Candace  has  25  years'  experience  in  public  health  and  mental  health  policy,  planning  and  service development.  Her  policy  work  began  in  Melbourne  where  she  worked  for  several  years  in  child protection  and  women's health,  and  back  in  New  Zealand  she  has  worked  at  a  senior  leadership level  in  NGOs,  regional  health  authorities  (public  health  funding and  planning),  and  the  Ministry  of Health.  She  developed,  managed  and  led  the National  Depression  Initiative  for  six  years  from  its beginning, including  designing online programmes and personalised support services for adults and young  people.  Since  leaving  the  Ministry  in  2011,  Candace  has  worked  mainly  as  a  contractor  on  a range of public health and mental health  projects. For three years during this time, she worked in a permanent  part-time  role  at  Te  Pou  o  te  Whakaaro  Nui,  where  she  provided  analyst  and planning leadership for Equally Well, a national project aiming to improve the physical health of people with experience of serious mental health and addiction problems. 

 Throughout her working life, Candace has demonstrated a strong commitment to social justice, and specifically, to reducing health inequalities. She has embraced and utilised technical innovation as an important component of her work to bring about positive change for people.