Ngā Kaimahi | Our Team

KAIWHAKAHAERE MATUA | GENERAL MANAGER

Acting Fundraising Manager

Denise Graham

As the previous Fundraising Manager, and now General Manager, I am privileged to contribute to developing strategies that eliminate the stigma of perinatal illnesses at a national level. I want to set targets to improve our collective mental well-being. There is no health without mental health and increasing awareness will drive social change with the goal of improving the quality of care for all people experiencing all types of perinatal anxiety and depression.

In leading a high-performing team of dedicated and passionate people, and the delivery of our services, I want to ensure that all families and whānau have equitable access to information and support. My personal values and work ethics align with working within a Te Tiriti governance model and I believe in, and am committed to, the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Increasing proportions of the population are being diagnosed with perinatal disorders, even where social circumstances are improving. There are many more stressors and strains on mental health, generally relating to the increased pace and complexity of life. When someone is in good mental health they experience positive emotions, positive interest and engagement with the world around them, and meaning and purpose in their lives. Evidence suggests that people who are in good mental health are less at risk of physical and mental health problems and have better social relationships and outcomes. Studies indicate that in countries comparable to Aotearoa only a minority of the population is flourishing.

Flourishing through developing positive mental health is a challenge, but a benefit for all, so collaborating with our stakeholders in the mental health sector, and finding solutions that create better and brighter outcomes for marginalized people and their communities, is a fundamental approach for the mental health and well-being sector, and I am privileged to be in a position to contribute to this mahi.

I am blessed with a large whānau who are an integral part of my life, and every spare moment is spent with them. I am both a proud māma and nana, of each and every one of them. I love writing stories and am a published author. My whānau and I also love camping, boating, fishing, and cooking.

Kaiwhakahaere Whakapā | Communications Manager

Stefanie Dixon

Having been affected with PND after the births of my children, I volunteered for Little Shadow (formerly PND Wellington) in order to create online networks for mothers to connect with and support each other. I combine this experience along with my background in corporate, finance, fundraising, Playcentre Aotearoa and NGO work, with my passion to end stigma around maternal mental health.

Perinatal distress affects the whole whānau and wider community, and I love working with the team at PADA to embrace the power of social media to connect, and equip healthcare providers to improve outcomes for lives of whānau affected throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Originally from the UK, I now live in Wellington with my kiwi husband and two primary school aged children.

Kaiwhakahaere Hui Akoranga | Events and Administration Manager

Sarah Urquhart

I am the newest member of the PADA team coming onboard as the Events and Administration Manager. I am really excited to be working with the PADA team as I am passionate about their mission to eliminate the stigma surrounding perinatal mental health.

In 2007 I became a mother for the first time and experienced postnatal depression. The lack of education and support I experienced became a shaping influence on my next 15 years, which found me involved in organizations such as Parents Centre, Bellyful, Mothers Network, Kindergarten Associations and school committees.

Prior to having my children I trained as an early childhood teacher and then went on to gain post graduate qualifications in education with a focus on educational psychology. The various roles I have had over the years have often involved event management and facilitation and have lead me back to advocating for mental health and educational needs of diverse learners.

I live in the Northern suburbs of Wellington with my husband and our three children, two college aged and our youngest who is in kindergarten. In my spare time that is not hanging out with my family, I like to run around the local trails of Wellington with my friends as a way of keeping physically and mentally fit.

Kaiako Māori | PADA Educator Māori

Joanne Teina

Ko Joanne Teina taku ingoa
Ko Pirongia me Taupiri aku Maunga
Ko Waipapa me Waikato aku awa
Ko Kahotea taku marae
Ko Ngati Apakura taku iwi
Ko Ngati Hinetu taku hapu
Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou

I am the partner of John, mother to 11, godmother of 2, and Nanny Jo to 13 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 Māori Midwives to practice in South Auckland and spent 18 years providing care for Māori whānau, during this time I was a founding member of Putea o Pua trust that created what is now know as Turuki Health Care in Mangere. I was Hapūtanga Kaiārahi for Ngati Whatua ki Orakei 2014- 2020 and I also helped establish Nga Maia which is the National Māori midwives organisation.

My passion was and still is to restore traditional Māori birth knowledge and wisdom to whānau. My other passion is Maternal Mental Health. I have lived experience with perinatal depression as do my daughters and nieces.

I also work as a alcohol and drug professional at the social detox at The Auckland City Mission, I contract to ADHB to provide community, pregnancy and parenting programmes. I am excited about supporting PADA to continue shining the light on the dark little corner of Maternal Mental Health through the creation and provision of our Hine Tu Hine Ora program. I am the current Kaumātua and Cultural Advisor to PADA.

Kaiako | PADA Educator

Liora Noy

Liora is a Registered Nurse and Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), with a Masters in Public Health and a Graduate Diploma in Psychology. Liora runs breastfeeding and parenting support clinics in Wellington and in the Hutt, and teaches antenatal childbirth and breastfeeding classes. She has worked as a Tamariki Ora (Well Child) nurse and she is also an accredited facilitator of the Circle of Security parenting programme.

Originally from Mexico, she has lived in Israel, California and Hawaii and has worked with a variety of ethnic populations and refugees. She has three children, ages 13-22. She is passionate about supporting parents affected by Postnatal Distress, having been deeply affected herself by PND. She was a peer counsellor for Little Shadow (formerly PND Wellington) for 7 years, facilitated SPACE groups for mums with PND, and for the past 4 years as PADA’s Educator has been regularly writing resources and conducting presentations on perinatal mental health for a variety of providers and groups through the motu.