General Manager
Kaiwhakahaere Matua | General Manager
Hayley Samuel
Hayley has worked for MEDSAC since 2004 in various managerial roles, including providing remote support whilst living in Mexico. She was part of the SAATS working group involved in the design and implementation of SAATS throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Previously, Hayley was a registered medical laboratory scientist having specialised in immunology and virology. Whakatū / Nelson is Hayley’s base, where she is surrounded by a cacophony of colour from her collection of indigenous textiles from Mexico and Guatemala.
Operations Team
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Mentoring & Accreditation | Formal Statement Review (MERG)
Lisa Currie
Lisa joined MEDSAC in 2017. Her aim is for all MEDSAC members to feel valued and well supported in their work in sexual assault. Encouraging new forensic examiner trainees through mentoring and MEDSAC accreditation and working with MEDSAC mentors is a very rewarding part of Lisa’ work at MEDSAC. Lisa’s favourite pastime is a good conversation, probably about human behaviours, group dynamics and social sciences and if she’s not talking about them she’s probably reading about them.
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Education Events & Communications
Karolina Gorton
Karolina joined the MEDSAC team in July 2023. Previously she worked as a contractor developing, organising and delivering projects for businesses, regional development companies, non-profit and charity organisations at a local, regional and national level. She loves engaging with communities, especially when delivering meaningful outcomes and making important impacts. She truly believes in the power of storytelling and creativity, and loves using them when engaging with communities. As an Illustrator and designer she likes to capture the essence of subjects in strong lines and bold colours. Karolina has an MA of European Culture and Social Studies, with majors in Visual Culture and Communication between Cultures. She lives with her family in sunny Whakatū Nelson.
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Education Content Development
Victoria Larbalestier
Victoria joined MEDSAC in March 2012 after many years working at Puawaitahi, the child protection multiagency centre in Auckland. Victoria has a particular interest in online learning and educational technology. She completed a Certificate in Educational Technology in 2021. In 2022 she will start a postgraduate diploma in Education (Digital Education).
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Finance & Business Partnering | Business Improvement
Laura Papp
Laura is a Chartered Accountant with experience in the Public Sector as well as Chartered Accountancy firms. She joined MEDSAC in June 2022, where she enjoys both looking after the day to day running of the office and finance functions and using her financial expertise to support the organisation. Originally from New England, Laura now lives in sunny Nelson with her family.
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Education Content Development
Jo Sutton
Jo has recently joined MEDSAC in July 2023 assisting with the creation of online learning. She loves working with subject matter experts and converting their wealth of expertise into a learnable format. Jo has worked in various IT roles in NZ, Australia and the UK, as well as owning/operating motel businesses with her husband. She is currently creating online learning for another charity (Safeguarding Children) locally in sunny Nelson where she and her husband raise their magical twin teenage daughters.
Kaiwhakahaere | Manager - Manual I Research & Clinical Surveys I Clinical Advice Forum I Lead Clinical Support
Kylie Hooper
Kylie joined MEDSAC in August 2023 and is based in Wellington where she has held senior management roles at Victoria University and the NZ Psychologists Board. She moved from Brisbane in 2016 and has yet to get used to the four seasons that come with living in the capital. An avid question asker, she enjoys learning about people and making meaningful connections. Kylie is part of the active choral scene in Wellington and loves the community engagement and joy that comes with singing in a group, but you will never get her to sing without the safety of numbers.
Kaitautoko Whakarite | Administrative Assistant - Finance Team
Rina D'souza
Rina joined MEDSAC in September 2021 as a part-time Administrative Assistant (Finance Team). She came to New Zealand in 2002 from India and has worked as an Accounts Administrator in a variety of industries. In her spare time, Rina enjoys cooking and spending time growing a variety of fruits and vegetables in her garden. She is looking forward to the new experiences that come with the role and working alongside the rest of the MEDSAC team.