I was born in Te Awamutu and have lived in Hamilton most of my life. I am a happily married, father to three young adults, a grandfather and guardian to a consortium of animals including our two dogs who strayed into our lives. I believe that compassion lies at the core of what it means to be human. For me compassion is noticing the troubles and issues of others. I believe in the Butterfly effect, which is a concept that states that small causes can have large effects.

I have over 25 years’ experience working in the Social Services Sector in a variety of different roles including, Registered Psychologist, Family Therapist, Registered Social Worker, Manager and tertiary Educator.  While clinical Manager for Presbyterian Support Northern I was instrumental in establishing a Social Worker in Schools programme in the Waikato.  I then worked for Youth Horizons Trust and was responsible for setting up an Intensive Clinical Support Service for Youth with High and Complex needs.

Currently I am a Social Work Educator and have been a previous recipient of the Wintec Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award. In 2015 I was the winner of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers Quality and Innovation award for demonstrating excellence and innovation in social work education.