New Hepatitis Foundation of NZ board member Dr Anna Rolleston is looking forward to the challenges of the role. As the managing director of Manawaora/The Centre for Health, which specialises in a kaupapa Maori primary care approach to long-term condition management, Anna is passionate about supporting organisations that have an impact on Maori and Pacific Island families.
She founded Manawaora 10 years ago and focuses on conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and renal conditions. “Not so much hepatitis, though that does come into it,” she says. “We’re seeing more liver health-related conditions in the clinic and it’s an area of health that interests me,” she says.
Anna is of Ngati Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Pukenga descent. She joined the Hepatitis Foundation’s board in December 2020 and will be a key driver in boosting community engagement and awareness, particularly among high-risk Maori and Pacific Island communities.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ed Gane, who is so respected in the medical field, and to getting to know the other board members,” she says.
Anna is also a recognised health researcher. She holds a senior research fellowship role at Auckland University, is co-director of the Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa Centre of Research Excellence and sits on various advisory committees and governance boards.
When she’s not working Anna enjoys spending time on, in or around the ocean. She’s based in Tauranga but loves Waihi Beach, she says, because it reminds her of what the Mount was like when she was growing up.
