I was born in England and spent my early childhood near London before moving with my family to New York at the age of eight. After five years in the US, my family moved to Aotearoa in 1980. I’m married to Louise and live in Wellington with our two teenagers.

‍

My professional background is in speech & language therapy,pastoral ministry and supervision. As a speech-language therapist I worked in education and health settings in New Zealand and the UK. In addition to specialising in head and neck cancer rehabilitation and voice disorders, I had service leadership roles in acute hospital settings, a visiting lecturer role in the SLT school at University of Canterbury, worked in private practice and provided clinical supervision to SLTs.

‍

After returning from the UK again, in 2005, I studied applied theology and completed pastoral training at Carey Baptist College. I was appointed as senior pastor at Wellington Central Baptist in 2009, and after two years, transitioned to a co-pastor model. Our pastoral team worked together for nine years, intentionally developing a team approach to leadership. As a church we were committed to training pastors and offered a placement to Carey Baptist College pastoral leadership students most summers.

‍

After eleven years in pastoral ministry, I finished my role tofocus on being a homemaker and parent. I also studied social services supervision through the school of social work at Massey University; this study was motivated by my desire to see a more robust approach to the supervision of clergy. Currently, I have a pastoral supervision practice focused on pastors and youth workers. I also work for an EAP provider, offering onsite support for staff in Wellington businesses.

‍

Providing coaching through the Laidlaw Centre for Church Leadership has enabled me to further develop skills in supporting pastors. Coaching and supervision may have a different focus, but each have frameworks that inform the other. Both coaching and supervision give me the privilege of walking alongside pastors serving church communities in Aotearoa.