Dr. Susan O’Mahony is a Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, with special interests in breast surgery, facial plastic surgery (including skin cancers of the face), body contouring and paediatric plastic surgery. She is also a Craniomaxillofacial  Surgeon specialising in the treatment of cleft lip and palate. She is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and an active member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Australia New Zealand Society of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons and the Australian Cleft Lip and Palate Association.

In 2001 she was appointed to a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellowship and gained a Masters Degree from the University of Cambridge in England, researching the problem of Lymphoedema (Arm Swelling) in Breast Cancer patients as a side effect of their treatment. She has published widely on this and other Breast Cancer related topics (see publications). Her research led to the degree of Doctorate of Medicine (MD), for which she was awarded the Ralph Nobel Prize for the best clinical Doctorate, also from the University of Cambridge.

Jonathan Wheeler is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in Auckland with a subspecialty interest in Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery. He works in public and private practice. He is appointed in Te Whatu Ora Health NZ as the Clinical Lead for Plastic Surgery at Te Toka Tumai Auckland and Starship Hospitals.

Craig MacKinnon has been a Consultant Plastic Surgeon for 23 years and is based at Hutt Hospital.  He has been the primary regional cleft surgeon for most of that time. His training includes craniofacial and cleft fellowships in Adelaide and Taipei respectively.  He has published in the peer reviewed literature on cleft topics, and has been an invited speaker at international cleft/craniofacial meetings.

Dr Fiona Smithers trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Hamilton, Wellington and Auckland. She became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2015 and underwent two further years of subspecialty training in aesthetic surgery, head and neck cancer surgery, and vascular anomalies and laser, at institutes located in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, and holds a consultant post in Hutt Hospital. 

Fiona is the Chair of the New Zealand Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a Supervisor of Training, a member of the New Zealand Society of Plastic Surgeons Council and a SIMG representative in plastic surgery for the Royal College of Surgeons. Fiona has been an invited speaker and organised various international conferences.  She is a published author and is regularly asked to review clinical articles for national and international scientific journals.

Tom Gorte is a Clinical Nurse Educator (CNE) within the Child Health Service at Hutt Hospital and is also a Lecturer in Nursing at Victoria University of Wellington.  Tom undertook his nursing training at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and has worked within paediatric medical, surgical,  haematology and emergency departments. Tom is passionate about the continuous professional development of nurses and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to provide high quality care to children and their whānau.  He has been lecturing in both undergraduate and postgraduate nursing for over ten years.  Tom has been instrumental in facilitating the development of a package of care for children and whānau with cleft palate.

Kenny Ardouin is a practicing Speech Language Therapist based in Christchurch, and has lived experience of cleft. He is a former Chief Executive of Cleft New Zealand, and recently worked in London with CLAPA and the Centre for Appearance Research investigating the unmet needs of adults with cleft, and designed and delivered evidence-based interventions in conjunction with the NHS Cleft Teams to address this need.