Jenny McMahon

Jennifer Anne McMahon (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. She grew up in Malaysia, Singapore, England and New Zealand, Her first posting with New Zealand Red Cross was in 1983 at a refugee camp on the Thai–Kampuchean (now Cambodian) border. Her doctoral thesis was titled The effect of homocysteine lowering vitamins on cognitive performance in older people : a randomised controlled trial.

From 2012 until November 2018, McMahon served as president of the New Zealand Red Cross Society.

Honours and awards

In 1989, McMahon received an Outstanding Service Medal from the New Zealand Red Cross, and in 1991 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal. 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.

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.