MARY O’HAGAN experienced major mental distress and used mental health services as a young woman. She was a key initiator of the mad movement in New Zealand in the late 1980s, and was the first chairperson of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry between 1991 and 1995. She has been an advisor to the United Nations and the World Health Organisation. Mary was a full-time Mental Health Commissioner in New Zealand between 2000 and 2007. Mary is now an international consultant and social entrepreneur in mental health. She has developed PeerZone – peer-led workshops in mental health and addiction, and is embarking on the development of an online recovery toolkit for people with mental distress and the people who work with them. Mary has three children and lives in Wellington with her partner Sara.