I have worked as a planner in the Auckland/Northland region for the last 23 years in both the public and private sector. I am currently Auckland Transport’s Strategic Development Programmes Manager, leading a team of planners who manage the integrated planning of land use development and the transport network through enduring partnerships.
I have been an active and passionate member of the New Zealand Planning Institute since 2015, in more recent times as an Auckland/Northland Branch Committee Member and subsequently as a Branch Chair and then joining the Institute Board as the Auckland/Northland representative in June 2022.
Born in South Africa, I emigrated to New Zealand at the age of nine and have grown up as a proud kiwi. The communities I have lived in have informed my work as a planner who is firmly focussed on generating community participation in city shaping. At the heart of my approach is collaboration through diversity and inclusion.
I live in the most diverse city in the country with about 40% of our population being born overseas. Going forward we will only become more culturally diverse with higher proportions of Asian, Pacific and Māori representation than previously.
With that in mind, I am thrilled to be a part of the Institute’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup. Having a diverse Institute and Board is essential if we are to keep pace with our changing community.
There continues to be much ahead for the profession with the new government and its shift in priorities and it is important for a range of experience and backgrounds to be represented on the Board. The local government lens is instrumental in providing an informed and forward looking position on planning in Aotearoa. Working in public service means putting local communities at the forefront of planning and delivery and I am proud to represent that perspective on the Institute Board.
