Sandra Corbett (centre) with colleagues Melissa Puna (L) and Helen Waaka (R) Photo: supplied
Sandra Corbett (Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao) has been on the front line of public health for the last 30 years - much of it in cervical screening and immunisation.
She began her nursing career in the late 80s, and shortly after the National Cervical Screening Programme came into being in 1990, she trained as a nurse smear taker.
Three decades later, she is kaiwhakahaere of the Hawkes Bay Cervical Screening team.
Sandra Corbett came from humble beginnings in a large working class Rotorua whanau, who whakapapa to Te Arawa and Ngati Pikiao.
She says a new HPV self test to detect for cervical cancer is game changer, but many Māori and Pasifika women are still underscreened, and she wants to reach every one of them.
