About Us
At PMDD Aotearoa, we bring people together to create safe spaces for connection and peer support, while sharing education and resources that raise awareness and reduce stigma.
We advocate alongside health professionals, workplaces, and policymakers to improve recognition and access to care, and we host events and initiatives that build visibility and community strength. As a not-for-profit, we also direct funding toward vital research to deepen understanding of PMDD, improve treatment options, and influence lasting systemic change.
Our People – PMDD Aotearoa
Behind PMDD Aotearoa is a group of passionate individuals committed to change. Our people bring together personal experience and professional expertise to guide our kaupapa forward. United in our mission, they help amplify voices, drive awareness, and turn vision into action.
Rochelle Boyce
Rochelle Boyce is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and the Founder of PMDD Aotearoa.
Rochelle has extensive experience working in mental health and wellbeing, alongside lived experience of PMDD, ADHD, and co-occurring conditions. She trained in mental health nursing in New Zealand and has worked across a range of community and organisational settings both in New Zealand and Australia.
Over her career, she has held multiple senior and leadership roles, supporting individuals, families, and systems to navigate complex mental health needs.
Rochelle’s professional focus brings together clinical expertise, advocacy, and system-level change to improve support for those living with PMDD and related conditions.
Suresh Muthukumaraswamy
Suresh is a Professor of Psychopharmacology in the School of Pharmacy at The University of
Auckland.
Suresh’s has over 20 years research experience. Suresh completed his PhD at the
University of Auckland in 2005 and was a research fellow in the UK before returning to New Zealand in 2014.
His main clinical research interests are in mood disorders and testing new interventions for mood disorders as well using brain imaging techniques to measure how these techniques modify brain function.
For the last decade Suresh has been developing women’s mental health which has not received the funding and research attention that it deserves.
Rachael Sumner
Rachael has over 10 years’ experience studying the menstrual cycle and the brain.
She has been privileged to be supported by foundations such as the Auckland Medical Research Foundation and Neurological Foundation research grants to do this work.
Rachael takes a holistic view on the role of research and researchers – the best work is done when the whole community comes together and learns together to determine what it is we need to know, and what changes we need to see to make lives better.
Lois McClintock
Lois McClintock combines lived experience with PMDD and extensive governance expertise to support the mission of PMDD Aotearoa. Having navigated the challenges of PMDD herself, she understands the urgent need for greater awareness, advocacy, and access to care.
With a career spanning technology leadership, community advocacy, and not-for-profit governance, Lois brings both professional capability and personal insight to PMDD Aotearoa. She is committed to amplifying the voices of those with PMDD, reducing stigma, and helping build pathways toward better understanding, treatment, and meaningful change.
Tamara Herd
Tamara has lived experience with PMDD, having unknowingly managed symptoms for decades through hormone supplementation, her PMDD diagnosis only occurred after developing Postpartum Thyroiditis, and the subsequent impact pregnancy & breastfeeding cessation had on hormone levels that were no longer supplemented by her pre-pregnancy protocols.
Her experiences have driven a deep passion for raising awareness of PMDD and other endocrine-related conditions, believing many remain undiagnosed or are largely misdiagnosed entirely. Professionally, Tamara works as a strategic consultant with a background in finance as a BNZ Business Manager and extensive experience in training, management and transformational community projects. She also brings years of governance experience, successfully securing sponsorships and building financial sustainability for local charities. Tamara feels honoured to be part of the founding team of PMDD Aotearoa is excited to contribute to this vital mahi.
Lucy Adlam
Lucy has lived experience with PMDD; her drive is to support women, families, and communities.
As a mum of two girls, she is passionate about improving women’s health, closing the gaps in research and care, and advocating for better recognition of conditions like PMDD.
Professionally, she works as a Change Consultant, with experience in fundraising, community initiatives, and facilitating support networks in the Wairarapa.
Whether you’re seeking support for yourself, or looking to better understand PMDD as a whānau member or health professional, I’m glad you’re here.
Sharee Maré
Sharee brings her lived experience as a close supporter of someone with PMDD, giving her a deep understanding of the challenges faced not only by those living with the condition but also by their families and loved ones.
Sharee is committed to driving change, raising awareness, and ensuring that both sufferers and supporters are better understood and supported.
She sees a strong need for greater knowledge and recognition of PMDD within professional communities, and is passionate about helping create resources and pathways that improve wellbeing for all those impacted.
Our mission is to create a world where individuals living with PMDD and related conditions can embrace their experiences, define their paths to wellness, and contribute to positive change in their lives and communities.
Our Mission
To raise awareness, reduce stigma, fund research, and improve access to support for people living with PMDD in Aotearoa New Zealand, through community connection, education, advocacy, and culturally grounded resources.
Our Vision
An Aotearoa where PMDD is understood, supported, and no longer suffered in silence – where every person has access to the knowledge, resources, research, and community they need to live with dignity and hope.