Brad Domek

Director - Northern Sydney

As an EP with 16 years of experience in occupational rehabilitation Brad has worked within all major compensable schemes in Australia and New Zealand. Brad has been a Guest Lecturer at ACU, has presented to Insurers and Re-Insurers in both Australia and NZ on topics such as Exercise Physiology in Occupational Rehab, using EP to assist customers with Mental Health, Fatigue and Cancer as well as Exercise Physiology in the Life Insurance Industry. With a clinical background as well as long history working as an Occupational Rehabilitation Provider, he has developed a blend of experience in both the treatment and occupational settings which has now become the foundation of all work provided by the EPs at Specialised Health.

Brandon Woolley

Wellington

Brandon completed a Master of Health Science degree at Massey University, Wellington in 2013, in which he investigated the effects of exercise on vascular health in Stroke survivors. Brandon continued to be heavily involved in various research projects and lectured in Exercise Physiology, Exercise Prescription and Sports Nutrition.

Brandon managed a stroke rehabilitation clinic at Massey University and has developed extensive knowledge of neurological disabilities in addition to his work with physically disabled and visually impaired clients.

Brandon is an avid mountain biker and surfer, who can often be found riding the many trails located around the Wellington region, or in the waters of Lyall Bay. He is also always keen to talk about cricket!

Caitlin Milne

TASMAN-MARLBOROUGH

Caitlin graduated from Otago University in 2016 with a Bachelor's degree in Science, majoring in Exercise Physiology with honours. She has extensive experience working with patients with chronic health conditions and illnesses including cancer, mental health and musculoskeletal injuries.

Caitlin is a strong advocate of ‘knowledge is power’, Caitlin goes above and beyond to empower her clients and ensure they have a complete understanding of the what, why and how. She also has an in depth understanding of the role an engaging and integrative health model can have on the long term health outcomes for anyone.

Cara Leyten

Palmerston North

Cara has worked in the rehabilitation and physical training industry for the last six years, completing a Master's in Health Science with Distinction along the way. She has predominantly specialised in musculoskeletal condititions - particularly chronic pain and injuries that have been deemed advanced or "tricky" to solve - and has also worked with a variety of other special populations from cardiovascular conditions through to high level sport performance. She now runs her own business out of her Palmerston North studio.

Her passion for helping people with chronic and life changing conditions stems from her own chronic back injury that she sustained from a significant BMX crash thirteen years ago. While she still enjoys riding bikes, Cara has a newfound love for hiking in the hills with her dogs. She is a social, positive, and active person who loves life and the people around her.

Carmyn Barnes

New Zealand Manager

Christchurch + Canterbury

Carmyn went to The University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and has worked as an Exercise Physiologist for 8 years. Carmyn specialises in providing treatment for a range of chronic and orthopaedic conditions with her favourites being stroke, mental health as well as cancer rehabilitation where she has always included a wellness focus to her exercise programming.

Carmyn has a second passion for working with young children and studied a post-graduate degree in the gross motor development of children from a rehabilitation perspective.

Coffee Order: Large Latte

Cathy Barakat

ADMINISTRATION TEAM

Cathy has been assisting in the WorkCover rehabilitation industry since 2009 and over the years she has developed a significant level of proficiency in rehabilitation administration. In her previous role, Cathy was the National Admin Manager, managing a large team. Since joining Specialised Health in 2019, Cathy has been able to transfer her knowledge to her team, while also learning and adapting her skills in the life insurance scheme. Cathy is well aware of the needs of all parties within the compensable schemes and has been a valuable asset to our administration team.

Crystal Stavris

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Crystal has been assisting in the rehabilitation industry since 2009 and therefore over the years she has developed a significant level of proficiency in all areas of compensable rehabilitation administration. As a result of working with both worker’s compensation, work conditioning providers and life insurance based rehabilitation providers Crystal has become acutely aware of the needs of all parties within the compensable schemes.

Gary Calitz

Hamilton

Gary studied at the University of Johannesburg and University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. He founded and was the principle Biokineticist of his own private practice for 8 years, working with professional athletes, musculoskeletal injury rehabilitation, neuromuscular rehabilitation and exercise for chronic diseases.

Living in Hamilton now, Gary is currently undertaking a Master of Science, Human Performance Science at the Waikato Institute of Technology.

Gary is passionate about sport and competing, and therefore loves to help his client’s progress in their physical abilities to achieve more and overcome psychological barriers to their progression. He is empathetic, warm and patient with his clients to bring about these vital progression phases.

Gracie Costa

CHRISTCHURCH

Gracie graduated with a degree in Exercise Physiology from the University in Sydney in January of 2024. She has worked with a range of conditions during clinical placement including neurological, cardiovascuar, metabolic, immunological, cancer, musculoskeletal and mental health. She has worked in both public and private settings, including physiotherapy clinics and hospitals. In addition to working as an EP, she enjoys reading, being outdoors hiking, mountain biking and running, which allows her to build connections with a range of different clients.

Mae Heard-Pennel

Learning and Development

Mae studied Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and graduated withHonours in Biokinetics. After practicing for 8 years and setting up a successful private practice she immigrated to New Zealand in 2019, worked briefly as an Exercise Physiologist with Specialised Health while managing a rehab facility and busy physiotherapy practice. 5 years of upskilling staff has lead her back to Specialised Health doing what she is passionate about- supporting and developing allied professionals.

Melissa Mills

ADMINISTRATION TEAM

As an experienced Personal Assistant with over 25 years in the legal industry, Melissa has now joined Specialised Health to assist in meeting the needs of clients and has a great understanding of the importance of rehabilitation and recovery. As a result of her exposure in the legal industry in assisting the management of Workers Compensation and Compulsory Third Party files, Melissa is focused on achieving goals and outcomes for all of Specialised Health’s clients.

Natalie Winterton

Auckland

Natalie received an Honours degree in Sport Science and an Honours degree in Biokinetics both from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has worked as an Exercise Physiologist for 10 years in South Africa and has recently immigrated to New Zealand.

Natalie’s specialties include musculoskeletal rehabilitation and treating special populations with neurological, autoimmune and metabolic diseases. She particularly enjoys working with the elderly, general populations as well as pre- and post- natal patients. Her focus is on wellness and on improving one’s physical well-being and quality of life through individualised scientific assessment and the prescription of exercise in rehabilitative treatment.

Samual Panto

WELLINGTON

In 2014, Sam received an Honours Degree in Physical Activity, Exercise and Health from the University of Wolverhampton, England. Since then, he spent 8 and a half years as a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioner, firstly working in the British National Health Service, then progressing to General Manager of a Charitable Organization.

Throughout Sam’s career, he has been involved with research into the effect of early intervention of individualised exercise programs on an acute exacerbation of COPD or Pulmonary Fibrosis, and separately into the most effective exercise routines for patients suffering from Post Viral Syndrome (Long Covid). After these experiences, He has become a strong believer that exercise is for all, no matter your barriers to participation or severity of condition.

People would describe Sam as a patient, understanding and empathetic individual who would go out of his way to ensure the best service is provided.

Steven O'Keefe

HEAD OF OPERATIONS

Steven is a seasoned executive leader with over 15 years of experience driving operational excellence and financial success across multiple sectors, including Retail Banking and Allied Health. His extensive background in both clinical and corporate environments has equipped him with the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, foster stakeholder relationships, and achieve exceptional performance for national organisations.

Steven’s expertise spans across strategic planning, financial management, and operational oversight. He has successfully led large-scale transformations, while navigating critical changes following the Federal Government reforms. His leadership has resulted in significant financial achievements, business scale and growth, enhancing service quality, and achieving high levels of compliance and client satisfaction.

Tessa Nielsen

New Plymouth

Marketing Team

Tessa has been working in the health and fitness industry for over 10-years and on completing her masters degree in 2017 commenced her work as an Exercise Physiologist.

Fatigue management was a major focal point of Tessa’s masters research, where she assessed the physiological response to exercise in those with chronic fatigue syndrome. Tessa is also passionate about the benefits exercise brings in the mental health space and the preventative powers of exercise in chronic disease. With everyone she works with, Tessa’s goal is always to “educate and inspire”.

Coffee Order: Large soy flat white, extra shot 99% of the time!