Woman who's been caring for strangers for 40 years leading St John Taranaki

They say good things take time and that's certainly true for Megan Stewart.

In the 90s, the Taranaki resident started volunteering with the St John ambulance service.

Two years later she became the first woman in the region to be taken on with them permanently.

Now, three decades on, she has the region's top job as St John Ambulance's territory manager for Mt Taranaki.

"I started off as a nurse aid, then did my nursing training, the good old hospital way with the caps and the capes,” Stewart told Seven Sharp.

"I ended up in A&E which is a job I loved. You never knew what was coming through the doors."

Stewart spent her days off volunteering for the ambulance service which eventually led to the position she has today.

There are plenty of women on St John's playing field, with 66 per cent of its workforce being female.

And 65 per cent of those women hold leadership roles.

Despite holding the top job and running ultra-marathons, Stewart still volunteers for Search & Rescue.

“There was a gentleman and his wife from Colorado, he fell over up the mountain, injured his legs quite badly.

“Yesterday he sent me an email saying congrats on getting the St John territory manager's job."