Housing Summit 2022

Alec Tang is a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (FIEMA). He has spent the bulk of his career developing and delivering innovative sustainability solutions across business, academia and the public sector. Most recently, Alec’s work has been focussed on the creation of low carbon, resilient and equitable urban environments, initially leading Auckland Council’s Chief Sustainability Office through the development of Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri, Auckland’s Climate Plan (www.climateakl.co.nz), and latterly as Director of Sustainability at Kāinga Ora: Homes and Communities. Alec also currently lectures on sustainable business at Auckland University of Technology.

Andrew is a qualified economist with more than fourteen years’ experience in the built environment. Working for consultancies, associations, government and built environment charities, he has a wealth of knowledge in housing, market mechanism, advocacy and the construction supply chain.

Andrew joined the New Zealand Green Building Council in September 2016 as Chief Executive. The NZGBC is the country’s leading not-for-profit for the sustainable built environment. As well as exemplary research, the NZGBC oversees Homestar and Green Star the award winning certifications for New Zealand homes and buildings, and NABERSNZ, the tool for confirming performance of offices in use.

Andrew is sometimes asked to speak on panels. There are many great women speakers in the construction and property sector. Andrew has made a commitment to not speak on all male panels. The NZGBC can assist in connecting you with a diverse range of speakers if that would be of use for your event.

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Antonia Reid is the Policy Director for the Building for Climate Change Programme, within the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. The Building for Climate Change team is responsible for leading the building and construction sector response to the climate crisis, including through measures to reduce emissions and to improve building resilience. Antonia has held a number of policy and operational policy leadership roles across government including as Acting Director, Data, Insights and Forestry at the Ministry for Primary Industries, and Manager, One Billion Trees at Te Uru Rākau.

Jules & Blair MacKinnon have built NZ’s most sustainable and community oriented rental apartments, 26 Aroha. Jules has worked in community health and is passionate about people living healthier, happier lives and looking after our planet. Blair has worked in the corporate world and shares Jules’ passions for people and our precious environment. 26 Aroha has received NZ Green Building's highest ‘world leading’ 10 Homestar rating, an award from the NZ Institute of Architects, and the national Interior design award for multi-housing. Jules and Blair explored some of the best of NZ and overseas communities to create a world class living environment available to people who rent in Auckland.

Caroline Lambert is Head of Trade for the Delegation of the European Union to Aotearoa/New Zealand and leads climate and other “Green Deal” aspects of diplomacy. Caroline has over 20 years’ experience in European policy design in the European Commission and has worked in a variety of roles in energy, transport, climate and environment policy as well as in budgetary and financial affairs. Most recently, she led a cross-departmental team of economic experts in preparing the EU’s new Climate Adaptation Policy and advised on the revision of EU financial markets legislation. Caroline was posted to the Delegation of the European Union to Australia between 2015 and 2018 with a “green diplomacy”’ hat. Before that, she notably advised the first EU Commissioner for Climate Action on international, trade and finance-related issues between 2010 and 2015 and the Vice President in charge of Communication and Interinstitutional Affairs between 2007 and 2010. Caroline is a graduate of Sciences Po-Paris and post-graduate of the College of Europe in Bruges where she was awarded first prize of the year. She also holds Masters in International Economics.

Cate is the Chief Executive of Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust. She was the first employee of the Trust when it was established in 2016. Cate has worked in community housing, mental health and addiction sectors and for 25 years, with 20 years in leadership positions. She has worked in the not for profit and public sectors undertaking a range of leadership and governance roles. Cate’s move into the community housing sector five years ago recognised her belief that adequate housing, health and education are the foundations of our community. One of her personal interests is house design, green technologies and the ways in which architecture and urban design help build communities. Cate is the current co-chair of Community Housing Aotearoa. She lives in Christchurch.

Chelydra Percy joined BRANZ as Chief Executive Officer in 2013 following leadership roles within science, innovation and commercial organisations. These included Callaghan Innovation, Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute), the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation and Telecom.

Chelydra is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington, a Companion of Engineering New Zealand and Vice-President of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. She is an active contributor to organisations focused on system transformation including the Construction Sector Accord as Environment Workstream lead, the Aotearoa Circle, and the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum.

Craig is an ordained Anglican Priest. He has served in the Diocese of Christchurch for over 36 years. Prior to priesthood he worked in the advertising industry.

Craig has an extensive knowledge of design, print media, marketing and public relations and is a recognised working artist. Craig’s skills include communications, fundraising and community development. He is also an entrepreneur. His interest in supporting communities led to the development of ‘Foodtogether’ – a nation- wide collective of healthy eating hubs, supporting those on lower incomes to access affordable fresh produce.

In 2019 Craig approached Naylor Love to talk about building healthy homes for those least able to afford them. There began the Mahana House Project. In collaboration with renowned architect, Shigeru Ban and local design studio Isthmus, the first of three Mahana Designs was developed. In 2020 Craig was invited to become Naylor Love’s Community Living Project Director. He has enjoyed the challenge of bringing people and design skills to the task of telling the ‘Mahana’ story. Craig’s passion is supporting and enabling the less fortunate among us. His interest in bringing housing solutions to those in need extends to a working knowledge of high performance and innovative house design.

David Curtis is an experienced senior manager, having worked across multiple industries in both the for profit and not for profit sectors. For the last 6 years David has been CEO of the Te Kokiringa Taumata |The New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI). Serving approximately 3,000 members, one of David’s key focuses as CEO has been to strengthen the Institutes engagement with central government, leading to NZPI being recognised as a key stakeholder in the government resource management reform programme.

David’s work at NZPI supports his personal interest in how the built environment is shaped and how well it serves those who live in. He lives in Auckland, where he has been a keen observer of both the Covid induced ‘Office 2.0’ phenomena as well as the impact Covid has had on different communities within the city.

Kia ora, my name is Eloise Blewden. I am a fourth-year Master of Architecture student at Victoria University, Wellington, having graduated with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies in 2021.
I am a highly motivated learner, environmentalist, and green building enthusiast. Holistic sustainability is my passion and sustainability within the built environment has been a key focus throughout my degree so far.

I tutor first and second year students at Victoria University, specialising in Human Environmental Science Design. Through my tutoring I am able to pass on my learnings and passion for passive design and low-carbon design. These papers are invaluable for our next generation of architects and building scientists, developing knowledge and skills for designing with consideration for the environment.

Last summer I had the opportunity to undertake a research project with WSP and Victoria University focused on carbon-neutral schools. Through this project I developed two tools to support New Zealand state schools to undertake carbon emission reduction actions and to measure and monitor their emissions.
I am excited to be New Zealand Green Building Council’s Future Thinker of the Year 2022 and am looking forward to collaborating with many passionate and knowledgeable people.

Emily Braham is a Director at Energiesprong UK and works within the Market Development Team as Head of Strategy and Operations. She has an MSc in area based retrofit and a CIOB BA Hons 1st in Design, Development and Regeneration.

With 16 years’ experience in the social housing sector, she has led on developing retrofit strategy and delivery of award-winning projects, such as the largest neighbourhood-based, cross-tenure solid wall insulation scheme, the REMOURBAN lighthouse City Horizon 2020 project and the first Energiesprong project in the UK.

Emily has held non-exec Director roles at Efficiency East Midlands procurement organisation, MOZES community energy and Sustainable Homes. She is passionate about using collective action to drive energy efficiency in the sector and brings hands-on knowledge and creative thinking to help solve our net zero challenges.

Jeff is a specialist in embodied carbon and life cycle assessment. He has calculated the carbon footprint of the building stocks of New Zealand, Australia and the European Union. He is actively involved in the development of standards and tools for assessing upfront and embodied carbon in buildings, working with NZGBC, GBCA, MBIE and NABERS. Jeff is a Life Cycle Assessment Certified Practitioner and an Environmental Product Declaration verifier. He has been involved in the production of most EPDs in New Zealand. He also sat on GBCA’s LCA Expert Group during development of Green Star Buildings in Australia.

Jessica Stewart is Sustainability Manager for Riverview Projects. Jessica is currently working on the Ginninderry development – a 30 to 40 year project which will ultimately become home for approximately 30,000 residents. Ginninderry is Australia’s only cross-border master-planned community – extending across the ACT border into NSW. Jess holds tertiary qualifications in Engineering and Science from the ANU and was awarded the NAWIC ACT Emerging Leader Award and PCA Future Leader in 2017.

Linda has overall responsibility for the strategic and operational aspects across the asset classes, with a view to optimising their investment performance. She has more than 20 years' experience in property, retail, management and marketing. Prior to joining Kiwi Property in April 2018, she was most recently New Zealand Regional Manager at Scentre Group.

Matthew is the Business development manager - residential at the NZGBC working with Homestar and HomeFit. Matthew’s mission is to inspire people to make a better place to live.

Matt is a Practicing Architect based on Waiheke Island. With experience in Residential, Multi residential, Education and Commercial Architecture projects over 25 years. In the last decade he has increasingly specialised in Green Star Communities projects and High performing Homestar projects. He has a passion for exploring options for more sustainable outcomes for projects. He is currently working with private developers and local Authority clients on Green Star Communities projects including a new suburb for 20,000 people in Hamilton, an Innovation and Enterprise park and a medium sized greenfield residential development in Auckland.

Paul leads the Building, Resources and Markets Group for MBIE, which works is responsible for many of the regulatory systems that govern New Zealand’s markets including building, communications, competition, consumer and commercial, energy markets, financial markets, intellectual property, and petroleum and minerals.

The Group’s role supports a fair, competitive business environment and well-functioning telecommunications, building and construction and resources markets. It also serves as the Government's Procurement Functional Leader and the Government's Property Functional Leader.

Before his current role, Paul was Deputy Secretary for our Labour, Science and Enterprise group, and as Deputy Director General at the Ministry for Primary Industries, responsible for Policy and Deputy Director General Strategy and Performance.

Paul has held a number of management roles at Treasury, with responsibility for areas including education, market interventions and tax policy. He also worked at the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Planning Council.

Sam Archer is a Sustainability Consultant and Mechanical Engineer with over 18 years experience in the Construction Industry. As Director Market Transformation at the New Zealand Green Building Council, he is responsible for running the sustainability and energy assessment tools - Green Star, Homestar and NABERSNZ.

He has a passion for sustainable housing having spent 6 years creating and managing the sustainability framework for a 3000 home development for the University of Cambridge. Sam also has extensive experience in sustainability and energy strategies, including carbon policy work for UK government, sustainable urban design and low energy and passive building design.

Sarah leads the ESD team at eCubed. She is a qualified ESD engineer with a background in Mechanical Engineering.

Sarah holds a master’s degree in Building Performance and Sustainability from the National University of Singapore, which she finished top of her class. She keeps up to date on the latest research and innovations in the sustainable built environment including indoor environmental quality considerations, integrated design processes, data science for the built environment, and smart building control systems.

Sarah is a qualified Green Star Accredited Professional, Homestar Assessor and NABERSNZ assessor. Additionally, Sarah has experience working with Singapore’s BCA Green Mark and IWBI’s WELL tool. She also holds both a First-Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science Degree specialising in Environmental Science & Physical Geography from the University of Auckland.

Sarah has worked on a range of engineering and sustainability projects, with experience in simulation and building modelling including thermal modelling, energy simulation, performance optimisation, daylight modelling, computational fluid dynamics and code compliance.

Sarah is one of those rare individuals who has a full range of skills, from building physics to detailed Mechanical engineering.

She is also interested in the use of sustainable materials and efficient services design. Sarah has experience on a wide range of projects including the ASB Waterfront theatre, SCION Innovation Hub, Len Lye Art Gallery, HB Williams Library, Everil Orr Retirement Village, Gisborne Council Offices, and a variety residential and school projects.

Sarah carried out the simulation study for Homestar version 5 which informed the basis for several thresholds within the new tool.

Stephen has held senior management roles within New Zealand’s primary industries for over the last 20 years and brings a wealth of knowledge in representing the interests of agri-businesses and practitioners involved in the primary industry. In January 2022 Stephen was appointed the Chief Executive of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association having previously held the position of Chief Executive of the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management from 2013 to 2021.

In his new role Stephen will be working closely with key stakeholders involved in the building and construction sector in promoting the benefits of wood products and encouraging increased uptake of new and innovative timber products within the sector.

Teena Hale Pennington joined Te Kāhui Whaihanga as Chief Executive in 2013. She brings extensive experience in the built environment in New Zealand and Australia from a variety of perspectives, including government, professional services and a professional member body.

Her knowledge and experience have seen her previously appointed to the role of Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Housing and Urban Development and Deputy Chair of New Zealand Construction Industry Council (NZCIC). She is a current Director of Construction Information Limited, New Zealand's market leader in specification systems, related information and supporting software to the New Zealand construction industry.

Under her leadership, Te Kāhui Whaihanga has advocated for improvements in the quality, wellbeing and climate responsiveness of homes and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. This work has been supported by a relationship and partnership with Ngā Aho, Māori Designers Network, in the form of Te Kawenata o Rata. It has also seen the delivery of professional development and education and practice resources for architects.

In partnership with think-step-ANZ she has led the Institute’s carbon footprint report and analysis of options for change. This work is at the forefront of member organisation responses to carbon footprint reports and carbon reduction responses.

Troy has more than 20 years experience in innovation management covering the private-sector, not-for-profits, Government and academia across a range of industries including materials science, medical radiation physics, biotechnology, sustainable building products, renewable energy, and of course steel.

Troy is currently the Chief Executive of HERA, the Heavy Engineering Research Association and was formerly its Deputy Chair.

She was previously the Head of Innovation and Product Development for NZ Steel and Manager of Coated Product Development and Open Innovation Manager for BlueScope Steel. Prior to that, she worked a lot with the construction industry through her role as Director of Commercial Research at the University of Wollongong (where the Australian Steel Hub and Sustainable Building Research Centres are head-quartered and formerly the CRC for Welded Structures, BlueScope Steel Metallurgy Centre and CRC for Energy Pipelines). She has also held Innovation Policy and Program Delivery roles with the Commonwealth Government in Australia.

Currently, she is a Director of HERA Certifications, Chair of the Sustainable Steel Council, Director of the Construction Industry Council and Pro Vice Chancellor’s Advisory Board (AUT), Co-Chair of Hanga-Aro-Rau, the Workforce Development Council for Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics Workforce Development Council (TEC) and a recent member of MBIE’s Building Advisory Panel.

She has a passion for bringing innovative ideas to market and transforming industry through innovation (currently focusing on digital transformation) and product development. Her particular passions are sustainability, the Living Standards Framework and inclusion.