Introduction

Our Board of Directors comprises up to 8 members.

The members are all appointed by Clutha Health Incorporated, our parent company.

All our board members contribute a vast array of Governance experience to lead our Company which provides health services in the Clutha District.  

Board members

Ms Janet Copeland

LLB, BCOM, Chair

Janet is the Managing Partner of Workplace Law firm Copeland McAllister Law.

Janet has held many governance roles in her career and to date has a passion for the Clutha District having started her law career in Balclutha and with many family members in the District.

Mr Jim Johnstone

BCom, B Ag Com, FCA, CPP

Jim joined our Board of Directors in February 2026. Jim is a consultant with the chartered accounting firm, Shand Thomson, located in Balclutha.  Jim has broad governance experience across a range of sectors including health, agriculture, quarrying, sport and education.  He has been a long-time resident of the Clutha District and assisted several community owned health organisations successfully operate in the rural health sector.

Dr Peter Gootjes

MBChB, MBA, FRACMA, FNZCPHM, MInstD.

Peter trained as a medical doctor and also in management.  He has spent the last 30 years working in the pathology industry with Southern Community Laboratories, which is now trading as Awanui Laboratories.  He has had a number of roles with Awanui, including 15 years as CEO of SCL, and now enjoys several governance roles at Awanui and in other health sector organisations.  With CHF he is enjoying the challenges of governance in a rural hospital which is also a general practice.

Mrs Kathy Grant

BA, LLB, PGDip Arts, DFIoD

Kathy has had wide legal experience having taught at the Faculty of Law at the University of Otago and is a former consultant in the Dunedin legal practice of Gallaway Cook Allan.

She has had extensive experience in the governance of educational institutions both locally and nationally, has significant governance experience in the commercial sector and was appointed as Commissioner of Southern DHB from 2015 to 2019. Kathy continues to hold appointments in the heath sector and is focused on enhancing rural health delivery. 

Mr Alastair McKenzie

Alastair has held a diverse range of management roles in a variety of industries with his most recent in HR. 

Alastair is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors having been a Director of various nationwide companies taking roles of Chairman, Audit & Risk committee, CEO review and appraisal committee and Appointments panel.

Mrs Leanne Samuel

RN, BM, MHSM, FCNA

Leanne is a Registered Nurse and midwife, with a Masters degree in Heath Service Management.

She has worked in a variety of health services leadership roles in NZ and Australia, and more recently in governance roles in the community, rural health and with Maori and Pacific Island organisations. Leanne lives and works in Southland.

Ms Alex Tickle

PhD MChem BCH MInstD

Alex is an accomplished Commercialisation Manager for the University of Otago’s technology transfer company Otago Innovation Limited.

Alex has held many governance roles in her career, has a passion for innovation in healthcare and animal welfare, and lives on a lifestyle farm in Taieri Beach in the Clutha District.

Mr Peter Williamson

BA

Peter holds Māori ancestry into the Kākā Point district and currently works as a cultural advisor to The School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and had previously worked for 14 years as a counsellor for Māori at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin.