CHRISTCHURCH ENVIROHUB - Key Persons
Abby is policy advisor in central government with a past life as a project and programme coordinator in local government, crown entities and private organisations. She completed a masters degree in Policy and Governance from the University of Canterbury with her dissertation exploring the potential impact of using citizens' assemblies to increase public involvement in the creation of climate policies in Aotearoa. She is a committed environmentalist, advocate for enhanced democratic participation, biking enthusiast and passionate animal rights supporter. In her spare time you will find her baking up a vegan storm, getting stuck into her vege garden or trying her hand at a new craft.
Ben graduated from the University of Canterbury specialising in Management, Marketing and Business and Sustainability. Whilst studying Ben worked as a Community Project Activator for the Shirley Village Project alongside Steve Jones-Poole. Helping both create and activate the projects occurring within Shirley. Ben loves to fight for the environment as well as get involved with his community, you will often find him exploring the hills, mountains and forests or planting in his own back garden.
Danielle is an accountant by trade who now leads the Sustainability Reporting & Assurance practice for PwC New Zealand. She now gets to assist companies with their sustainability reporting instead of their financial reporting - as she would say, her dream job. Always passionate about sustainability in all facets, Danielle is excited she recently joined the Christchurch Envirohub so she can have a true part of sustainability focus in the community she lives in.
Jocelyn is a committed educator for sustainability. Currently, she works part-time as a Youth Engagement and Education Advisor at Environment Canterbury and runs her own educational consultancy, Sustain Ed, from her home in Christchurch. She was a Social Sciences teacher for 25 years and is most proud of creating, with a colleague, a Level 2 NCEA Sustainable Futures course at a Christchurch school. She is a community activist, involved with numerous environmental groups, and is currently Regional Branch Coordinator with the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE).
Juliet is a passionate sustainability professional who is loving the opportunity to support Christchurch Envirohub in the role of secretary. She recently completed her Masters at UC, which focused on the consumers' role within supply chains as part of a circular economy. Juliet now supports businesses through their carbon certification and reduction journey in her position at Toitū Envirocare.
Kat wears multiple hats in her professional and academic life. She serves as a part-time waste minimisation consultant for Sustainably, an SME based in Christchurch. Simultaneously, she dedicates herself to her academic pursuits as a part-time student working towards a Master of Sustainable Practice at Ara Institute of Canterbury.
Kat's journey into the world of waste management is a testament to her adaptability and passion for sustainability. With a solid background in event management, she transitioned seamlessly into the waste industry after playing a pivotal role in the development of the Christchurch City Council's groundbreaking initiative, Composting Food Packaging at Events (CFPE). She now has her sights set on catalysing positive change across other sectors.
Her advocacy extends far and wide, encompassing the promotion of circular economy systems, conscious consumption, and resource recovery. Beyond her professional commitments, Kat cherishes her role as a mother to two children and as a supportive wife, all while calling Tauhinu Korokio-Mt Pleasant home.
In her moments of respite, she indulges in a diverse range of leisure activities, including running, singing, and playing the ukulele.
Lily moved to New Zealand from China to pursue her PhD in Education at the University of Canterbury and got her doctoral degree in 2021. Lily is very passionate about combining art activities with environmental protection and climate literacy, and has been enthusiastic about promoting sustainability events within the ethnic communities. She works as an ESOL lecturer at PEETO, the Multicultural Learning Centre, and holds a voluntary Outreach Management role for Everyone an Artist Trust.
After undergraduate studies at the University of Otago, Sophie headed off to the land of lakes, beautiful Sweden, where she completed her Masters at the University of Uppsala studying human pathogens in algal blooms in streams and in the Baltic Sea. Sophie has worked for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu as Senior Environmental Advisor, working on the restoration of Te Waihora - Lake Ellesmere and mahinga kai monitoring; Ministry of Primary Industries as an advisor for pest management; and for an urban stream restoration project (Project Twin Streams) in Auckland - among other roles, such as making wine in Italy and working at an outdoor school in the fjords of Norway. Her specialty is in the area of advising and enabling communities for the management, restoration and conservation of freshwater resources. Sophie works for the Waimakariri District Council as a Water Environment Advisor, and holds a voluntary management role for Working Waters Trust.