Keynote Speakers

Carol Stewart

Carol is an Associate Professor in Environmental Health in the College of Health at Massey University with strong links to the Joint Centre for Disaster Research. Her research interests include environmental health consequences of natural hazards and disasters; volcanic hazard impacts; volcanic ash chemistry; environmental, agricultural and health impacts of volcanic eruptions; developing volcanic ash hazard assessment methods; and vulnerability of water and wastewater infrastructure to natural hazards and disasters. She has been fortunate enough to carry out volcanic eruption impact assessments in Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Vanuatu and New Zealand, including contributing to the MFAT-funded scientific response to the 2017-2018 Ambae eruptions in Vanuatu. She is a Co-director of the International Volcanic Health Hazards Network (www.ivhhn.org), a core member of the international Volcanic Ash Impacts Working Group, and a member of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) Oceania chapter. Within New Zealand, she is an active member of the New Zealand Institute of Environmental Health and has run workshops on preparing for natural hazard events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

Rodney Wong

Rodney is a 3rd generation New Zealand-born Seeyip Cantonese Chinese. He brings over forty years' experience across a variety of private and public business sectors. With an initial background in food production technology, he has held CEO roles (including NZ managing director of FMCG brands e.g. Yoplait, Birdseye, Edgell & Leggos). 

More recently he has held numerous professional board roles as Director & Chairman of many diverse organisations e.g. High Value Engineering, Iwi Investments, Airports and Social Service Agencies. He is a former Chair of Crop and Food Research and led the merger to form Plant & Food Research before becoming their Deputy Chair. 

He has been awarded Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Food and Science Technology. He received the Palmerston North City Civic Award, its highest recognition for voluntary service to the community, for leading projects such as co-founding the Wildbase Recovery Centre & establishing a foundation to build the new Palmerston North Hospital Children's Emergency Department.

Collaboration on Public Projects...What I didn't tell you.

To follow on from my talk last year, we now address the elephant in the room. Collaboration: improving inequity doesn't sit with a single agency or organisation sounds good but what does that mean when things go bad & it effects you personally and/or professionally. A very personal perspective...

Panellists

Mayor Grant Smith

Grant Smith is the 29th Mayor of Palmerston North City, elected in 2015 and is proactive in supporting international and global relationships. Grant has had an extensive business background in advertising and marketing before becoming Mayor and has also served on the boards of several regional and national cultural and sporting organisations. He has championed the international programme Palmerston North City Runs, which supports key city sectors of Logistics, Distribution & Transportation, Food Research, International Education, Defence and Trade.

Mayor Andy Watson

Andy Watson has been involved in Local Government for nearly 20 years and is currently serving his 5th term as Mayor for the Rangitīkei. Rangitīkei is one of the larger land authorities in New Zealand with the prominent industries being associated with agriculture. Andy has been qualified as a Chair under the RMA and has co-chaired an Internal Affairs led working party on the interface between RMA Reform and the Three Waters Reform process. 

Andy gained a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Massey University and has developed extensive farming properties before farming on his own account. He then diversified into tourism businesses largely based in the greater Auckland area. 

Andy is passionate about Local Government and has led the advocacy in dealing with land-locked land issues in the Rangitīkei. Any has been involved with brining industries associated with bioplastics to the Rangitīkei and has been frustrated with being held up within the Environment Court process for the last 5+ years.