Our People

Matthew is a senior psychiatrist of old age and academic working for the Canterbury District Health Board.  He has leadership roles in relation to dementia service development with the Canterbury area, the South Island's regional Dementia Initiative, and various national projects including several with the Ministry of Health over the last two decades.  He has medical advisor responsibilities to Parkinson's New Zealand, Alzheimers New Zealand and Dementia Canterbury.  Matthew continues to be active in the RANZCP and other training organisations in relation to teaching and workforce development in psychiatry, including the national Walking in Another's Shoes person-centred dementia care programme, BPAC, and the University of Otago.

David has over 25 years’ experience across various healthcare delivery sectors, including diagnostic, radiology, dental and consultancy in New Zealand and overseas. He has trained as a chartered accountant and holds a BBus and a Master of Arts. David has worked in executive roles for large multinationals including Deloitte and SGS and also for private equity, managing significant international projects. He is now CEO of Care on Call (NZ) Ltd and Medcall Health Personnel Ltd. Care on Call provides a range of services to ACC, MOH, DHB and private clients with varying needs, including Dementia, Palliative, TBI and Complex Care. Medcall is NZ’s largest provider of staff (RN’s/HCA’s) to the aged care sector and provides staffing to NZ’s private/public hospitals, hospices and specialised facilities.

After working in General Practice Chris trained in psychiatry, specialising in mental health for older people. She has worked in this area for nearly 30 years with a particular interest in dementia. She is the author of books on dementia (The New Zealand Dementia Guide (2004), revised 2006, Dementia, What you need to know (2013), Random House / Penguin). She has written information sheets for Dementia NZ, assisted Alzheimers NZ in producing resources and been an Alzheimers NZ board member. Chris was Chair of the New Zealand Dementia Cooperative from its inception in 2011 to February 2019. Currently, Chris works as a locum psychiatrist in Aotearoa NZ and Australia. In this role, she has visited many different old age psychiatry services around NZ and Australia, and has a broad understanding of the issues in this sector.

Mary-Anne has worked in health sector management over 25 years; including executive membership of Healthcare Aotearoa, and senior management positions at Pegasus Health, Ryman Healthcare and Nurse Maude.   Her Master’s in Public Health reflects her career-long focus on population health, health equity and gerontology. In 2020 she re-joined Ryman Healthcare as a member of the executive management team. 

Anna has a Social Work background having worked predominately in Mental Health here in New Zealand, but also the UK and Australia over the last 20 years.  Most recently she has held a management position with the Southern DHB, managing a Community Mental Health Team that includes a Mental Health Older Person’s Service, servicing both urban and rural populations.

Shereen has been our Executive Director since 2014. She holds Bachelor and Masters degrees, and has spent 20 years in leadership and management roles in the public and private sectors.  She has been a project manager and advisor to the NZ Ministry of Health, a Senior Manager at Capital & Coast District Health Board, and CEO of health and social service, and mental health NGOs. In these roles Shereen has lead organisational and service improvement nationally, and represented the 20 District Health Boards on a number of national initiatives.

Susan is an experienced researcher who concurrently holds the position of lead researcher of the Psychiatry of Older Academic Unit for the Canterbury District Health Board.  She holds a PhD in Psychology and a Masters in Gerontology.  Susan has leadership and support roles in relation to dementia education, delirium prevention, and person-centred care and her research and publications reflect and strengthen these foci. She is a research advisor for Dementia Canterbury and copted expert for the Health of Older People South Island Service Level Alliance.  Susan brings considerable experience in credible and effective knowledge transfer to help people implement best practice care