MoU Committee

Karen Roach

CEO Northland DHB, previously Director of Service Planning at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia 

Karen Roach has held senior leadership positions in a range of health services in Queensland and New South Wales, covering rural, regional and urban areas.  As a nurse and midwife with many years experience in health management and leadership, Karen's interests lie in continuing to develop the clinician led model of health leadership. Karen was heavily involved as Manager of the Southern Zone, in leading the development of clinical networks in the Southern Area of Queensland Health. This was the fasting growing area of Queensland, and was responsible for services to 45% of the state population.

Before joining Northland District Health Board in October 2006, Karen was Director of Service Planning at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney which is currently undertaking a $800million capital works program. This role was responsible for developing the consultative relationship between clinicians and the project management team through the development of models of care and change management.

Karen has taken on the roles of Chair of the MOU Executive, with the RDA, Deputy Chair of the 21 District Health Boards Workforce Group and Chair of the Northern Region CEO Group since her arrival in New Zealand.

Karen's husband and daughter have joined her to live in New Zealand, and  her daughter is currently studying at Northtec.

Dr Deborah Powell

General Secretary, NZRDA

After qualifying and working as a doctor herself, Dr Deborah Powell chose to work as an advocate.  Now with over 20 years experience working primarily in health and in particular representing Resident Doctors, she has an in depth knowledge of the many, often complex factors affecting the lives, work and training of doctors as well as considerable experience of the wider influences impacting on the medical workforce as a whole. 

She has a strong personal commitment to the NZ public health system and the improvement of both medical training and positive work experiences for doctors within that system.

Vivian Blake

COO, Otago DHB

Vivian worked in the private hospital sector prior to joining the public sector in 1991 in a General Manager role at Tauranga Hospital.  Since then Vivian has worked at Waikato, Counties Manukau and Otago District Health Boards.  She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at the Otago District Health Board - a position she has held for five and a half years. 

Vivian is an Executive Director of the Australasian Health Roundtable, Chair of the New Zealand Chapter of the Health Roundtable and Chair of the National Chief Operating Officers Group.

Margaret Wilsher

Deputy CMO, Auckland DHB

Dr Curtis Walker

President, NZRDA

Curtis is a medical registrar at Waikato Hospital and the NZRDA President. He is also a Board member of the Maori Medical Practitioners Association (Te ORA). Curtis is strongly committed to supporting the medical profession and its ability to both serve and lead New Zealand's public health system.

Dr Lisa Edwards

Vice President, NZRDA

Lisa graduated from Auckland Medical School in 2004.  She has Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications degree.  She became a RDA delegate in 2005 and Vice-president in 2009. She is currently a trainee in General Surgery.

Dr Marcia Walker

Marcia graduated from Auckland medical school in 2006 and after working primarily in the Auckland region, is now working community medicine.  Destined for a career in general practice Marcia is currently working in two high needs clinics with a focus on Maori health. 

She has a special interest in working conditions for resident doctors, with a particular emphasis on safety, access to training and work life balance and a special focus on resident doctors working in General Practice.

Marcia is the Executive Secretary of NZRDA, and balances all of this with the needs of her partner, and son Rex who was born earlier this year.

Dr Bevan Jenkins

Dr Jenkins is a General Surgical registrar at Palmerston North Hospital and has been on the NZRDA Executive since 2007.

Anna Paton

Senior Advocate, NZRDA

Anna has worked for Contract Negotiation Services since November 2003.  Anna's work includes legal and advocacy advice for all the unions represented by CNS. She has acted as lead advocate in various collective agreement negotiations and assisted in others as particular legal issues arise. Anna liaises with external legal counsel and oversees various legal proceedings on behalf of the unions, including CEA compliance proceedings. 

Anna also oversees work done on behalf of New Zealand Medical Professionals Ltd, the medical indemnity insurance company associated with CNS and the NZRDA.  This includes giving medico-legal advice, representing insureds, and instructing external counsel to represent insureds.