BOARD CHAIR (Interim) - Kyle Forde

Product Manager, Karo Data Management

I have made a career in Information Technology for much of my working life which has led me to several opportunities in the health sector. I have had experience in Primary Care, Social and Hauora Services, Telehealth, Data Management, Cyber Security, and strategic development at an executive level and believe my broad range of experience has a lot to offer the board and its membership. Over the past 10 years I have worked in senior leadership roles in Primary Care, Te Whatu Ora and currently in Karo as their Chief Executive. 2 years ago, I began my journey into the social sector to help Hauora providers link into digital services to enable better cross sector engagement.

The shared vision I have for HiNZ is to help the organisation expand into more opportunities which link them into primary and community care including leading initiatives where they contribute to the national data and digital health strategy e.g. Data Standards in Primary and Community Care. I strive to foster new thinking in the health and social sector and continue to challenge the status quo with an aim to contributing to a landscape where digital services can enable those in the sector to provide better outcomes for the clients and patients they work with. I love the mahi I do daily with Hauora providers in the community and hope the enthusiasm I bring to the board and the wider HiNZ community can add value to the future of HiNZ and its wider strategy.

DEPUTY CHAIR (Interim) - Mark Shirley

Chief Innovation Officer | Habit Health

I am based in Dunedin, where I have worked as a physiotherapist in community-based healthcare for over 20 years.

I grew up in Dunedin and studied at the University of Otago and am the Chief Innovation Officer at Habit Health. I am a chartered member of the Institute of Directors and am involved in governance roles in the health industry.

I am a proud Dunedinite and enjoy spending time exploring the many outdoor activities the city has to offer with my wife Olivia and my two children.

BOARD MEMBER - Sally Britnell

Senior Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology

My name is Sally Britnell; I have a diverse clinical and digital health background. For example, as a Registered Nurse (RN), Ambulance Officer (AO), Academic and Informatician. One of the skills I pride myself in is communicating effectively with people from many backgrounds and acting as a bridge between practice, management and industry. For example, when working in an Emergency Department, as a Practice Nurse in Glen Innes and as an AO, clients were diverse and often from deprived areas of our community where English was not their first language. These roles have taught me adaptability, problem-solving, resilience, and strength and showed me the importance of valuing everyone and the need to change my communication and behaviour to match a situation and people. I believe this is a crucial strength I would bring to the HiNZ Board.

My Current work is as an Academic teaching nursing at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels with a particular interest in teaching informatics, innovation and communication. This role has included strategic planning, curriculum design, content development, public speaking and leadership with over 180 students and 15 staff to manage at any time. Similarly, I have worked in developing policy at a school level and been part of a team who developed Guidelines: Informatics for Nurses Entering Practice.

My friends often call me a geek - I have a passion for innovation and hold a PhD in Computer Science (Health Informatics). I am working on two projects in this area. One involves computer vision and remotely measuring children for ongoing care (such as Plunket visits). The other involves working with bio-engineers to develop a guide dog harness that is individualised to both dog and handler (at present, we are investigating 3D printing to achieve this).

As a disabled woman who works with a guide dog, I am keenly interested in Accessibility in Health Informatics. I have several projects in progress in this area, investigating mobile accessibility (non-web-based) guidelines, investigating the disparity in funding and experience obtaining assistive technology between ACC and MSD as well as investigating the convergence of assistive and mainstream technology. My work in this area as an influencer, providing feedback on policy coupled with my diverse background, has led me to become an Invited Expert for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is responsible for the design and upkeep of accessibility guidelines. In particular, I work with the Mobile Accessibility Task Force looking at accessibility in a non-web-based environment.

I believe I am an excellent addition to the board as I bring clinical, computer science and academic experience and pride myself on being a bridge between these sectors. I know HiNZ reasonably well, having been a member since 2014, working as a Co-Chair at conferences, being on the Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Special Interest Group and being a part of CILN. I bring excellent communication and represent the disabled community while providing knowledge and experience in digital accessibility. I am interested in ensuring academic rigour and ethical influence while working to make the HiNZ board more accessible, inclusive, and available to everyday HiNZ Members. 

BOARD MEMBER - Emma Collins

Senior Lecturer | Department of Nursing, University of Otago, PhD Candidate

Emma is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Nursing, and the Dept of Paediatrics and Child Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago. She has a background in teaching medical students and nursing students for over 15 years and holds a Master of Nursing, specialising in Child Health.

Emma is currently undertaking a PhD looking at developing child health scenarios for teaching and learning using extended reality technology. Her nursing background is in paediatric nursing and remains working clinically in a paediatric inpatient setting. Her research interests are varied but include digital health, interprofessional learning, and mixed reality technology in healthcare education.

She is the current chair of the HiNZ Nursing and Midwifery Special Interest Group. She is a Fellow of HiNZ as well as a Senior Fellow for the Higher Education Academy UK.

BOARD MEMBER -Elf Eggimann

Clinical Portfolio Manager / Registered Midwife | Health New Zealand

I am a Clinical Portfolio Manager, registered midwife, and Executive MBA candidate with a strong track record of leading digital transformation and strategic innovation in healthcare. With over a decade of experience across clinical, operational, and informatics roles, I bring a unique ability to translate frontline realities into scalable digital solutions that improve patient outcomes and system performance.

Currently, I play a key role in national and regional cyber security incident response, supporting the health sector’s resilience through governance, risk management, and clinical input into cyber operations. As a member of the New Zealand Medical Assistance Team (NZMAT) and a trained CIMS Level 4 emergency responder, I contribute to crisis response and continuity planning at a multi-agency level.

My leadership is defined by a commitment to equity, culturally responsive care, and solving the “wicked problems” of health through co-design, clinical informatics, and digital enablement. I have successfully led programmes across maternity services, COVID-19 response initiatives, and cyber security readiness, using a systems-thinking lens to align strategy with real-world clinical needs.

An advocate for digital health equity, I believe that true leadership is grounded in teamwork, shared accountability, and transparent engagement with stakeholders. I am passionate about fostering cyber-aware clinical workforces, advancing informatics maturity, and building sustainable, secure, and connected healthcare ecosystems in Aotearoa.

BOARD MEMBER -Jo Goodfellow

National Service Development Manager | Access Community Health

Jo Goodfellow is a leader with extensive knowledge of the NZ health sector, encompassing primary and secondary, public and private care. She possesses excellent interpersonal abilities, strategic insight, and strong operational and management skills. Throughout her career, she has maintained a clear focus on excellent patient and customer experience and outcomes.

Jo is skilled at building trusted partnerships across a range of stakeholders and effectively managing stakeholders by listening to needs and influencing outcomes. She has proven ability in people leadership and change management, quickly building teams, setting direction, and driving rapid change through periods of uncertainty. Her experience also includes strategic and operational management, identifying areas for improvement and designing solutions to improve margins and increase return on investment, as well as managing projects end-to-end across complex systems. She is an experienced communicator at a governance level and can connect with diverse individuals and groups, shaping communication appropriately for the audience, including government ministries, Te Whatu Ora, Iwi, and community organisations.

Her career history includes roles such as National Service Development Manager at Access Community Health (Current), Central Team Manager at Tend Health Limited, and Medical Operations Manager / Covid Response Unit Manager / Incident Management team at Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Prior to this, she was Group Service Delivery Manager at Care Group, Regional Clinical Development Manager at St John, and Project Manager at Greater Auckland Integrated Health Network.

Jo holds a BSc Hons in Physiotherapy from the University of Birmingham, UK11, and initially trained as a Physiotherapist before moving into health management12. She has undertaken professional development including Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) Level IV12, and Finance for Non – Financial Managers13. Her community contributions include volunteering with Auckland Rowing Club and Everybody Eats11.  

BOARD MEMBER - Jonathan Hoogerbrug

GP | Product Manager | Sr Harkness Fellow | Founder of Clinical Changemakers

I am a practicing General Practitioner, Senior Harkness Fellow, and Clinical Informatician with over a decade of frontline clinical experience and experience in national clinical quality, safety, and digital health governance and delivery roles. 

I have an MBChB, FRNZGP, a Dip Paeds, and a CHIA and was previously awarded a National Primary Care award for research on remote consultation.  I am also the creator and host of a Podcast called 'Clinical Changemakers', which explores leadership and innovation with global guests.

I am passionate about people, technology, and solving big problems in healthcare. 

BOARD MEMBER - Natasha Prendergast

Team Leader Health Information Services, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waitematā

I am deeply passionate about leveraging digital health and innovative technology to create positive change in communities. I have a unique background in business, Health Information Management and governance experience coupled with a pacific perspective of diversity thinking, a holistic world view and an inbuilt nature of togetherness.

For the last 6 years, I have been involved in the transformational change of moving to electronic patient health information within Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora Waitematā. I have had the opportunity to implement digital innovations, streamline processes, manage quality improvement initiatives and empower high-performing teams.

As a previous HiNZ Board intern, I am proud to be continuing on as a Board member..  

BOARD MEMBER - Niru Rajakumar

CEO - Hospitals, McCrae Tech

Twelve years ago, I joined a mission-driven health tech company with a vision to change how care is delivered. I started in the field, listening to clinicians, understanding the complexity of healthcare systems, and figuring out how to translate needs into technology that actually makes a difference.

Since then, I’ve led teams across Asia-Pacific, navigated the highs and lows of digital transformation, and helped governments and private providers modernise the way care is delivered from New Zealand and Australia to Southeast Asia.

Today, I’m proud to be leading a company born from deep healthcare roots and bold ambition. We’re building the next generation of hospital information systems - modular, intelligent, and deeply connected, designed to work for people, not just process.

What drives me hasn’t changed: I believe in the power of technology to connect care, in the value of listening over telling, and in building businesses where people and purpose lead the way.

Because at the end of the day, healthcare is personal and so is leadership.