Our Board of Trustees represent the length and breadth of New Zealand.

• Bice Awan – Secretary – Former CE of Skylight and other senior positions – Wellington
• Leigh Bredenkamp – Director, e-Borne solutions – Wellington
• Brendon Smith – Father & Child Trust – Auckland
• Rona Carroll – GP – Wellington
• Carrie Cornsweet Barber – Director, Clinical Psychology Training School of Psychology, University of Waikato
• Joanne Rama – RcompN, RM, and Pregnancy and parenting educator at ADHB and Kaitiaki Whakawhanau Maori,for Ngati Whatua, Auckland
• Clare Barnett -M.Couns (Hons), P.G.Cert.Prof.Supervision, R.M, R.Comp.N, B.A, C.T.T

Bice Awan, Secretary, Wellington

As Skylight founder/CE and past Mental Health Commissioner, I was touched by the need for services to support those where being pregnant and facing parenthood can be difficult. Perinatal mental health was of particular interest to me as it appeared there was no consistency of services.

As a national body, PADA can work with leaders to make a difference to the quality of lives for infants, parents, family/whanau and all those connected with them. I bring this expertise, together with executive leadership and governance experience to PADA to work with the passionate and capable team.

Leigh Bredenkamp, Wellington

As a communications professional, I welcome the opportunity to further promote the mental health of women and men during the time when a family welcomes a new baby into their lives. Through PADA, I will continue to work to strengthen awareness of mental health issues which can affect families.

I believe the health and wellbeing of whanau of all cultures, ethnicities, religions and compositions is crucial for society to thrive. And for families to thrive, communities need to be educated, supportive and well resourced.

Brendon Smith, Auckland

As a new father, I sank into depression while trying to cope with the needs of my partner and two babies.  Even though I’d heard the term postnatal depression, I didn’t really understand it. I didn’t like going to work and I didn’t want to see my mates.

The symptoms continued for about a year after I left my role in IT sales to become a stay-at-home dad then aged 37. I have become a support worker for Father and Child, a Trust set up by fathers for fathers, based in Onehunga, Auckland.

Rona Carroll, Wellington

As a mother of three children and a health professional who supports families in the perinatal period, I have been privileged to hear many mothers (and fathers) share stories of their distress and struggles during this unique period in their life.  I am a general practitioner (GP) with a special interest in perinatal mental health.

I work at Evolve Youth Service where I support younger parents, and currently also work at the specialist maternal mental health service in Wellington. A more recent area of interest for me is acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and I am enjoying learning about ways to use this in my work with parents and adolescents.

I have an interest in breastfeeding support, and am a qualified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and a La Leche League leader. I am also a member of the maternal morbidity panel and am completing a postgraduate certificate in perinatal mental health through Otago University.

Carrie Cornsweet Barber, Ph.D., Waikato

I was working as a child clinical psychologist when, after two miscarriages, I was 26 weeks into my third pregnancy and finally feeling comfortable, like this one might be ok…then I started having contractions, and ended up in the hospital, and then on bed rest at home (out in the country, alone) for two months.

It all turned out ok—my son decided to stay in there as long as possible, and eventually had to be extracted by cesarean, but it was the first step on my path toward an interest in helping other women coping with stress and distress during pregnancy and in early parenting.  I now train aspiring psychologists and work on developing tools to help new parents cope with the changes and challenges they face.

Joanne Rama, Auckland

• Ko Joanne Rama taku ingoa
• Ko Pirongia taku Maunga
• Ko waipapa taku awa
• Ko kahotea taku marae
• Ko Ngati Hinetu taku hapu
• Ko Ngati Apakura taku iwi
• Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou

I am the partner of John, mother of 10, godmother of 2, and Nanny Jo to 12 mokopuna. I am a daughter, sister, aunty, and cousin to many.

I graduated as a registered nurse in 1990, and as a midwife in 1992. I was one of the first LMC Maori Midwives to practice in south Auckland and spent 18 years providing care for Maori whanau, during this time I was a founding member of putea o pua trust that created what is now know as Turuki health in Mangere, I also helped establish Nga Maia which is the National Maori midwives organisation.

Clare Barnett, Waikato

• Tēnā koutou katoa
• Ko Kapukataumahaka te Māunga
• Ko Mata-Au te Awa
• Ko Waterman te Waka,
• KoTerpstra tōku tupuna Tatimana, ko Moorhouse tōku tupuna Ingarihi
• Ko Otepoti te kainga tuatahi engari nō Kirikiriroa ahau inianei..
• Ko Clare Barnett tōku ingoa.
• Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

My passion for maternal and family mental well being started with the story of how the rhesus factor affected my mother’s birthing history, and my own birth. This thread continued in my nursing where I first noticed the stigma of mental health compared with how we talk about physical health.

Working as a midwife also gave me greater insight into how maternal well being affects family and baby well being, and the vital role we all play in supporting women and families as they navigate pregnancy, birthing and parenting.  I now weave these understandings into my role as a counselor, specializing in supporting women and families through perinatal distress, and in my education support of student midwives at WINTEC.

I am delighted to be on the PADA Board. I have previously been involved in PADA education and advisory support and totally believe in the strategic importance of the work PADA does within Aotearoa/New Zealand. I am in awe of what this organisation has managed to achieve in such a short time, with a typical Kiwi ‘can do’ attitude on limited resources.

PADA’s strong leadership team, ability to gather expertise in the area of perinatal mental health, and commitment to debunk mental health stigma’s and to break-through information and resource barriers is the reason I choose to give my time and energy to the work they do.

PADA  2015 Annual Report

PADA AR 2017 Final