Team members Archive

Mark is a partner in the practice and works on the equine side of the clinic.  He has worked in many diverse places including Gisborne, Matamata & Morocco.  Mark is experienced treating all
types of horses from the Donkeys and wild Shetland ponies of Marakesh to the more typical Sport horses of New Zealand.   His areas of particular interest is lameness examinations & diagnostic imaging.

Mark will be familiar face to many for his starring role in Vet Tales alongside his mate Stacey from Vetora.  Follow their lives on TV1 Wednesday’s at 7.30pm.

Mark lives in Waimauku with his wife Caitlin & three boys, Monte, Kobe & Makai.  When he gets some free time outside of work he can be found fishing in the Coromandel, on the local cricket pitch and is always striving to brew the perfect beer.

Lisa joined the Team in 2013 & works between our Clinics as Practice Manager.  She brings many years experience in marketing, business administration & sales.  She worked overseas for many years in America running a large Equestrian Centre along with a stint as a photographer on Cruise Ships in South Africa.

She doesn’t go far without her Cocker Spaniel Capone who is lucky enough to join her at work, although he doesn’t work quite as hard!

Lisa lives in Wainui on her lifestyle block & is kept busy with her horses & Maine Coon cats.

Angie joined the small animal vet team in 2014 and has spent the last couple of years at home with her two young children. She is excited to re-joining the team and will mainly be based at our Silverdale clinic. Angie lives on a lifestyle block just out of Helensville with her horse, pet sheep, cows and cats.

Cathy is a dairy farmer’s daughter who arrived up in Helensville in the early 80’s & made her home here.  She was initially a ‘cow girl’ serving a predominantly dairy practice in the early Helensville days.  She has now moved into the small animal practice & has now become a ‘cat girl’.

She lives on a lifestyle block with her two & four legged menagerie.

Elke joined Kumeu Veterinary Services in 1996 and since the merger currently works in the companion animal side of the practice at Vets North Kumeu & Waimauku.  She studied veterinary medicine at the Tieraerztliche Hochschule in Hannover, Germany.  She moved to New Zealand in 1993 to complete her post graduate research project.

Elke lives on a lifestyle block in Taupaki which she shares with her husband, two girls, several horses, sheep, chickens and her cat Moritz.

Ella graduated from Massey University in November 2020 and spent the first 2.5 years practicing as a small animal veterinarian in the Bay of Islands. Originally from Kumeu, she made the move back home and joined the Vets North team in August 2023. In her spare time, Ella enjoys travelling, trying new food, exploring New Zealand’s beaches, and spending time with her cat Aggy.

Elsa joined the Vets North team in a part time capacity as a Small Animal Vet.  She is one of the most qualified animal behaviour experts in New Zealand.  She runs Animals with Attitude behaviour clinic which takes referral animal behaviour cases from Auckland and beyond.

Elsa has a MSc(Hons) in Behavioural Zoology, Bachelor of Veterinary Science (1991), Membership of the Australian & NZ College of Veterinary Scientists in animal behaviour and has recently completed a PhD in Veterinary Science (Behaviour).  She also lectures Animal behaviour at a training school for Veterinary technicians and is guest lecturer at Massey University in the field of animal behaviour.  She has also co-authored six books on animal care and behaviour and has published several scientific papers.

Elsa can be found at Vets North Helensville on Saturday mornings & at Vets North Huapai & Veterinary Rehab Centre during the week.

Elissa joined the Vets North Team in 2015 as a Mixed Animal Veterinarian, servicing our lifestyle clients in addition to working with companion animals. Briefly leaving Vets North to pursue her interest in companion animals, Elissa retuned in 2018 as a full-time small animal clinician, now based in Waimauku. 

Elissa’s special interests include ultrasonography, currently she is completing an ultrasound specialty certificate, allowing her to provide an increased level of expertise in this service. She is also passionate about dental care and preventative medicine, focusing on reducing future diseases in our pets.

In her free time, she loves going to the beach with her husband and dogs, Ember and Coal, or working in her garden. 

Geert has joined Vets North for 12 months in October 2017 to work at the Waimauku clinic. He graduated from Utrecht University in 1988 and moved to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland where he has worked in a mixed vet practice for the last 29 years. He is married to Laura and has 3 grown up children working and studying in the UK. He has taken up cycling to work to keep fit and enjoying the New Zealand sunshine

Gemma joined the Vets North team as a small animal veterinarian in February 2022 after graduating from Massey University in November 2021.

Originally from Auckland, Gemma now lives in Hatfield’s Beach with her partner and her dog Moose. In her spare time Gemma enjoys hiking, reading, and travel.

James joined the Vets North team in 2016 as a Large Animal Vet based out of Vets North Helensville.

Jess joined the farm animal and equine veterinary team as a new graduate in 2019. She pursued a veterinary degree at Massey University after training as a veterinary technologist in 2015 and gaining clinical experience in both companion animal and rural veterinary practices. Jess grew up in Auckland and now lives in Helensville with her husband Nick, two catahoula leopard dogs Koda and Echo, and rescue cat Wendy. In her spare time Jess can be found riding her horse Rusty or enjoying the sunshine at one of the West Coast beaches.

Jessica has been a part of the Vets North team as a companion animal veterinarian since 2017. She lives in rural Helensville with her partner and three dogs.

Our experienced and qualified physiotherapist Kath, has completed a Diploma in Equine Acupuncture & Level One Animal Physiotherapy through the Australian Physiotherapy Association.  She has also completed her Post Graduate Degree in Animal Physiotherapy through Liverpool University and has just completed her Masters in July 2019. You can find her at Vets North Huapai on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Keren graduated in 2006 from Massey University and spent the following four years in the Bay of Islands in mixed practice mainly dealing with dairy cows.  She then spent two years traveling
around the UK focusing on small animals and returned to her native West Auckland to cover a maternity leave role & has stayed with us.

Leanne graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2017.  She started as a mixed veterinarian and soon developed a love of small animal surgery, within an emergency setting.  Leanne did  2 years of emergency medicine before joining the Vets North team as a small animal vet.

You may see Leanne at Show Jumping and Cross Country events on her horse  Zoro, or walking her English Springer Spaniel Cecelia.  She also has a rescue cat Tammy.

Mark was born in the UK but moved to Helensville in 1975, aged 16.  He went to Kaipara Collage for a year and then working on a local dairy farm for a year before going to Massey University to study Veterinary Science.  After staying on for an extra year he graduated with both a Batchelor and Master of Veterinary Science degree.  His Masterate was in deer parasitology, and he maintains a passion for parasitology to this day.

After finishing at Massey he moved with his wife Maureen to Ruatoria on the East Coast doing sheep and beef work and station horses.  After two years he moved back to Helensville to work for the Kaipara Vet Club and has remained there since.  The practice has changed name several times and location once onto the main street but can still trace its roots back to the 1950’s.

Mark is on of the remaining old school vets who will turn his hand to anything.  Whilst large animal practice is his passion, especially sheep and beef farming, small animals, alpaca, horses and dairy farming are all within his scope.  Mark is also a long serving member of the Helensville Volunteer Fire Brigade and a past Chairman of the Helensville Primary School BOT.  He is one of the Directors at Vets North.

Mark has a small block outside Helensville where he has built a house and raised three daughters.

Nadia graduated from Massey University in 1996 and has worked at a number of companion animal clinics in the Auckland area before joining the Vets North team in August 2019.

Nadia enjoys all aspects of small animal practice and has a particular interest in feline medicine and surgery.  She also loves greyhound cuddles whenever the opportunity arises!

Nadia lives on the North Shore with her 2 young adult sons, Truffle & Molly the dogs, Nigel the rabbit & Jojo the cockatiel.  When not at work she enjoys going for bush and beach walks, gardening, zumba, yoga classes, baking & knitting.

Sophie joined the Vets North Equine Team in Aug 2021. Originally from the UK Sophie completed an Equine Internship at Massey University in Palmerston North joining the VN team. A keen equestrian herself you may spot Sophie out on her own horse in the weekends or walking her handsome dog Hero.