Management Committee

 

Amy Robinson (Co-Chair)

257460 Amy Robinson

Email: Amy [at] arplanning.co.nz

Managing Director - Environmental Planner

AR Environmental Planning

Bio:  Amy is managing director of AR Environmental Planning.  Amy has a Masters degree in physical coastal science from University of Waikato and has previously worked at Waikato Regional Council for 12 years in coastal resource management, including managing the Resource Management team, and also the Department of Conservation as RMA Manager. Amy’s primary area of interest is in coastal hazard management and preservation of natural character in the coastal environment. She joined NZCS as a student member in 2001.

 


Colin Whittaker (Co-Chair)

1011161 Colin Whittaker

Email: c.whittaker [at] auckland.ac.nz

Lecturer

The University of Auckland

Bio: Colin Whittaker is a lecturer in Civil Engineering Hydraulics at the University of Auckland. His teaching spans the civil engineering curriculum, from basic fluid mechanics and hydraulics through to coastal and water resources engineering. His research and professional work is primarily experimental, and includes the generation, propagation and impacts of tsunamis and extreme (rogue) waves, and the mitigation of coastal and fluvial flood events. He has also undertaken recent research in particle transport beneath wave groups, with applications to the transport of microplastics in the ocean.

 


Sam Morgan (Deputy Chair | Professional Development Coordinator)

1160912 Samuel Morgan

Email: sam.morgan [at] wsp.com 

Technical Principal - Coastal Adaptation

WSP

Bio: Sam is a Coastal Scientist with an interest in how coastal processes contribute to beach and estuarine morphology. His academic background has mostly focused in estuarine geomorphology and processes which he has subsequently applied to beach processes and morphology. Currently he is a Technical Principal at WSP and draws upon his experience in roles as an academic, coastal asset manager, regulator, internal council advisor and as a consultant to provide guidance and direction on coastal projects and best practice approaches.

 

 


Michael Allis (Treasurer | Special Projects Coordinator)

Allis Mike 25872

Email: mike [at] allisco.nz

Managing Director

Allis & Co

Bio: Michael is a coastal engineer with a keen interest in coastal and oceanographic physical processes. His engineering interests include applied coastal geomorphology, coastal engineering and shoreline management, coastal hazard risk assessments and coastal adaptation to climate change. Complementing his engineering work, Michael has research interests in deep-water wave breaking (breaking onset and energy dissipation), coastal processes and community coastal adaptation processes.

 


Ryan Abrey (Deputy Treasurer | National Regional Coordinator)

 20170824 141255

Email: Ryan.Abrey [at] stantec.com  

Senior Civil and Coastal Engineer

Stantec

Bio: Ryan is a professionally registered engineer with more than a decade of experience in the civil and coastal disciplines. He has a master’s in coastal engineering and experience in design, contract documentation, project management, and implementation.

After spending time in civil construction in Zambia, Ryan has been specialising in the design and specification of hydraulic structures for the abstraction and delivery of water with a PRDW Port and Coastal Engineers in Cape Town. Since joining the Wellington Stantec Water team in New Zealand, he has been involved in a variety of projects such in coastal protection, ports, marine outfalls, as well as some more unconventional projects such as the Wellington Water Cross Harbour Bulk Water Pipeline.

He’s also an avid trail runner, having run a couple of trail ultra-marathons, and volunteers at his church

 


Bryony Miller (Awards & Scholarship Coordinator | Te Komiti Māori)

1166391 Bryony Miller

Email: bryony.miller [at] e3scientific.co.nz 

Senior Freshwater and Marine Ecologist

e3Scientific

Bio: Experienced Senior Environmental Scientist with a demonstrated history of working in the fishery industry. Skilled in Biodiversity, Environmental Impact Assessment, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Awareness, and Scuba Diving. Strong community and social services professional with a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) focused in Marine Sciences from Auckland University of Technology.

 


Shari Gallop (Te Komiti Māori)

1010355 Shari Gallop

Email: shari.gallop [at] pdp.co.nz

Senior Lecturer - University of Waikato
Service Leader in Water Resources - Pattle Delamore Partners (PDP)

Bio: Shari (Ngāti Maru, Te Rarawa) is an experienced coastal scientist with national and international experience in coastal hazards such as flooding and sea-level rise, coastal nature-based solutions, geomorphology, estuarine processes, and blue carbon in restored coastal wetlands. Shari works to bridge Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) and mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with western approaches across a diverse range of commercial projects, research, teaching and community outreach. Shari works across two complementary roles, as Service Leader in Water Resources at Pattle Delamore Partners (PDP) and as Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato based in Tauranga. Shari is also Co-Chair of Women in Coastal Science & Engineering (WICGE) and Associate Editor for Anthropocene Coasts.

 


Ana Serrano (Coastal News & Special Publications Coordinator | National Regional Coordinator)

1157987 Ana Serrano

Email: ana.serrano [at] boprc.govt.nz   

Environmental Engineer

Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Bio: Ana is a Civil Engineer with a Masters on Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management. She has also been formed by UNESCO-IHE in Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

Ana has international experience working for a research company developing state-of-the-art modelling software, and she has been involved in multidisciplinary projects focused in working with nature solutions to mitigate flood risk in The Netherlands and Spain.

Since moving to New Zealand, Ana has been involved in a great variety of coastal projects: she has been directly involved with national infrastructure companies to protect and/or repair their assets, analysed the risks to natural hazards to feed into the masterplan of some major oil and gas companies, and she has successfully completed coastal processes assessments for various resource consent applications. More recently, she has been more involved in developing execution plans for shoreline management strategies with a focus on community engagement. 

 


Sarah McSweeney (University & Education Coordinator)

Sarah McSweeney

Email: sarah.mcsweeney [at] @canterbury.ac.nz  

University of Canterbury

Bio: Sarah is a coastal geomorphologist at The University of Canterbury who grew up in the Waikato. Her research focuses on estuary physical processes and management (especially estuaries that open and close), the Holocene evolution of estuaries and beach ridges, and the interactions between climate, waves, and shoreline change. Sarah is passionate about undertaking research that can contribute to improving our understanding how coastal processes may change in future and that is useful in practice for coastal communities and managers. She also is a keen middle distance and trail runner and loves hiking, the outdoors, and cold swims at the beach.

 


Connon Andrews (Coastal News and Special Publications Coordinator)

Email: connon.andrews [at] niwa.co.nz 

Manager - Coastal Climate Risk and Infrastructure

NIWA

Bio: Connon is a specialist in coastal science and engineering with over 25 years of experience. Technical strengths include coastal processes, natural hazards, coastal engineering, master planning, climate change, disaster risk reduction, and environmental assessment.  He has extensive international experience and provides advisory, consulting, and engineering services. Connon regularly provides expert technical advice, expert evidence and witness, and peer review services to local and central government.  Connon also serves as a specialist advisor in climate change and disaster risk assessment for the Pacific Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) and the Asian Development Bank Pacific climate change office.

  


Alison Clarke 

1010388 Alison Clarke

Email: alison.clarke [at] slrconsulting.com

Principal Coastal Consultant

SLR Consulting Ltd

Bio: Alison is a Senior Coastal Consultant at SLR based in their Tauranga office.  Alison’s technical background is in coastal science and she holds a Master of Science degree (MSc) from the University of Waikato. She has approximately 10 years professional experience working in both the public and private sectors of the UK and NZ. Her current role involves providing input and solutions to a wide range of coastal management applications and undertaking coastal processes and hazard assessments.

  


Andrew Allison

Email: andrew.allison [at] niwa.co.nz

Coastal Adaptation Scientist

NIWA

Bio: 

  


Charles Hendtlass (Coastal News Editor)

charles h

Email: cellwairmonk [at] gmail.com   

Charles has been a copy editor and technical writer for nearly 36 years, only interrupted by short stints as a high school teacher and as a research fellow at Canterbury University. After gaining undergraduate degrees in Physics and English, Charles completed a Masters in Resource Management that led (accidentally) to a career in writing and editing. After two years as a journal copy editor for Elsevier in Oxford, he later joined the Centre for Advanced Engineering at the University of Canterbury where he ran the Centre’s publishing programme for 16 years. His involvement in editing and publishing has continued on a freelance basis since 2008. Charles’ involvement in NZCS goes back nearly 25 years, when he first started desktop publishing Coastal News.

 


Renee Coutts (Administrator & Communications Coordinator) 

Renee Coutts2018resize

Email: nzcoastalsociety [at] gmail.com

Bio: Renee is an Administrator for the New Zealand Coastal Society and has been a member of the NZCS since 2010 initially as a student member.  Renee's technical background is in earth sciences - specifically Coastal Science and holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree from the University of Waikato.  She works within the three-waters sector within Local Government currently, the Compliance and Improvement Team Leader - Three Waters.  Focusing on regulatory monitoring and compliance, drinking water standards and water demand management. 


Belen Rada (Administrator & Communications Coordinator)

Email: belen.rada [at] wmk.govt.nz  

Project Engineer

Waimakariri District Council

Bio: Belen is an Administrator for the New Zealand Coastal Society and a Civil Engineer with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management from TU Delft. She has international experience including working for Delta Marine Consultants developing the XBloc+, the newest concrete unit. At WDC, Belen has been involved in a variety of coastal, stormwater, wastewater, and water supply projects.