Jenny McMahon

Jenny McMahon ONZM MBE
McMahon, c. 2007
President of New Zealand Red Cross
In office 2012–2018
Personal details
Born	Jennifer Anne McMahon (1957-01-27) 27 January 1957 (age 68) Hamilton, New Zealand
Relatives	Brian McMahon (father)
Alma mater	University of Otago
Profession	Nurse nutritionist
Awards	Florence Nightingale Medal (1991)
Scientific career
Thesis	The effect of homocysteine lowering vitamins on cognitive performance in older people : a randomised controlled trial  (2005)
Doctoral advisor	Murray Skeaff

Jennifer Anne McMahon ONZM MBE (born 27 January 1957) is a New Zealand nurse and nutritionist. She was the president of the New Zealand Red Cross Society between 2012 and 2018. In 2018, her contributions to health research and to aiding disadvantaged people internationally were recognised by her appointment as a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Biography

McMahon was born in Hamilton on 27 January 1957, the daughter of Joan Margaret McMahon (née Palmer) and Brian McMahon, a venereologist and army doctor. ^[1] She grew up in Malaysia, Singapore, England and New Zealand, ^[2] and was educated at Villa Maria College in Christchurch. ^[1] After completing her nursing qualification in Dunedin in 1978, she worked on an Aboriginal reserve in the outback of Australia, and in the Torres Strait Islands and North Queensland. ^[2] Her first posting with New Zealand Red Cross was in 1983 at a refugee camp on the Thai–Kampuchean (now Cambodian) border. ^[3] She also served the Red Cross in Angola and was subsequently appointed regional nutritionist for Africa for the International Committee of the Red Cross. ^[4]

On returning to New Zealand, McMahon based herself in Dunedin and serves on the Advisory Committee to the University of Otago's Centre for International Health and as an executive member of the Otago Medical Research Foundation. ^[4]

McMahon graduated from the University of Otago with a Master of Consumer and Applied Sciences degree in human nutrition in 1991, a Master of Business Administration degree in 2001, and a PhD in human nutrition, supervised by Murray Skeaff in 2006. ^{[5] [6] [7]} Her doctoral thesis was titled The effect of homocysteine lowering vitamins on cognitive performance in older people : a randomised controlled trial. ^[8]

From 2012 until November 2018, McMahon served as president of the New Zealand Red Cross Society. ^{[3] [9] [10]}

Honours and awards

McMahon (left), after her investiture as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, at Government House, Wellington, on 3 May 2022

In 1989, McMahon received an Outstanding Service Medal from the New Zealand Red Cross, and in 1991 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal. ^{[4] [2]} She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to welfare work, in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours, ^[11] and in the 2019 New Year Honours she was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Red Cross. ^[12]

In 2018, McMahon was made a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, in recognition of her contributions to health research and to aiding disadvantaged populations worldwide. ^[4]

References

1. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 260. ISBN   0-908578-34-2.
2. "Five questions with: Jenny McMahon". Otago Daily Times . 2 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
3. "In conversation with Jennifer McMahon". New Zealand Red Cross. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
4. "Six women recognised for leadership in science". Scoop News. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
5. "Graduate search". University of Otago. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
6. "Dr Jenny McMahon – Healthier Lives". healthierlives.co.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
7. Mutch, Nicola (February 2007). "Compassion in conflict" (PDF). University of Otago Magazine. No. 16. pp. 16–19. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
8. McMahon, Jennifer A. (2005). The effect of homocysteine lowering vitamins on cognitive performance in older people : a randomised controlled trial (PhD thesis). University of Otago. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
9. "Structure and leadership". New Zealand Red Cross. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
10. "Structure and leadership". New Zealand Red Cross. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
11. "No. 53334". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1993. p. 38.
12. "New Year honours list 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2025.