You might detect a hint of an Aussie twang when talking to Rachel but don’t panic, she’s called Christchurch home for the past 20 years so we can claim her as one of our own.

Rachel has always been interested in health and over the last ten years of her career this has filtered into her professional life. She has held administrative, reception and coaching roles across healthcare and medicine, as well as other sectors.

As a woman, she enjoys working in a gynaecology practice because she can identify with the patients and takes pride in COGA’s ability to provide personalised specialist care. Meeting the new babies is also one of the perks of the job.

An aspect of the patient journey that Rachel feels strongly about is mental health. She sees it as an area of women’s wellbeing that deserves a lot more attention – particularly given that New Zealand’s young women are showing increasing levels of anxiety, and our concerning rates of perinatal depression. Rachel would also like to see more discussion around body image, and the harm being done by unrealistic representations of women’s bodies.

Outside of work, Rachel can be found baking her famous brownies, walking her dogs Oreo and Mallowpuff (there’s a theme to her interests!) or knitting up a storm. She’s also not opposed to a sneaky gin or two while catching up with family and friends.