My Story

I was born in New Zealand to a family where community was deeply valued, shaped early by parents working and volunteering in Civil Defence and the Red Cross. As a child, I spent several years living in Vanuatu, where I started school and experienced a very different way of life. There, I was exposed to how people live with risk, uncertainty, and limited resources, but also with strength, adaptability, and strong community ties. Seeing how different places respond to hardship stayed with me. Returning to New Zealand offered a contrast. Here, we are fortunate to have the ability to invest more into systems and resources, yet people are still left behind when disasters occur, disproportionately affecting several communities, something I see through my connection to Waikato-Tainui. My lived experience through major natural hazard events in New Zealand reinforced this tension, and shaped my belief that even in more privileged countries, there is more work to do to support people through recovery, strengthen resilience, and build back better. I was fortunate to complete my Masters and PhD under Professor Regan Potangaroa, who became a mentor and reintroduced me to the New Zealand Red Cross. Through his guidance I gained further experience throughout the Asia Pacific, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and New Zealand. I see repeatedly that recovery works best when people come first, is research led, and resilience is designed accordingly. That understanding sits at the heart of why I do what I do.