MEET THE TEAM

At Conductive Education Canterbury we have a dedicated team of professionals to support you and your child to get the best. All our specialists are qualified in their respective fields and actively committed to ongoing professional learning and development to ensure they provide you and you family with the most up to date and professional advice and guidance.

Linda Leishman
Service Coordinator/ General Manager

Linda has lived experience of disability through her adult son, which led into a career in education. Her professional roles have been as a Teacher, Deputy Principal in a Special Education School, Head of Department in a Secondary School as well as acting Manager of the Lead School Transition pilot in Christchurch. Linda was also a member of the Advisory Group for the Christchurch Enabling Good Lives demonstration. 
Her interest has always been the transition from school into adult life with the hope that some of her knowledge and experience can help make that a smoother process for young people with learning disabilities and their families. She considers herself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to set up the first Project SEARCH programme in New Zealand. 
She is looking forward to a new challenge in the early learning space and hopes her experience and knowledge can also support families through their early intervention journey.

Nichola McGuire
Early Intervention Co-ordinator

Nichola is a qualified early intervention teacher with many years’ experience working in the education, health and disability sectors. She is a qualified Infant Massage Instructor. Nichola is currently the Early Intervention Coordinator for the early intervention providers in Canterbury. Throughout her career, she has taken on a number of roles both at our centre and in the wider early childhood and early intervention communities. She has been at CEC since 2003 and enjoys catching up with past whānau at centre and community events. Nichola has a real passion for working with tamariki and their whānau. She brings a professional knowledge and expertise to our organisation. Nichola spends her spare time with her husband and daughter biking. She is currently based on the West Coast. 
Dora Molnar
Conductor
Dora graduated from the International Andras Peto Institute of Conductive Education in 2005. She first worked as a professional in Hungary for 3 years before moving to New Zealand in 2008; working at Addington Te Kura Taumatua. Dora joined the team at Conductive Education Canterbury in 2015 to follow her dreams of working with both preschool and school aged children. Originally Dora wanted to work as paparazzi and travel the world, however, one day, following a long conversation about Conductive Education with a lady at the Synagogue Dora realised what it was that she really wanted to do - she wanted to become a Conductor. Dora loves her cats, cooking and trying out different food, taking long walks and travel.

Moira Dimmock
Early Childhood Teacher

Moira is our longest serving member of staff having supported many children during their time at CEC. She started out as a parent and was involved in the establishment of Conductive Education in the 90’s and has seen her now adult daughter transition through all of the four Conductive Education services in Christchurch. In recent years Moira has qualified as an Early Childhood Teacher gaining her Bachelor of Teaching Early Childhood. Moira is passionate about her work and knows first hand the importance of what you put in during the early years benefits the children, parents and families for all of their lives. In her spare time Moira enjoys walks with her dog and a nice cup of tea in the sun while reading.
Louise Houghton
Early Intervention Teacher
​Louise is a qualified Early Intervention Teacher.  Louise also has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood and has many years’ experience teaching infants and toddlers.  She enjoys watching them blossom into competent and capable young people and developing their unique personalities. Louise has a real passion for working alongside children and their families and supporting them along their journey. Louise enjoys spending time with her husband and two teenage daughters.  Much of her spare time is spent travelling around New Zealand with her youngest daughter who is into Irish dancing.  Louise also enjoys relaxing in the garden, scrapbooking and making candles.  Her family often escape to Punakaiki for some peaceful relaxing times in the picturesque Paparoa National Park.
Sarah Masters
Early Childhood Teacher
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Sarah is a qualified early childhood teacher. Over the many years of working in this field she has supported a range of children at differing ages and stages. She enjoys establishing strong relationships with children and their families. Sarah is currently studying part time at ARA to gain a Diploma in Pregnancy, Childbirth and Early Parenting Education. She is also a Mum to two wonderful, young boys. Her youngest son was part of the First Years Intervention group, run by CEC, as he was born at 30 weeks. Sarah is excited to be a part of the CEC family and looks forward to the new journey she is on with the organisation. 
Emma Alexander
​Social Worker
Emma is a registered social worker. She is here to support you and your whānau in your journey while at CEC. She understands that some of you may be juggling many different things right now and can help you juggle some of those things while you're here so you can focus on the more exciting parts of parenting. She can offer support in many different ways, such as advocacy, referrals, navigating systems and solution exploration. She is here to listen when you need to offload, however, she is also here to listen to any great news that you want to share too.  
Not only is Emma here in a professional setting, she is also a Mum to a CE graduate. Their son who came into this world prematurely in 2019 and as a result was in hospital for 116 days followed by a tube feeding journey and other experiences that are unique to parents of babies with additional needs. Her unique parenting experience has definitely contributed to who Emma is today both professionally and personally. She is excited to be part of the CEC team as she personally knows what an amazing difference they make to the lives of tamariki and their whānau. 

Kay Hamilton
Speech Language Therapist

After completing her B.A. in English and Linguistics, at Otago University, Kay came to Canterbury to complete her Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy.  This Southlander then returned home to work for the Ministry of Education.  Kay moved to Christchurch in 2007 to gain experience in augmentative and assistive technology (AAC) by joining a specialist rehabilitation team, working in the area of AAC, with children and young people with complex needs. Kay has been contracted to CEC since this time also and has been privileged to work in the primary school and high school units over the years following many families’ journeys.  Kay’s particular passion and experience lies in supporting non-verbal communication, early language development, literacy, AAC, and feeding and swallowing. In her spare time Kay enjoys spending time with her family in the great outdoors. 

Ange Dyer
Education Support Worker

​Ange has been supporting children at Conductive Education Canterbury since 2004. She enjoys assisting children to generalise their skills across settings. Ange values the bond of trust she develops with the children and their families, offering them familiarity and consistency. Ange is married with two adult daughters. She enjoys travelling (especially cruising) and in her spare time she likes to relax with a puzzle or book. 

Iowa Rangirangi
Education Support Worker

Iowa joined the CEC team in 2017. She is the Nan of a young man who started to attended CEC when he was a 1 year old, back in 2007, so she has lived experience of being in the programme as a family member and more recently as a staff member. Iowa has a passion for art and craft which is reflected in the work she does with the tamariki. Iowa has a particular strength for including tamariki with ASD in settings out in the community. Her quiet nature draws tamariki to her and her ability to read their cues supports them in accessing their environment. 
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Montana Brown
​Education Support Worker
Montana joined the CEC team in 2021. She has gone full circle with Conductive Education, starting out as a young 9-month-old in the programme alongside her twin sister then later transitioning to Addington School and through to Cashmere High School. She is now back, working as an Education Support Worker. Montana is passionate about her work and using her knowledge and experience to support whānau and children. Montana enjoys spending time with her family outside of work. Montana is a national champ in wheelchair racing. She keeps active by going to the gym and is a great advocate for our children, leading by example and striving to reach her goals.
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“Specialists use their in-depth professional knowledge to support families to develop and implement effective programmes, recognise achievement and celebrate success” (External Reviewer)