Dr Anna Rolleston

Director

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Nan McKenzie BPEd, Dip Couns, Dip Tch

Chair of Roopu Kaitiaki

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When Anna decided to establish the Cardiac Clinic in 2010, Nan McKenzie was right there beside her.  With a background in PE and fitness, experience running the cardiac rehab exercise programme at Tauranga hospital, and a passion for education, Nan was instrumental in helping set up and run the clinic, especially in those early days.  She now specialises in teaching stretching and breathing, which she started talking about long before yoga was fashionable.

Nan has never been bound by convention.  As a PE teacher, Nan was far more interested in promoting exercise as a way to help improve confidence and coordination for all students than she was running drills, coaching teams and organising sports events.  As a guidance counsellor, she taught social and career education programmes so students learned practical transition skills they could use outside of the classroom.  As a manager at the national Careers Service (now Careers NZ) she was instrumental in bringing to life innovative career education programmes and resources.  When she came for a visit to Tauranga to find a place to live “later on,” she instead ended up buying and running a gym here.

Nan is driven by a desire to help people live healthier, happier lives, no matter what age.  “Now that I’m older,” she says, “I’m really interested in ageing healthily and helping people keep moving.”  Nan walks the talk, she can often be found riding her bike, exercising at the clinic, or, when her knee permits, jogging around Mauao.

Hannah Lowe MSc RCEPNZ

Clinical Exercise Physiologist | Clinic Manager

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Hannah is one of the inaugural Clinical Exercise Physiologists in New Zealand. An allied health profession that is slowly gaining the respect and recognition as a leading means of chronic health disease and injury prevention, management and rehabilitation. As the Clinical Lead at the Centre for Health, Hannah provides the tools and expertise to help individuals understand how exercise, lifestyle, stress, nutrition and other factors impact our unique physiology.

Utilising evidence based research, Hannah combines cultural, environmental and our own unique health and wellness objectives to develop targeted, safe and effective plans. Whether your goals are wellness focused, health improvement or performance oriented, Hannah can help any individual navigate the plethora of health information by first developing a thorough understanding of our own physiology and needs.

With roles on advisory and registration Boards and a future goal of pursuing her own research interests, Hannah thrives off being at the forefront of a health system that is constantly developing and pushing the boundaries of what we understand “health” to be.

Living and breathing her own recommendations (probably a bit further then necessary..), Hannah “enjoys” finding her physical and mental limitations and pushing past them while being fully immersed in the beauty of nature during multi hour and/or day expeditions by foot, bike or kayak.

Maraea Walker

Research Manager

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Kelly McPhee

Centre Manager | Research Project Co-Ordinator

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Kelly is of Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ruanui descent and has just recently relocated back to Tauranga after spending the last 20 years in Auckland.

She comes from a corporate background in insurance, and brings with her vast leadership experience managing and coaching a large operational team.  She has provided business support in other areas such as product development, underwriting and system transition and implementation. One of Kelly’s career highlights was winning the NZ Overall Best Workplace Award whilst on the leadership team.  This recognised the leadership teams collective efforts and focus on consistent and open communication, maintaining high levels of engagement, and pursuing excellence, contributing to a great company culture.

After an 18 year tenure with her previous organisation, Kelly was ready for a change, leading her to the Centre for Health.  Kelly’s excited to be back in Tauranga, with her large extended whānau, and to be working on a project with the primary focus of supporting our Māori community to enable each individual to flourish.

Dr Marama McDonald Phd

Research Fellow

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Dr Marama McDonald is of Ngati Kauwhata and Rangitane descent and works as a researcher in the area of Maori health and wellbeing.  She is passionate about Maori health development that focuses on the ‘whanau’ as the source for positive change and growth.  She contributes to Maori health and wellbeing at both a research/policy level but also at the community/grassroots level through her involvement in local kura kaupapa and wharekura.

Marama’s faith in an integrative, holistic approach to healthcare is grounded partly in her academic research but also largely from her experience within the health system.  Marama and her whanau accessed holistic integrative health services alongside conventional medicine during her son’s battle with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and is a fierce proponent of this approach to treating and preventing illness for individuals and whanau.

Marama’s current research interests are in Kaupapa Maori research, ageing, mental health and holistic models of health.  Her next research project is looking at the development of a kaupapa Maori mindfulness intervention for tamariki/rangatahi (children/teenagers).

Erina Korohina

Research Fellow

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Ko Maungakaka te maunga
Ko Orutua te awa
Ko Horouta te waka
Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi
Ko Te Whānau a Hunaara te hapu
Ko Matahi o te Tau te marae
Ko Erina Korohina ahau

Erina has been working as a public health practitioner since graduating from a BSc in Human Nutrition in 2006. Nine of those years were spent living and working in Tai Tokerau supporting the workforce development of the Maori nutrition and physical activity kaimahi and working on grassroots community development programmes. More recently she has been working as a kaiārahi nutrition with the national Māori nutrition and physical activity organisation – Toi Tangata.

In 2018 she was awarded the Heart Foundation MāoriCardiovascular Fellowship and is embarking on a research and study journey with a kaupapa Māori focus looking at barriers, enablers and solutions to maintaing a healthy nutrition lifestyle. 

Erina and her family enjoy heading down the coast to connect with whānau and whenua. She is passionate about learning more about sustainable living practices and systems such as maramataka so she can work with her whānau to redevelop their papakainga.

Wiremu Matthews BPharm

Kaihinengaro | Integrative Health Consultant

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Mere Horopapera

Mirimiri practitioner

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Coming Soon…

William Piahana

Kaumātua

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Coming soon..

Caitlin Milne

Clinical Exercise Physiologist (RCEPNZ)

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As a Registered Cinical Exercise Physiologist, Caitlin provides the knowledge and expertise to help test, prescribe and guide anyone on their health journey. A strong advocate of ‘knowledge is power’, Caitiln goes above and beyond to empower her clients and enusre they have a complete understanding of the what, why and how.

Sharing her time between the exercise clinic and additional work out in the community, Caitlin has an in depth understanding of the role an engaging and integrative health model can have on the long term health outcomes for anyone. 

Caitlin radiates positivity and combined with patience and a caring nature have made her an integral part of our clinical team. An asset to not only the Centre’s team but to every client who has the privilege of working with her to better their own health journey.

Caitlin is a happy, social person who describes herself as an active relaxer. She loves climbing Mount Maunganui and the Papamoa Hills. Caitlin is very passionate about helping people with their health and achieve their wellbeing goals.

Hera Murray

Registered Nurse and Researcher

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Of Whakatōea, Ngāpuhi and Ngatī Porou descent, Hera grew up in Tauranga Moana. 

Hera is a registered nurse with a background of working on a busy medical ward with additional training in Diabetes education. Seeking a more balanced lifestyle with her whānau, Hera now coordinates the BioMACS research programme here at the Centre. The project aims to gain a better understanding of heart function following an acute coronary event. 

Currently residing on Matakana Island with her husband and three children, Hera’s journey to work is at the mercy of the weather, tides and the whim of her small boat!

Steve Hersey

Leadership Consultant

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Coming soon….

Madi Beverly

Nutritionist | FLOWPresso Practitioner

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To help broaden her understanding of the complex world of health, Madi has also trained as a FLOWPresso Practitioner.

Dr Zirsha Wharemate

Researcher

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Natalja Wiese

Clinical Exercise Physiologist

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Originally from Germany, a love of nature (particularly the ocean!), a passion for the English language and the desire to seek a different lifestyle brought Natalja to New Zealand. Completing her Masters qualification in 2021, Natalja is now a registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist with Clinical Exercise Physiology New Zealand.

A love of travel and the experience of being immersed in different cultures has facilitated an appreciation and respect for cultures and beliefs as well as a bias toward the friendly and welcoming people of Aotearoa.

Natalja understands the importance of building connection with individuals and understanding their unique ‘what and why’. With empathy and patience, Natalja has a unique skill of helping guide individuals on their recovery or health journeys. Utilising her sports science and clinical physiology expertise with a yoga flare, Natalja focuses on individual needs and goals to develop evidence-based individualised exercise prescriptions. Her passion to make the community healthier and happier has made her the perfect fit in our clinical space.

You can find Natalja in the water, chasing the next wave on her surfboard, climbing the mount or going for another adventurous hike in her leisure time. She likes to relax in a yoga class, and is a yoga teacher in the community herself. She is a strong believer of a holistic health care approach and passionate to improve the quality of people’s life.

Marianna Hudson

Heart Foundation Research Fellow

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Te Whakatōhea Ngāti Pōrou

Marianna has been working as a Community Pharmacist for almost 15years and is now exploring a Kaupapa Māori Research Pathway with The Centre for Health. She brings with her experience from the private health sector, whānau experience and a passion to drive positive change for Māori in the health sector.

Marianna received a Career Development Award in 2020 from the Health Research Council of New Zealand that has enabled her to work with members of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board to explore how Māori view healthy ageing and if technology could support them through an application known as the LIfeCurve.

She has recently been awarded a 3-year Heart Foundation Māori Fellowship to work with Dr Anna Rolleston to research and develop a roadmap to strategically guide how research across Aotearoa can achieve equity in heart health.

Kaewa Savage

Strength and Conditioning 

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Eva Wehipeihana

Office Manager

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Eva Wehipeihana joined the clinic as Anna’s PA and “general factotum” and says “I love working at the clinic – it’s a wonderful, healthy atmosphere and I have made lovely friends.” Eva has a varied background ranging from insurance to retail to real estate and, most importantly, mother, grandmother and sister.

Originally hailing from Wellington, which she describes as “the best city to live in the world and the coolest,” Eva has made Tauranga her home.  She is passionate about whånau, reading, adding to her garden, playing boggle (which she’s amazing at), art, music and not always in that order.  She is also a google addict and her catch-phrase is “just google it.”  She struggles with Donald Trump, cat haters and intolerant, nasty people. Luckily we have none of these at the clinic!

Philippa Miskelly

Research Fellow

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Moving to the sunny Bay of Plenty nearly eight years ago has provided Dr Philippa Miskelly with opportunities to continue her work as a health researcher. As an anthropologist, Philippa has been involved in research looking at the role culture plays in healing beliefs and practices. This cultural aspect also encompasses workplace environments and during six years with the Waikato District Health Board she worked alongside hospital and community based nurses researching models of patient care. Since moving to Tauranga she has worked on a number of research projects with colleagues from the University of Auckland; the focus of this work being on the health and wellbeing of older people.

Philippa’s current role with The Centre for Health involves coordinating three diverse projects which are looking to improve social and health outcomes for people and communities within the Bay of Plenty.

In her spare time Philippa can be found in her garden, walking along Papamoa beach with her husband, or Nia dancing.