Nō England ōku tīpuna
I tipu ake au ke Timaru
Ko Rangituhi te maunga
Ko Porirua te awa
E noho ana au ki Tawa
Ko Kym Park tōku ingoa
Kym Park is President of Te Ao Māramatanga – the New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses and a Fellow of the College, with more than three decades of commitment to mental health, addiction, and intellectual disability nursing (MHAIDS). Her passion lies in strengthening specialist nursing practice to deliver safe, equitable, and person‑centred care for people and whānau across Aotearoa.
Kym currently serves as Director of Nursing for Mental Health, Addiction and Intellectual Disability Services, providing strategic, clinical, and professional leadership across inpatient and community settings, including forensic mental health services. She is recognised for her strategic agility, integrity, and ability to lead through complexity, translating national direction into meaningful service delivery while upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and culturally responsive practice.
Kym values her strong relationships across sectors, her commitment to workforce development, and her courage to challenge the status quo. Her career spans clinical practice, education, service leadership, quality improvement, auditing, and national standards assessment.
As President, Kym brings a clear vision for the future of mental health nursing—one that values working as a tangata tiriti to enhance titiriti partnership, delivery of professional standards, valuing lived experience partnership, and promoting nursing leadership as central to improving mental health outcomes for all New Zealanders.