Meet the PSIG Committee
Chairperson
Merryn Robertson lives in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and works at a special school in West Auckland as well as in private practice and on the Childrens ward at Waitakere Hospital. Passionate about having fun, optimizing fitness and physical activity and aims for every child to reach their physical potential.
Secretary
Amanda Meys lives in Tauranga and works for Avenues Physio-Fitness, a private physiotherapy practice. Amanda works primarily with paediatric clients with musculoskeletal complaints and chronic pain. Her passion is in early intervention and loves working in an MDT, empowering children and families and encouraging life-long physical health.
Minutes secretary
Debbie Krzyzewski from Tāmaki Maukaurau (Auckland) has worked in schools, child development, and complex wheelchairs & seating. Mum to three currently on maternity leave. Passionate about 24 hour postural management and preserving alignment for function.
Committee Members
Jane Hamer lives in Tāmaki Maukaurau (Auckland) and currently works for Waitemata DHB supporting the paediatric physios and works clinically primarily in the Community Child Health Team, with on-call service to the Childrens ward at Waitakere Hospital. She has also worked in the school setting, private practice and NICU. She loves working in an MDT, with families at the centre of all we do. Passionate about 24 hour postural care.
Sally Kidd lives in Wellington and works for the Child Development Service at Capital and Coast DHB. She has a real interest in spasticity management, and cerebral palsy, and has worked in both community and hospital settings here and in the UK. She is currently undertaking a Masters in Rehabilitation through Otago University and is looking at the experiences of families with early intervention therapists and whether these have helped them navigate the different systems once their child starts school.
Helen Thorne/White is from the UK and has lived in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) for the past 17 years. She works at Child Development Service with an awesome group of Allied Health professionals. She has worked in a variety of settings in the UK and NZ including acute hospital, community and school. She is passionate about equity and working collaboratively with whānau and professionals. Clinical areas of interest including neuromuscular conditions and complex wheelchair/seating.
Mindy Silva lives in Nelson New Zealand and works part time at CDS, spending the rest of her time dabbling in the online world to find ways of elevating the voice of expert clinicians and bringing innovative practice ideas to therapists no matter where in the world they live. Her passion and the central theme in both her masters dissertation and PhD, is the value of partnering with parents in paediatric rehabilitation and research.
Leanne Robinson lives in the country near Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) and works at Patricia Avenue Specialist School. Has experience in acute, community and school paediatrics. Currently leads a large diverse multidisciplinary team. passionate about leadership, staff growth and development, supporting the profession to grow and working along whanau.
Olivia Shakespeare lives in Dunedin, and is currently a fourth year physiotherapy student at the University of Otago. She has always had an interest in working with children in some capacity, and after learning about paediatric physiotherapy early in her third year, she was hooked! She looks forward to hopefully broadening her knowledge and skills around paediatric physiotherapy throughout her final year of study and applying these as a new graduate in 2024.
Lizz Carrington lives in Otepoti (Dunedin) and is a physiotherapist and lecturer at the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago (and part-time PhD candidate, Mum to three kids and wife to a fellow physio). Lizz teaches into the undergraduate Neurorehabilitation curriculum and has a special interest in paediatrics. Her research is focused on play, family centred care and participation. Lizz is excited to support the PSIG committee, particularly in areas involving education, but in whatever ways are useful!
Aimie O’Hara lives in New Plymouth and works part time at Te Whatu Ora as a VNT and privately at Active plus in Paeds MSK. She has been working in paeds for the last 13 years, around NZ, the UK and Qatar. Aimee is really interested in working to increase the profile of paediatric physiotherapy and the wonderful knowledgeable therapists that are hidden around NZ. She also wants to make it easier for junior/new staff to make the leap into paeds and support them on this learning journey.
Hamish Laing lives in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) and works at the Child development service (CDS) alongside Helen Thorne and many other great allied health staff. He is a recent graduate and spent 1 year in musculoskeletal before shifting to the CDS in April of 2023. Hamish is passionate about making activities and exercises fun so that rehab is more engaging. He enjoys a varied caseload and likes to problem solve alongside his team to achieve the best results possible for tamariki and their families.
Page updated November 2023