UOW Pride Symposium 2025
Host
Professor William Levack, he/him
William is the Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago Wellington and proud host of this event.
Speakers
Dr Jaimie Veale, she/her
Jaimie is the Principal Investigator for Counting Ourselves and a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Waikato / Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato. She was awarded a Health Research Council Emerging Researcher Grant for the first Counting Ourselves survey, and then a Royal Society Rutherford Discovery Fellowship to continue the Counting Ourselves project. Jaimie was the founding President of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA), and a former Associate Editor of International Journal of Transgender Health. Her main area of research is in the inequities and unique issues that transgender people face in their health and well-being. Originally from Ashburton / Hakatere, Jaimie is a Pākehā trans woman of Scottish and English descent.
Jack Byrne, he/him
Jack is a senior researcher and policy analyst based in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, working part-time as the Senior Researcher and Co-Principal Investigator for Counting Ourselves. He is passionate about applied research, human rights and ensuring that trans and non-binary people can participate effectively in decisions that affect our lives. Jack’s main areas of research are on the human rights of transgender people, with particular expertise on transgender health and wellbeing and legal gender recognition, including for refugees and asylum seekers. He is a tauiwi trans man born in Māwhera / Greymouth, of Irish descent.
Dr Rona Carroll, she/her
Rona is a senior lecturer in the department of Primary Health Care and General Practice at the University of Otago Wellington and a General Practitioner with a special interest in youth health and transgender healthcare. Rona has helped lead the updating of the national guidelines for gender affirming healthcare and is vice president of PATHA (Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa). Her research interests are in gender affirming healthcare in primary care and gender affirming hormone therapy.
Alex Ker, he/him
Alex’s research focuses on the social dimensions of trans people's healthcare equity and social wellbeing. He has worked on various community-driven research projects in Aotearoa over the past seven years spanning disciplines of sociology, public health, primary health, psychology and education. He is currently halfway through his PhD at Te Herenga Waka, understanding social ecologies of safety among trans people in Aotearoa.
Dr Kayla Mackie, she/her
Kayla Mackie is a clinical psychologist who has worked in supporting access to gender-affirming care for the last six years. She currently works in the Wellington region, in both public healthcare and her own private practice.
Mani Mitchell (MNZM), they/them
Mani B Mitchell, Pākehā, change agent, non binary, intersex and queer identifying person. Born in the shadows of the second world war, my parents, loving, remote rural conservative people were poorly equipped to deal with the reality my birth brought to their life. I did not deal with the trauma of my childhood until my 40’s - I had trained as an educator, gone onto local government emergency management, specialized in critical incident stress management, management and then psychotherapy. Once I started to ‘deal’ with my own birth realty, my own trauma, suicidal ideation, I made the decision - I could not change the past - I could, I concluded assist with changing the future. So I have used all my training, my lived experience, aroha, stubbornness, my pain, sadness to bring awareness - visibility of intersex realities and awareness to the world. Find people to collaborate with, work beside - inspire, by working locally, nationally and internationally. My dream is, we will as a global collective, achieve critical mass - change the model. That trauma, stigma, shame and secrecy will be relegated to history as a sad artifact of the past. That intersex persons will be free to be the magnificent humans we are all entitled to be.
Dr Sara Filoche
Sara is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago Wellington. She has a background in biomedical science and is a health services researcher whose work is centred around improving access to healthcare and reducing health inequities.
Dr Trish Morison, she/her
While working within the School of Nursing at UCOL, Trish undertook an action research project that sought to enhance the provision of quality nursing care for transgender people. Through the collaborative action of nurse educators and people from the community, the project supported change at a programme, organisation, and a nursing council level.
Denise Steers, she/her
Denise is a clinical psychologist, researcher and student counsellor at the University of Otago. She did her PhD about the health care for children born with a variation in sex characteristics (intersex). She has continued to partner with those with lived experience to create resources for parents and young people to support better health outcomes.