It is not enough to deliver care. People need to feel cared for.

Profile

A New Zealand health professional and writer at the forefront of health system reform, Karina McHardy brings together clinical expertise, academic rigour and lived experience to drive meaningful change for neurodiverse children and their families.

Karina’s career spans clinical care, academia, health strategy and global public health. Trained as a medical doctor at the University of Auckland, she went on to complete a master’s degree in global health before undertaking doctoral research at the University of Oxford. Her work has contributed to major initiatives across New Zealand’s national health system, alongside international roles with both the University of Oxford and the World Health Organization.

Recognised for her impact in public policy, Karina was named a finalist in the New Zealand Woman of Influence Awards in 2020 and was included in the University of Auckland’s ‘40 Under 40’ list the following year. Her career is distinguished by a consistent focus on equity, systems design and the real-world consequences of policy decisions on families and communities.

Alongside her professional work, Karina is also a writer and advocate. She is the author of All In: A Mother’s Journey Through Autism (Bateman Books, 2026), a deeply personal exploration of parenting, diagnosis and resilience. She is also the creator of NeuroThrive, a platform examining the lived realities of raising an autistic child and what those experiences reveal about the strengths — and shortcomings — of the systems intended to provide support.

A former elite gymnast and classical ballet dancer, Karina brings creativity, discipline and empathy to every aspect of her work. Today, she focuses on surfacing systemic gaps and influencing system-level change to better serve neurodiverse children and their families. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and young twins.

Expertise

Talking Points

Seeing What Matters: Human-Centred Thinking in Complex Systems

Whether in healthcare, education, business or public policy, systems often become focused on process, efficiency and measurable outputs. Yet the people using those systems experience them very differently.
Drawing on experiences as a doctor, health strategist, Oxford academic and parent navigating complex support systems, Karina explores what happens when organisations lose sight of the humans at their centre, and how leaders can design services, cultures and systems that genuinely work for the people they serve.

Takeaways:
- Understand the difference between activity and value.
- Identify where hidden burdens are being carried by customers, patients, employees or families.
- Improve trust, engagement and outcomes.

Navigating Life When the Map Disappears

Elite athlete. Ballet dancer. Doctor. Oxford scholar. Public health leader. Parent.
Across multiple chapters of life, Karina has repeatedly found herself rebuilding identity after plans collapsed, careers ended, injuries occurred, and expectations changed.
This keynote explores how humans adapt when certainty disappears and why resilience is often misunderstood.
Rather than focusing on toughness, it examines identity, reinvention and the capacity to find meaning inside uncertainty.

Key takeaways
Audience members will:
- develop healthier approaches to uncertainty and change
- understand why identity transitions are often more difficult than practical transitions
- learn strategies for navigating disruption and reinvention
- build resilience without relying on constant certainty
- leave with greater confidence in navigating complex futures.

Beyond the Label: The Cost of Assumptions

Assumptions help us make sense of complexity. They also create blind spots.
Drawing on personal and professional experiences across healthcare, education and leadership, Karina explores how assumptions shape decisions, opportunities and outcomes, and why curiosity remains one of the most powerful tools for better leadership, inclusion and care.

Takeaways
- Identify hidden assumptions driving decisions.
- Understand how labels can narrow possibilities.
- Build cultures of curiosity rather than certainty.
- Improve inclusion and belonging.

Invisible Work

Many systems appear to function well because the people using them are compensating for their shortcomings.
From healthcare and education to workplaces and public services, enormous amounts of coordination, adaptation and emotional labour are often shifted onto individuals and families.
This keynote explores the hidden work that sits beneath successful outcomes and what organisations can do to recognise, reduce and redesign it.

Takeaways
- Recognise invisible labour and its consequences.
- Understand how burden shifts occur.
- Identify hidden friction points.
- Design services that reduce unnecessary effort.
- Create more equitable and sustainable systems and experiences.

It’s Not Enough to Deliver Care

What people remember about care is often different from what professionals imagine they will remember.
Drawing on experiences from both sides of healthcare, Karina explores the difference between care delivered and care experienced, and why empathy, communication and trust are not soft skills but core components of high-value care.

Takeaways
- Understand what matters most to people receiving care.
- Recognise the role of experience in outcomes.
- Build more person-centred services.
- Strengthen relationships across healthcare teams.