"Ko te whakaora, he hīkoi whakāmarama. Māna anō tōna ake ara whakaora e whakarau"
"A journey of discovery where an individual leads their own unique process of moving forwards"
With over 30 years’ experience in the health and disability services in his native Scotland and here in Aotearoa, Martin has primarily worked in the not-for-profit sector. Having a background in nursing, Martin spent three years in the Disability Directorate within the Ministry of Health prior to joining Comcare in December 2018.
Dave joined Comcare in July 2009 as Warmline Co-ordinator following 10 years as a volunteer with Lifeline. Dave has had wide experience in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from managing his own businesses to South Island Manager of a large food processing factory and everything in between. In his current role as Operations Manager for Comcare, Dave has a wide ranging brief that includes IT, Administration, Finance and Vehicles. His main focus is ensuring that the administrative aspects of the organisation are running smoothly and efficiently and he has a particular interest in providing the organisation with the best tools to meet their goals.
People & Capability Manager
As People and Capability Manager, Kerrie is passionate about providing comprehensive HR support and advice for Comcare staff who are doing valuable work in our community. Kerrie was drawn to Comcare, seeing it as a values based organisation focussed on enabling positive outcomes for staff, clients and for the wider community.
Kerrie brings her background in Human Resources and a Masters in Industrial and Organisational Psychology to her role as People and Capability Manager for Comcare.
Prior to joining Comcare in 2018, Kerrie also held extensive people and production management roles in the FMCG sector.
Kerrie is Ngāi Tahu descent, married and a proud Mum of a teenage daughter.
Stuart came to Comcare in the middle of 2013. Having trained as a psychiatric nurse in Inverness, Scotland, Stuart came to New Zealand in 1991. His career has been diverse allowing him to gain experience and knowledge at a variety of levels within the mental health and addictions sector. He has a strong clinical background and over the last 10 years has been honing his leadership skills. Stuart brings extensive knowledge and experience in quality standards having made a considerable contribution to the development of New Zealand’s health standards in the past.
As the Quality and Risk Manager, Stuart has responsibility for determining Comcare’s quality priorities and ascertaining the key risks for the organisation. He assists the organisation to plan and implement actions aimed at reducing the risks and improving the quality of service we deliver. Recovery principles, outcomes focused interventions, and efficient, effective use of resources are fundamental drivers for Stuart.
The role is part-time, giving Stuart time to pursue his other passion – furniture making. His young family keeps him busy but, when he can, he likes to get out running in the local Port Hills.
Nigel Turner joined Comcare in 2021 as the Property and Tenancy Team Leader, Nigel had worked in Australia for 14 years in the building industry managing a large team. Then decided for a change in career and moved back to NZ to study and started working at Comcare. Nigel is passionate about helping people and with his own lived experience moved into the Peer Support and Jobconnect Service Manager role.
With an extensive background in education, community work, benefit and tenancy advocacy, Annette has been the manager of Comcare Housing Support Services since 2005. She has had a leading role in developing a range of innovative housing interventions, designed to meet the needs of homeless people who experience mental illness and addiction. Annette has been involved in external consultancy to Government on many aspects of the social housing reform process.
Vickie joined Comcare in April of 2005 following 28 years working at Hillmorton Hospital, Canterbury District Health Board where she trained as a Psychiatric Nurse. Vickie worked in various positions from Charge Nurse/Unit Manager to District Nursing.
Vickie’s role at Comcare is managing the Support Services. This comprises Community Support, Activelinks and Community Integration Services. She has a great passion for assisting people with experience of mental illness to receive appropriate supports thereby enabling them to live well in the community and not require hospitalisation. Another area of Vickie’s work is coordinating the Community Support Access Pathway (CAP) which is the single point of entry for Community Support Services for Canterbury.
Outside of work, Vickie enjoys gardening, watching rugby and fishing at Okiwi Bay.
Ben has come from a background in hospitality, grassroot community activation and social entrepreneurship. He has worked in creating community events focused on men’s mental health, coaching in the youth development space and also founding a social enterprise that donated over 60,000 lunches to kiwi kids in need. Ben began with Comcare in 2019 as a Housing Facilitator and has also worked as a Team Leader for the Housing Facilitation team before moving into the management position in 2022.
Ben has a keen interest in politics, basketball, and food. He spends his time outside of Comcare as a semi-professional musician and with his young family.
Louise Johnson joined Comcare in 2005 as an Employment Consultant. Louise worked in the health sector in New Zealand and the UK for many years, and then as an employment advisor to people with disabilities before moving into the mental health sector. Louise is passionate about employment and the difference a sense of purpose can make in people’s lives.
With her own lived experience, Louise was drawn to voluntary work that supported people through mental distress and completed the Intentional Peer Support (IPS) Training with Comcare. In September 2019, Louise became the Manager for Jobconnect and Peer Services.
Amanda has worked in a range of management and leadership roles within the housing and financial sectors in the UK, South Africa and New Zealand. Amanda returned to Comcare as the Community Housing Manager in 2018 to manage the Comcare Community Housing Team. She previously worked in Comcare’s Community Housing and Housing Support Services team as a Transition Coordinator and Housing Facilitator and has held roles within other mental health and community services organisations. Amanda has a passion for housing and understands the impact that effective tenancy management and strong support services can have on wellbeing and believes that safe and secure housing plays a critical role in providing stability to our tenants.
