our story

Little Bird is owned and operated by Jackie Clemmer, an audiologist with 15 years of experience.

Jackie trained in the United States’ Pacific Northwest. In 2007, she answered a call for audiologists in New Zealand, and she and her partner moved to Whangarei. There she enjoyed working at an independent private hearing practice where each client was treated like family. When this clinic was purchased by large chain, Jackie felt the culture there change. She then moved to working in the public health service, becoming a senior audiologist and supervisor for the Northland District Health Board. In 2014, Jackie was offered the role of District Team Leader at Nelson Marlborough DHB and subsequently fell in love with the Nelson region.

After a number of years at the DHB, it became clear there was an increasing need for high-quality hearing services for adults in the region, so Jackie founded Little Bird Audiology. After two years of planning, study and fund raising, Little Bird Audiology began seeing clients in February 2020. She continues to consult for the public health service to ensure maintained clinical skills for highly complex cases and to support with staffing shortages.

qualifications & Professional Affiliations

Jackie holds a Master’s Degree in Audiology and Aural Rehabilitation from Western Washington University, with undergraduate study in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She earned a Level 2 NZQA Certificate in Māori - Te Waharoa from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa while in Whangarei. Since moving to Nelson, she has a earned a certificate in Te Rito o Te Reo as well as a Level 4 NZQA Certificate in Small Business from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Jackie is a full member of New Zealand Audiology Society (NZAS) and has been actively involved with this organisation for more than a decade serving roles on the Membership, Examination and Supervision Committee and on the Professional Affairs Representation Committee. Shei is a current elected member of the Executive Council and has been appointed as the EC Observer for the Advisory Committee on Ethics and is also involved in the Complaints Board Review. Jackie is also a member of a number of other professional organisations including Independent Audiologists New Zealand (IANZ), the International Society of Audiology (ISA), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the American Academy of Audiology (AAA). Being a member of all of these organisations means that she is able to keep up to date with the latest research and emerging technology.

Voluntary work has always been a key part of Jackie’s life. In her 20s, she taught swimming skills to individuals with disabilities and also moved to rural Hubei Province in China to teach English at a high school. More recently she has become involved with a group that provides hearing services in Kiribati. She visited as a volunteer in October 2019, offering free hearing services for children and also training local nursing staff to provide screening. Hearing and ear health services are extremely limited in Pacific Island nations, Jackie is looking forward to continued work with this group to further develop the programme in hopes the model can be expanded to other nations in the region.