live the best possible life they can. I believe strongly in supporting people and their whanau to have greater choice and control over the support they receive and the lives they live. At MASH, we are committed to establishing the MASH Way across all levels of our organisation which incorporates the principles of Whanau Ora and Enabling Good Lives.
During my career, I have been a strong advocate for inclusive communities and believe that good service design includes peoples’ voices and choices. I have a passion for finding innovative ways to improve how we interact and support the people who use our services.
Academically, I trained originally as a Psychiatrist, have an MBChB from Otago University and a Master of Business Administration from Canterbury University. Whilst these are all great qualifications to have, it is my experience as a whanau member that has had the biggest impact on my philosophy of enabling the greatest lives for the people we support every day.
I would bring to the Board, a passion for the sector, a sense of what value NZDSN could add to the provider network including advocacy and strong leadership and governance experience.
Karen Beard-Greer
CEO Independent Living Charitable Trust
Karen is the CEO of the Independent Living Charitable Trust who hold a range of DIAS contracts with Whaikaha.
Karen is a member of the Institute of Directors and a certified IOD Company Director. She has held a number of Governance roles across New Zealand and Asia Pacific. These include
- International Committee for CREATE ASIA (Coalition for Rehabilitative Engineering and Assistive Technology). A group of thirteen countries working together to deliver on the World Health Organisation GATE policy and main goal – Assistive Technology for everyone everywhere. 2014 to present.
- Independent Director Manawanui in Charge and Manawanui Supports Ltd. 2011 to 2024.
- Committee Member the NGO Council 2019 to 2024
- Past President and Executive Committee Member the Federation of Disability Information Centres 2011 to 2020
Karen is a strategic thinker and is comfortable with an ever-changing landscape. She has a depth of expertise to call on from the range of leadership positions she has held, and still holds within her networks and linkages in the disability sector. She was the recipient of the NZDSN Leadership Award in 2018 and believes her experience would add value to the NZDSN Board.
Karen Covell
Progress to Health (Hamilton)
Ko Karen Covell taku ingoa. I have been chief executive for Progress to Health[1] since 2004.
Progress to Health works to create communities without barriers. We’re based in Hamilton but provide health and disability support services throughout the Waikato, Taranaki and Taupō. Our core services are supporting people living with long-term mental health conditions.
My strengths include leadership, management, change management, organisation development and strategic planning. I can see both sides of an issue and enjoy working with a diverse group of people to achieve a common goal. My lens may differ to other candidates being that of mental health. We all have mental health, good and bad.
I’ve led Progress to Health as a foundation provider in Waikato’s EGL project since 2011 throughout its stages. Whilst not a ‘traditional’ EGL provider, we embody the principles in the way we support people. I have steered our organisation through very ‘rough waters’ and we’re all the better for the journey. I believe my experience, my tenure within the sector and my ability to bring people along with me to be of value to NZDSN and its mahi.
Marija Jelesic-Janic
Spectrum Care Ltd
With nearly two decades of experience in the health and social services sector, I have held a variety of operational and senior management roles. My professional background primarily involves overseeing the delivery of services in the community, working closely with and managing contracts for a range of government agencies, NGO providers, and health boards.
I am passionate about workforce development in the non-regulated sector and possess a comprehensive understanding of clinical support and service delivery within the NGO sector. Since 2022, I have been serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Spectrum Care. Prior to this, I was a Senior Workforce Development Advisor at Te Whatu Ora. My career also includes significant leadership roles at Emerge Aotearoa, where I oversaw intensive mental health, disability, and youth justice services. Additionally, I have held key positions as Regional Manager and Residential Manager with the Recovery Foundation and Challenge Trust, focusing on leading mental health and addiction services within the community.
Academically, I hold a Master of Business Studies in HR Management, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business, and a Bachelor of Health Science in Psychology and Applied Mental Health, with a Minor in Violence and Trauma Studies. This educational foundation supports my strong operational background and my unwavering commitment to placing people and their wellbeing at the centre of decision-making.
My extensive experience across various sectors, coupled with my current role at Spectrum Care, positions me as a valuable asset to the NZDSN Board. I am dedicated to contributing to meaningful change that benefits the people we serve.
Mel Smith
CCS Disability Action (Christchurch)
Ko Mopanui te maunga e ru nei taku ngakau
Ko Waiputai te awa a mahea nei aku maharahara
No Murihiku ahau
Ko Ōtepoti taku kainga tūturu
Ko Mel Smith tōku ingoa
I have worked in the disability sector within Aotearoa and Australia for the last 25 years. As a born and bred Southlander I started my work in residential homes in Invercargill before moving to Australia to work in Employment related support services with the Deaf community. Upon returning to Aotearoa 15 years ago, I have held a number of roles within CCS Disability Action across the South Island, before having the privilege to represent the organisation and the people we support as Chief Executive.
I have a strong focus on disabled leadership and embedding the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Enabling Good Lives in everything we do within CCS Disability Action and I am keen to support this continued focus across the sector. I can see that we have a lot of room for growth still in these areas and I am aware that the people that work within the delivery of disability support services, do so because they want to be of service to our communities.
I have a strong sense that collaboration between providers is the way of the future and I am keen to put my money where my mouth is and play a role in supporting that to happen.
Mel Rice – Tumuaki
Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngā Puhi
Secretary for Te Aronga Toi Whenua, Tauranga Peka, Māori Women’s Welfare League
Mel is an experienced lead in whānau life and the community sector. Skilled in strategy, activation, stakeholder relationships and analysis. With over 18 years of experience in the community sector across all facets of community health business Mel has been instrumental in leading the transformation of services. As Tumuaki for Mel led Access/Uru Ātea, one of Aotearoa’s leading community health providers to weave Te Ao Māori throughout the business firmly believing that if you get it right for Māori you get it right for everyone. Mel also led the same organisation in their transformation of services with a focus on tāngata whaikaha through whakamana tāngata. Taking the taonga of visions and reimaginings of hauora from what she says are smarter people than herself, and engaging hāpori in implementation.
A natural evaluator of possibilities and realities and a huge fan of disrupting the system for the good of the people, lived experience, alternative routes and seeing a way where others assume there is none, Mel is excited to lead Oko Āio into a future that is waiting to be designed.
Of Ngā Puhi and Te Rarawa descent and hailing from Te Tai Tokerau, Mel has 18 years of experience in the Home and Community Based Health sector and brings not only a Te Ao Māori view from a business perspective but also a whānau/family and hapori/community perspective.
Mel is a member of the Insights Alliance, and the Māori Women’s Welfare League.
Suzanne Larmer
Two4Nine / A Supported
Life (Kotuku Trust)
Suzanne Larmer has been dedicated to the disability sector for over 25 years, with 15 years in Community Residential Support Services and the past decade focusing on Community Participation. She is deeply passionate about supporting individuals in connecting with their local communities and helping them attain meaningful employment through mainstream avenues.
Suzanne has also served as chairperson for Special Olympics Waitakere. Currently, she contributes her expertise as a member of the advisory committee for the Bachelor of Social Practice at Unitec.