New Support Team Member Elise Doyer

MND New Zealand is proud to announce our newest member to our Support Team, Elise Doyer. Pronounced ‘Elisa,’ Elise comes with a very strong and diverse background and is a great addition to our Support Team. If you are in the region Elise serves, visit our Support Team page for her contact information.

Elise introduces herself:

Hi everyone, my name is Elise and I feel privileged to be the new Support Team Member for the Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury and Upper West Coast region.
My husband and I moved to Nelson about four and a half years ago and are just loving it here. For me it feels very much like ‘coming home’ as I was born in Takaka and spent many joyful summer holidays in the Nelson/Tasman region.

Prior to moving to Nelson, I lived in Christchurch for nearly 38 years, the last 6 in lovely Lyttleton. With my, now grown up, children all living in Christchurch and a new ‘grandbaby’ on the way, there will be an added bonus in regularly visiting Christchurch as part of my new role. My work experience has been varied but I started as a speech and language therapist and special needs teacher. I then moved into health and social services as a health promoter, volunteer coordinator and manager for a range of large and small not-for-profits.

My most recent experiences include working as a foundation skills tutor at Christchurch Men’s prison and latterly as the Community Coordinator at Adult Learning Support Nelson where I was the first point of contact for adults wanting help with their reading, writing and maths skills.

I am passionate about NZ native flora and fauna. My family know me as ‘the crazy bird lady’ and my husband Chris and I are currently working towards returning our steep 3000+ sq m section to native bush. Simultaneously we’ll be trapping for rats, stoats and possums in the hope of providing a safe, bio diverse habitat for native birds spilling out from the fabulous Brook Waimarama Sanctuary.

Apart from this my interests include pottery, interior design, and cycling whenever possible.
I really look forward to meeting and getting to know many of you in the near future and finding out how I can best be of help to you, your family/whanau and caregivers.

Support Team Member Elise Doyer