TWM’s Trust Board

TWM became a Charitable Trust in 2011, the six current members of the Trust Board coming from a range of relevant backgrounds. Just like the staff, they share a passion and commitment to the organisation, their job specifically to provide governance and direction through regular monthly meetings, with extra finance and staffing sub-committee meetings held as required.

 

JOCELYN TRACEY (Chair)

I have great admiration for the excellent support provided by our team to people with mental health issues and the valuable difference that makes to our community.  I am therefore pleased to dedicate my time and energy to the Te Whare Mahana Trust as Chairperson of the Board.

 

My background is a rural Waikato childhood, studying medicine at the University of Auckland, and then spending time in urban General Practice in Hamilton and Auckland, with an eighteen month interval in refugee medicine in Somalia and Kenya. As a result I developed an interest in ongoing medical education and so become an academic in Auckland and completed a PHD on this topic. This was followed by ten years as a consultant to DHBs and Primary Health Organisations in primary care and quality improvement, including primary mental health and board/ management issues. I moved to Golden Bay in 2008 and became a rural GP.

 

Having now retired I enjoy the Golden Bay lifestyle with all it has to offer in terms of a myriad of social, cultural and outdoor activities. Working on our lifestyle block with my husband John, spending time with our daughter and and her family in Kotinga and visiting our two other children as they float around the world, is also a delightful aspect of being retired.

WENDY EARLE

I moved to New Zealand from the UK when I was 20. Since then I have brought up three boys (now men, two with children of their own), trained and worked as a Registered Nurse in Nelson and Christchurch, in child & family mental health and general nursing and as a midwife in Nelson Christchurch and Golden Bay.

I have lived in Golden Bay for over 20 years. I am now retired after working as Heartland Services Co-ordinator for 12 years. I have a large organic vegetable garden which keeps me busy and am involved with the local Civil Defence Emergency Welfare group. I also love socialising with my partner and friends and going for walks on our beautiful beaches.

I have been on the board of Te Whare Mahana since 2005 and was chair from 2012-2016. I consider it a privilege to be associated with such a valuable organization; one which achieves such amazing outcomes.

JAN MORGAN

I come from a background of professional social work with particular interests in community, primary health (including mental health) and services to the rural sector. Since ‘retiring’ to Golden Bay 17 years ago I have been an active member of the local Community Health Group, a community representative on the Community and Public Health Advisory Group (CPHAC) of Nelson Marlborough District Health Board, a trustee and chair of Nelson Bays PHO and convenor of the steering group for the Golden Bay Integrated Health Services Project. I am a firm believer in the value that NGOs such as Te Whare Mahana bring to the well-being of a community and look forward to promoting and supporting its work in my trustee role.

 

JOHN GAWITH

I am a Clinical Psychologist with twenty years’ experience working in the mental health field. I have worked in both Adult and Child Adolescent and Family Services in rural and urban settings and for both DHB and NGO organisations.

I have used Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as a method of therapy for the past 15 years. I was the Clinical Director of Te Whare Mahana for ten years until 2011, and a Clinical Advisor for TWM until January 2012. I introduced DBT as the main therapy approach to TWM’s residential programme. This approach gave clients skills to use during crises and to improve their quality of life. The training in DBT gave staff ways to work successfully with clients with high suicidal ideation and frequent self-harm and suicide attempts. Clients who took on board the skills started to improve and often moved out of the mental health system.

I am a member of DBTNZ, an organisation responsible for providing national DBT training for Psychologists and other staff working with clients with complex issues. I helped organise a national DBT intensive training in 2003-2004 and a national advanced DBT training in 2008.

I am continuing to work in Golden Bay part-time in my role as a Clinical Psychologist with the Nelson Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

ROBIN RILEY

I was pleased to be asked to be on the Te Whare Mahana Trust as I am aware of the valuable work it does in the community in the mental health field. I have a particular interest in this area because of my background in education and psychotherapy.

I was born in Golden Bay but left for boarding school and university followed by a married life in Malaysia. We returned to New Zealand where the younger of our 5 sons were born. My paid working life has been in the education and mental health fields. I loved teaching English and Drama but gradually became more involved in counselling and eventually retrained as a psychotherapist. We moved to Wellington where I worked in the counselling service at Victoria University. Other relevant work experience was as a therapist in the sexual abuse healing centre at Porirua and in a private practice in Wellington with a group of psychologists and psychotherapists. We have now returned to, and feel committed to, the vibrant community of Golden Bay/ Mohua.

 

 

LINZI BIRMINGHAM

I am a Registered Nurse with a Master’s Degree in Advanced Clinical Practice ( Nurse Practitioner Emergency). Post Grad Dip Management. Post Grad Dip Accident & Emergency Nursing.
I have been Nursing for over 28 years, with experience in, Emergency Care, Surgery, Immunology, Primary Care and Aged Care. Specialised areas include disaster management and emergency planning, served as a Captain, British Armed Forces at 212 Field Hospital North Yorkshire. UK.
Senior Manager for over 10 years leading Emergency Departments in Rural Victoria, Australia and the North Shore & Waikato.
General Manager at Golden Bay Community Health since October 2015- passionate about rural health and patient focused care delivery. Advocate for advanced clinical practice and expanded scope of clinicians.

I moved to Golden Bay in 2015 with my husband, 2 horses and 3 dogs.

From time to time the Trust appoints new members to its Board. Board members play a key role in the structure of the organisation, providing strategic oversight and guidance. If you think you could bring something new to the board to enhance the organisation as a whole, through a combination of skills and experience, please download the attached position overview and application form below.

Board of Trustees Application Form PDF