The team
Wayne Naylor – CEO
Wayne joined the Hospice New Zealand team in 2021 following on from 9 years with Hospice Waikato in Hamilton as Director of Nursing. Over his nursing career he has worked primarily in oncology, haematology and palliative care. He has been a Research Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Lecturer. Wayne also spent almost four years as a Senior Analyst for the Palliative Care Council of New Zealand before moving to his current role.
Leah Tonks – Data Analyst
Leah joined the Hospice New Zealand team in 2019 after 7 years in various roles with Tōtara Hospice (South Auckland) including administrator with education, volunteer services, managing the reception team, progressing through to clinical administration and for the last 3 years in the role of Clinical ICT administrator and Data Analytics. Leah has a strong interest in data and the way in which information can be used to inform service development and identify needs.
Fiona Naismith – Fundraising Manager
Fiona joined the Hospice New Zealand team in October 2022, bringing experience from across the NGO and government space. Most recently, at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), she led a team redesigning MSD’s service model to increase equity of outcomes for people across New Zealand. Previously, in the Senior Leadership Team at The ClementJames Centre (UK), she led the charity’s fundraising, impact measurement and evaluation. Fiona has a degree in International Development and a masters in Sociology. She is passionate about sustainability and the positive impact that holistic wrap-around services can have in communities.
Jacqui Swain – Education Programmes Facilitator
Jacqui joined the Hospice New Zealand team in June 2021, moving from the role of Nurse Educator at Hospice Waikato. Her nursing career spans over 30 years, of which 15 years have been spent in Palliative Care. The education, personal and professional development of healthcare staff is a passion for Jacqui.
Gretchen Leuthart – Communications Manager
Gretchen joined the Hospice New Zealand team in October 2021. She brings diverse experience to her role following many years working in communications and stakeholder engagement across the government, consultancy and NGO space. Most recently her focus has been in the community development space where she has worked with Volunteer Service Abroad, ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum, the Common Unity Project Aotearoa and Caritas Aotearoa. Gretchen has a Masters in International Development and her research – in the sphere of cross-cultural competency – explores how trust can be better understood as a way to evaluate and improve Māori and Pākehā relationships.
Heather Kimber – Programme Manager
Heather joined Hospice New Zealand in January 2023, bringing vast experience in project management. Her work has included delivering health and safety workforce initiatives, healthy policy development, public health advocacy, and performance reporting and planning. Heather’s career spans a number of sectors including NGOs, local and regional government and District Health Boards. Heather is passionate about health and wellness, and the impact that wrap around health care services has on people’s lives.
Devon Diggle – Senior Advisor
Devon joined Hospice New Zealand from Mary Potter Hospice where he was Director of Strategy and Finance. He brings experience as a leader of major system change within complex and challenging environments. He has experience in health funding, data analysis, health service design, capital infrastructure and property.
Devon has had previous roles at Hospice New Zealand advising on national funding and strategy and with Capital and Coast DHB developing and implementing a regional palliative care strategy. He is a Director of Mary Potter Apartments Ltd, a Hospice owned company established to undertake an apartments development to help fund the Mary Potter’s hospice care and a Trustee of Dwell, a Wellington community housing provider.
Devon has a BA in Politics and Economics, and an MA in Economics. Prior to joining Hospice, Devon worked for the Ministry of Health and Sapere Research Group.
Ria Earp – Advisory Maori Services (ONZM)
Ria joined the Hospice NZ team in early 2018 from her previous role as CEO of Mary Potter Hospice in Te Whanganui a Tara/Wellington, a role she held for eleven years. Prior to Mary Potter Hospice, Ria was the Deputy Director General, Māori Health for the Ministry of Health for nine years. This had followed a long career as a senior manager in the public service across a range of portfolios.
She is the current Chair of Te Rōpū Taki Māori, the Māori advisory group for Hospice New Zealand. Ria has a deep interest in Māori community development and is of Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Pikiao descent.
The Board
Hospice NZ is governed by a Board which implements the national body’s vision and strategic plan. The Board are elected representatives from amongst the hospice membership.
Richard Westlake (Chair) is founder and managing director of Westlake Governance Ltd, working with boards, CEOs and board chairs, to build boards into leading teams. Richard has particular expertise and experience in leading transformational change across a range of sectors. His combination of skills will be especially valuable to the hospice sector as it aligns with the health reforms working towards a more equitable health system.
Jane Williams (Deputy Chair) is Deputy Chair of Hospice Tairawhiti in Gisborne where she also volunteers in a patient support role. She has a clinical background as a registered nurse having worked in a variety of community clinics around the East Coast and Ngati Porou Hauora. Jane brings extensive trustee experience having served with her local Kohanga Reo, primary and secondary schools and with a government funded group charged with improving educational outcomes for the East Coast. She is also in her third term on the Hospital Advisory Committee, and sits on the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust and is Chairperson for Eastwoodhill, the National Arboretum of New Zealand.
Ria Earp (ONZM) sits on the Board as Chair of Te Rōpū Taki Māori and Advisor Māori Services. Ria held the role of CEO at Mary Potter Hospice for 11 years, prior to that she was Deputy Director General, Māori Health for the Ministry of Health for nine years. Ria has a deep interest in Māori community development and health services. She has a BA (Anthropology), MA (Applied in Social Work) and MBA from Victoria University.
Dr Ann McKillop is a trustee and Board Chair of North Haven Hospice in Whangarei. Ann joined the Board in 2017. Ann is a Doctor of Nursing and currently holds a senior lecturer role with The School of Nursing at Auckland University. Her professional research and teaching platforms are located in primary health care and health professional education with a particular interest in the implementation of evidence and change to improve patient outcomes particularly for those underserved by the health system, in particular for Māori.
Frané Rosandich is currently Chair of Cranford Hospice and brings a wealth of experience in social work, particularly in developing Māori models of social work practice. Together with his wife Joanne, Frané co-authored Te Aho Takitoru, an indigenous social work framework that enables social workers to work with whānau in a culturally appropriate manner using strategies from Māori knowledge and world view. For over 17 years, Frané has volunteered at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison within the Whare Te Tirohanga, the national kaupapa Māori rehabilitation programme. He is also the Central Region’s Senior Advisor to the High and Complex Needs Unit at the Ministry of Social Development and a current PSEC Board member.
Rachel Brazil practises in Ōtepoti/Dunedin as an employment lawyer and has specialised in this area since 2004. Rachel has always been actively involved in the community including sitting on boards and committees, including the Dunedin Night Shelter, Women’s Refuge/Te Whare Pounamu, Otago Community Hospice, Hospice NZ Board, Disability Information Services, and SPCA Otago. Rachel believes in giving back to the community and serving on boards to assist with the community living better lives, hence her commitment to such organisations like Otago Community Hospice and Hospice NZ. In addition to this, Rachel also plays the French horn in a local orchestra and enjoys spending time with her grown up children and wider whānau and friends.
Clinical advisors to the Board
Louisa Ingham is a nurse practitioner and clinical leader for the Central Otago team at Otago Community Hospice. Louisa holds a Clinical Masters, a Post Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care and has completed the Nurse Practitioner Training Program (NPTP) through the University of Auckland. She has a particular interest in palliative care provision in rural communities and within aged residential care. In 2019 she joined the Executive of Palliative Care Nurses New Zealand and has recently taken on the role recently of the co-chair.
