Karyn Lowry joined the KVH team in January 2011 to assist with supervising sampling and monitoring teams in Te Puke during the initial Psa response.

Karyn is now the longest serving member of the team, working in the areas of surveillance and compliance. Her role has included organising various monitoring programmes associated with Psa, developing and maintaining KVH protocols and ensuring post-harvest compliance standards are met. This includes an audit function across pack houses, kiwifruit processors, budwood suppliers and pollen mills.

Since the inception of the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) in 2014 she has been involved in assisting nurseries wanting to join the scheme in producing their manuals, and organising associated sampling, testing and external auditing.

After attending Waikato University and qualifying with a B.Ed. Karyn worked as a primary school teacher until her first child was born. She and her husband developed and managed a 20-hectare family property with sheep, beef cattle, avocados, tamarillos and 7 ca hectare of Hayward kiwifruit from 1977 until the property sold in 2005.

She worked for Zespri for 10 years firstly as a Quality Assessor then as Quality Assurance Manager running the audit team and maintaining Zespri’s quality system accreditation with what was then the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Karyn was also involved with Board of Trustees when they were first implemented in schools in 1989 and spent nine years at Pyes Pa School with four as Chairperson, and then another six years on the Tauranga Girls’ College Board with four of those as Chairperson.

Now that her children have grown up Karyn enjoys spending time with her three grandsons and getting away as often as possible with her husband in their caravan.