Our team

Sue joined the Melanoma New Zealand team in January 2023 as a Nurse Educator, where she provides education and free spot checks in the community and corporate settings, as well as online and telephone consultations for melanoma patients and their families.

Sue qualified as a registered nurse in Liverpool, England and immediately joined the Skin Cancer and Dermatology department at Clatterbridge Hospital, where her passion for all things skin began.

Two years later, she relocated to New Zealand, where she continued her skin cancer journey with the Auckland DHB, Head & Neck (H&N) Cancer Team in Operating Theatres. After five years of working with some of the top H&N surgeons in the country, she moved on to the Skin Institute Group in 2014.

During her eight-year tenure, Sue worked in Nelson, Wellington and Auckland. She started as a clinic manager before stepping into a full clinical role as Nurse Dermoscopist. It was here that Sue spent four years devoting her time to performing skin checks, furthering her studies in skin lesions, and mastering the skill of dermoscopy, which ultimately resulted in her achieving a Diploma Certificate in Dermoscopy from HealthCert.

Sue says you will never regret having a full skin check and likens getting a regular skin check to having a dental exam, “It keeps everything in check and offers invaluable reassurance.” She suggests, “make it part of your well-health approach to life”.

To book an online or telephone appointment with Sue or one of our other Nurse Educators, click here.

Leigh joined Melanoma New Zealand in February 2023. She has an extensive sales background in fashion and publishing across New Zealand and the UK, representing fashion brands Bonds and Rio and publishing giants Penguin Books and BBC Worldwide.

Before joining Melanoma New Zealand, Leigh was National Sales Manager for Hanes Brands Australasia, looking after one of the largest retailers in New Zealand. She has more than 20 years of experience in sales, with a passion for relationship development and building positive, mutually beneficial partnerships.

Leigh has a passion for music and is a keen foodie. She feels privileged to be part of Melanoma New Zealand, working in such an important area impacting on the health of those in New Zealand.

Contact Leigh

Abbey Cameron joined Melanoma New Zealand in July 2022 as Communications Manager.  Abbey studied sociology at Auckland and Victoria Universities and has worked in marketing and communications roles for more than 20 years, delivering targeted communications within local government, industry-good organisations, the arts and most recently in health.

Before joining the team, Abbey worked as a Senior Communications Advisor for Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau (formerly Northland District Health Board).  In this role, she contributed to the Meningococcal, Measles, and COVID-19 responses for Northland DHB and led the internal and external communications for several services, including the 2022 influenza and routine immunisation campaigns for the Public Health Directorate.

Based in sunny Whangārei, Abbey understands the danger of melanoma and feels privileged to work for Melanoma New Zealand sharing the message of prevention, early detection and treatment.

Contact Abbey

Alessandra (Ale) joined Melanoma New Zealand in November 2022. She has almost twenty years of experience in project management for not-for-profit organisations. Among other organisations, she’s worked for Safe Kids Brazil, Safe Kids Aotearoa, and iRAP – International Road Safety Assessment. She is Brazilian and has lived in New Zealand since 2015.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications – Journalism, an MBA in Project Management with a focus on social responsibility and is currently studying for a Master’s in Sustainable Development at Massey University.

In addition to Ale taking care of the day-to-day administrative tasks in Melanoma New Zealand’s office, she also supports the organisation’s volunteers, manages our grants and coordinates events to raise awareness about melanoma prevention and early detection.

Ale believes we can have more inclusive and safer transport in our beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand. She rides her bike everywhere for commuting and leisure and loves running and doing yoga classes.

Contact Alessandra.

Leanne Williams joined Melanoma New Zealand in April 2020 as its bookkeeper.

With 20 years’ experience under her belt  specialising in charity and not-for-profit bookkeeping, Leanne has worked in a broad range of industries and has extensive bookkeeping knowledge. She is a certified member of the Institute of Certified New Zealand Bookkeepers, is both Xero and Xero Payroll certified as well as being a member of the New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association.

Bridget manages our spot check event calendar. She works closely with our Nurse Educators, key partners, corporate and community organisations to ensure everyone’s needs are met and that these national events run smoothly.

After studying Psychology & Human Resource Management at Canterbury University, Bridget headed overseas to work and travel around the world. She spent seven years living and working in London within the corporate banking world in back-office settlement roles for Barclays, Bank of New York & Chase Manhattan.

She returned to New Zealand and worked for ABN Amro Craigs before having three lovely children. She then worked for Ironman New Zealand in corporate sales, before starting work for Melanoma New Zealand in May 2022, as Events Administrator.

Bridget is passionate about health and fitness, and when she’s not working or spending time with her family & friends, she fits running events, yoga, pilates and her latest hobby, golf, into her days!

Contact Bridget

Gill joined Melanoma New Zealand in January 2021 as the Melanoma Nurse Educator and now works as Patient Support to provide advice online and over the phone to patients and their whānau via our consultation service.

Gill, is a Registered General Nurse, who specialised in Dermatology in 2002, becoming the first nurse in the UK to gain a post graduate Diploma in Professional Practice in Dermatology through the University Of Wales College Of Medicine. She also earned a BA in Community Public Health Nursing and Nurse Prescribing qualification prior to becoming a Senior Lecturer at the University of Northampton.

As a senior nurse, Gill worked with Molemap as the National Clinical Manager, providing training and management of melanographers and clinics nationwide and at Waitemata DHB as Clinical Nurse Specialist for Research and Dermatology where she managed the melanoma clinical trials and specific patient groups.

Gill is passionate about prevention, early detection and identification of melanoma.

Contact Gill.

Rosalie Stephens is a medical oncologist treating patients with advanced melanoma in Auckland. She completed specialist training in Auckland before completing a fellowship at the Melanoma Unit of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. Clinical and translational research in melanoma is an active interest and Rosalie has joined Melanoma New Zealand as a trustee hoping to advocate for improved and equitable access to new drug therapies and clinical trials.

Richard is a NZ trained surgeon and spent two and a half years at the Sydney Cancer Centre, the largest treatment and research facility for melanoma in the world, specialising in melanoma and head and neck surgery. He completed a Master of Surgery in Surgical Oncology at the University of Sydney. Richard publishes in numerous academic journals, is a regular presenter at international conferences and is actively involved in research and clinical trials. Richard works at the Melanoma Unit and Te Whatu Ora – Waitematā. He chairs the National Melanoma Standards group and the Auckland regional melanoma group. Richard is also on the executive committees of Melanoma New Zealand, the Australian and New Melanoma Trials Group and MelNet.

Don Mackay is an independent consultant and company director. He returned to NZ in 2016 after nearly 20 years working in London, The Hague and Singapore in various senior executive and board level roles in the energy and maritime sectors. He has extensive experience in strategy development, risk oversight and stakeholder management, and understands the importance of building a strong governance culture and implementing governance best practice. He has personal experience with melanoma and is a passionate advocate for reducing its incidence with sun (UV) protection and preventing avoidable deaths through its early detection. Don is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and a Chartered Member of Engineering NZ.

Amanda is a passionate businessperson with a breadth of business, startup, investment, and advisory experience. Amanda has founded and exited a luxury tourism startup, managed active equity investments, advised on corporate finance and valuations, raised investment capital and is currently the General Manager and owner representative for a 1,200-cow dairy farm in South Canterbury. Amanda has a personal history of melanoma and is motivated to raise awareness and reduce deaths from melanoma. Amanda lives with her husband and three young children in Geraldine, South Canterbury. She graduated from the University of Otago with a BCom (Finance) and PGDipCom (Finance) in 2002.

The Hon. Amy Adams retired from politics in 2020, after 12 years as the National MP for Selwyn.  Amy initially trained and practised as a lawyer and worked in both Invercargill and Christchurch, the latter as a partner in law firm Mortland McCormack.

Amy entered politics in 2008 and was appointed a Minister of the Crown in the John Key Government in 2011.  She brings senior governance skills to her role with Melanoma New Zealand, having served as Minister in several high-profile portfolios including Internal Affairs, Justice, Courts, Social Housing, Social Investment, Environment, and Communications and Information Technology.  During her time in politics, Amy also served as the Associate Minister of Finance and as the Associate Minister for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery.

In 2021, Amy was appointed to the interim board of Health New Zealand, which was established to advise on creating and transitioning New Zealand’s 20 DHBs into a single, centralised health organisation.

As part of a farming family, Amy is a strong advocate for ensuring melanoma prevention and early detection messages reach our rural communities and outdoor workers.  She has had personal experience of the devastating impact of skin cancer, sadly losing her beloved mother in 2014.

Wellington-based Dr Sonja Bodley has extensive experience in skin cancer detection and management both as a GP, and through her dedicated skin cancer/minor surgery clinic. Dr Bodley is a strong advocate for educating people to be aware of the risks of melanoma and to promote early detection and prevention.

Throughout her career, Dr Bodley has developed written guidelines and information for parents around childhood sun safety which is now available to all Early Childhood Centres in New Zealand, and she has also partnered with local schools and organisations to give education sessions to young people and teachers around sun safety.

Pete is a strategy consultant with extensive experience and proven results in governance, strategy development and execution, stakeholder engagement and change management across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Pete and his partner have recently welcomed their two children after returning to Tāmaki Makaurau in 2019. Growing up in a family of five boys in Ōtepoti, family is hugely important to him. When Pete was in primary school, his grandfather passed away after developing melanoma. Having the opportunity to contribute and serve on the board of Melanoma New Zealand and help prevent avoidable deaths and suffering from melanoma is one that is close to his heart.

Philip Harkness is a Chartered Accountant currently working for Coastguard New Zealand as Chief Financial Officer.

Before starting his role at Coastguard New Zealand in 2020, Philip spent 28 years working in the FMCG and corporate world in New Zealand and abroad for large organisations, including KPMG, Air NZ, BNZ and Diageo.

Along with his financial acumen, he has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, funding, and a passion for education, honed during nine years on the Westlake Boys High School Board of Trustees.

Philip enjoys playing golf, spending time with his three children and wife and is an avid Manawatū Turbos supporter.