The MEDSAC Board is responsible for the successful operation of our organisation. They set strategies, monitor performance, and respond to changing circumstances in the best interests of our stakeholders. They also work to identify organisational risks, and ensure we have adequate mitigation strategies in place to manage those risks.
The Board is required to adhere to the Rules of Medical Sexual Assault Clinicians Aotearoa (the ‘Rules’) and other relevant policy, legislation and regulations.
Ka mahi te tawa uho ki te riri.
Well done, you whose courage is like the heart of the tawa tree.
People
MEDSAC Chair
Kate Taylor
Kate has been a member of MEDSAC since 2009. She is the Clinical Lead and a rostered doctor for the Waikato Adult and Adolescent Sexual Assault Assessment and Treatment Service. She works as a GP at several high schools and has a keen interest in youth health. In 2015 she completed a postgraduate diploma in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Kate is also the Chair of Midlands Sexual Assault Support Service.
Vice Chair
Rose Percival
Rose is an experienced consultant and senior executive who has planned and led lots of programmes of organisational change. During her varied career in consulting and executive management positions she has been a member of, and chaired, a range of governance bodies. Rose has recently completed a five-year term as an independent member of the Army Management Board, which she really enjoyed. Until recently, Rose was a Partner and owner of a management consulting firm and continues to consult part-time. Her core work lately has been in governance development and facilitation, organisational reviews, and helping clients with business cases for large public sector investments.
Treasurer
Pip Swale
Pip is a chartered accountant and enrolled barrister and solicitor with over 20 years’ experience in accounting, legal and tax including as an advisor at KPMG. Pip has extensive experience in large organisations including as Head of International Tax and Finance Transformation at Balfour Beatty Plc and more recently as Head of Tax at T&G Global. Pip has a passion for governance and has had an active involvement in various governance bodies, where she has served as both a member and chair. Outside of work, Pip is a proud mum to three beautiful kids.
Director
Tamara Birchall
Ko Putahi toku maunga, Ko Wairoro toku awa, Ko Te Kotahitanga toku marae, Ko Ngati Whakaeke toku hapu, Ko Ngapuhi nui tonu toku iwi, Ko te whanau Pou/ Robust, no Kaikohe ahau. Ko Tamara Birchall toku ingoa.
Tamara is a rural GP working for a Maori Health organization in Te Tai Tokerau and currently is working towards accreditation as a MEDSAC clinician for the SAATS service in Northland. Tamara is a proud Māori Pasifika wahine and māmā to a little boy and stepdaughter currently living in Whangarei. Her interests include fishing, travelling, adventures, kapa haka, coffee, socializing and spending time with whānau and friends.
Director
Lucy Halsey
Lucy is a Nurse Practitioner in Nelson, specialising in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Lucy has been a member of MEDSAC since 2011, and joined the MEDSAC Board in 2023. She is a SAATS Lead Clinician with experience in both nursing and forensic examiner roles. As the Director of INP Medical Clinic, Lucy manages the SAATS and NFSS contracts for the Nelson-Marlborough region.
Director
Debbie Harrison
Debbie trained and worked in the UK before moving with her family to New Zealand in 2008. She is a partner in a GP practice in Nelson and works as Lead Clinician in the Nelson SAATS service. She has been working as a MEDSAC doctor since 2011 and joined the MEDSAC board in 2020.
Director
Rachel Roskvist
Rachel is a General Practitioner in Auckland and joined the MEDSAC board in 2019. She also works as lecturer at the University of Auckland and is part of the after hours team at Pohutukawa Clinic (the regional Auckland Adult Sexual Assault Assessment and Treatment Service). She has been working in sexual assault care since 2016.