Denise Astill is the founder and Executive Officer of FACSNZ, a charitable organisation that provides support, education, awareness and prevention of fetal anticonvulsant syndromes. Denise took sodium valproate during pregnancy which resulted in her twin daughters having Fetal Valproate Syndrome, demonstrated by a brain injury, developmental delays, physical injuries and much more. Her girls were the first claims to be accepted by ACC Treatment Injury for sodium valproate exposure during pregnancy.

Janine Ryland Clinical Partner, ACC MBChB, DCH, MPH, FNZCPHM Janine Ryland is a public health physician and has been a Clinical Partner at ACC since 2019. Her role focuses on health sector engagement and ensuring that ACC have the appropriate governance and clinical quality in service delivery to achieve quality health outcomes for ACC clients.

Originally from the UK, Orna has been working as a GP in Auckland with a particular focus on women’s health and contraception, since 2011. She has held a variety of leadership roles including Clinical Director of East Health PHO and has been the Clinical Director of Primary Care Women’s Health at Auckland District Health Board since January 2019. She is an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and is on the Board of the newly formed New Zealand College of Sexual and Reproductive Health. She is firmly of the belief that collaboration, teamwork, kindness and a sense of humour can solve most problems and is currently trying to apply this philosophy to the issues of women’s access to contraception and abortion services in Aotearoa.

Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell The main role of the Health and Disability Commissioner is to ensure that rights of consumers are upheld. This includes making sure that complaints about health or disability service providers are taken care of fairly and efficiently. Morag McDowell, Health and Disability Commissioner, began her term in September 2020. Morag takes up the role after serving nearly 13 years as a Coroner based in Auckland. She was formerly a Crown Prosecutor, Director of Proceedings for the Health and Disability Commissioner’s Office, and a Senior Legal Adviser at Crown Law. Since completing her Master of Laws degree, her legal practice has had a strong focus on healthcare law, and she has appeared in different courts and tribunals on a variety of health-related litigation. She has also lectured and published on a range of medico-legal issues. Morag is committed to promoting and protecting the rights of health and disability services consumers where the Code sets the benchmark for good practice, and opportunities for learning and quality improvement are embraced. She strongly values the importance of fair, timely, transparent, and culturally appropriate processes where people are engaged, and given the opportunity to be heard.