Speaker Bios

Kathy Holloway is the Director of the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice.

A registered nurse originally trained at Wellington Polytechnic, Kathy has worked in education since 1992 and completed her Doctorate in 2011. Her doctoral work has been used by specialty nursing groups nationally to articulate the contribution they can make to addressing health care need through the National Nursing Consortium processes.

Through her academic research and global engagement Kathy is involved in clarifying the potential of nursing expertise to improve the patient experience and inform workforce planning models. She is a member of the Board of the College of Nurses Aotearoa and was a member of the Ministry of Health expert advisory group for the 2015 review and update of the New Zealand Health Strategy.

Kathy was appointed to the Nursing Council of New Zealand in July 2015 and is currently Deputy Chairperson.



Toni is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in working across the health sector including in areas of physical health, intellectual disability, and mental health including the forensic psychiatric areas.

Currently a Principal Clinical Advisor for the Ministry of Health, Toni has undertaken statutory roles under the MH (CAT) Act 1992, such as Duly Authorised Officer (DAO), Responsible Clinician (RC), Director of Area Mental Health Services (DAMHS), and Deputy Director of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health (Seconded).

Toni is currently a Fellow of Te Ao Maramatanga, the New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses, a Fellow of the College of Nurses Aotearoa New Zealand and has previously been a member of the national Directors of Mental Health Nursing (DOMHN) group and the Nurse Executives of New Zealand (NENZ).

He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 2006 with a Master of Arts in Nursing from what is now the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice.