About Us

I came to whitewater through AUCC. Although I’m Auckland based now, I grew up in Christchurch so home is down south, on the better island. I rapidly switched from “Sorry I can’t kayak, I’ve got work” to “Sorry I can’t work, I’ve got kayaking” and haven’t looked back since. I’m keen to see more diversity in people on whitewater, particularly encouraging women to participate and grow within the sport. Outside of kayaking I work at AUT University encouraging students to find whatever the equivalent to kayaking for me, is for them. My strengths are in digital marketing and communications, so I am focused on continuing the work of WWNZ developing our digital presence and communities. Publicising the challenges, celebrating the wins, and most importantly encouraging people to get involved with whitewater!

I started my kayaking life as a slalom grom under the watchful eye of Gordon Rayner in Alexandra as part of the Central Otago Whitewater club, this led into a lot of river paddling through high school and then later university and beyond. As well as the slalom and whitewater I have done a lot of multisport and down river kayaking. My day job is on the road as a Business Development Manager, but i spend all my time thinking about kayaking!

I started paddling at my uni club in the US and was immediately drawn to the amazing whitewater community. Though I was scared out of my mind for the first couple years I spent paddling, I forced myself to continue so that I could keep hanging out with the people! I first came to New Zealand on exchange and swiftly enmeshed myself into the UCCC where I fell in love with Aotearoa’s clear blue rivers. After a brief stint back in the US, I came back to New Zealand in 2019 and have called it home ever since. I’ve overcome my overwhelming fear of whitewater too, with kayaking taking me on some fantastic adventures around the world and introducing me to my closest, lifelong friends. For the last few years, I’ve been co-organising Waip Out, an annual race and festival on the Waipori River down in Dunedin, and it has been fantastic to see the event grow bigger over the years. A goal of mine is to encourage more women to give racing a go, and particularly to see greater representation at the Grade 4+ races around the country. These days I’m based in Wellington where I work as a geospatial specialist. As a WWNZ board member, I’d love to help the organisation take advantage of modern GIS/mapping tools to share stories and spread awareness about the awa.

My motivation for joining the board of Whitewater NZ is to help protect the immense value of Aotearoa's rivers for our country, and to promote the voice of the whitewater community which often does not get the recognition it deserves. Currently based in Whakatū (Nelson), I've been lucky enough to work and play in the whitewater scene for the last 15 years, mostly in a whitewater kayak or raft, but more recently in a pack raft and even a multi-sport boat. The whitewater whanau is a small group but it has a mighty spirit. I look forward to serving on the board of this valuable organisation.

I’ve spent the past 20+ years enjoying paddling around the world — River conservation, access and ensuring our rivers are clean and runnable for the next generation is hugely important to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with my kayak a lot and seen the effects of major dam projects around the world, drowning the most amazing of rivers. I’m excited to be asked to jump on the WW Board. Outside of the river I sit on the Rotorua Athlete Development Trust, and the NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust board as a governance intern, do ambassador work for NZOC & Sport NZ, coach canoe slalom and shoot film and photography content for brands.

Whitewater kayaking became an obsession pretty quickly after getting my start with the University of Canterbury Canoe Club with the weekly program becoming smash uni work, get after it, and repeat. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of paddling plenty of gems around the South Island with the awesome community that makes the sport so special. I’ve found a huge passion for getting people into whitewater and experiencing them progress as many did for me, and for protecting our stunning wild rivers - especially those on the West Coast. Growing up near the tron means family visits double as an excuse for summer Kaituna and Wairoa laps. When I’m not on the awa or in the outdoors, I’m usually found in the lab pretending to be an organic chemist, but mostly just daydreaming or yarning about kayaking...

If it wasn't for the Auckland Uni Canoe Club, I would never have gotten into paddling, so I know that strong whitewater clubs and communities are essential to the promotion of whitewater. It was really the people and community that made me want to keep paddling. Now, close to 6 years later, I have joined the WWNZ Board to be more involved in the protection of Aotearoa's priceless rivers and wild places. I'm currently lucky enough to call the Kaituna my home river, but prior this I was Auckland-based and faced the weekend commute to the rivers in the BoP and Waikato, as well as the annual pilgrimage to the South Island.

I grew up on the West Coast and cut my teeth paddling on the Arnold River, which set me on a lifelong path in whitewater. I’ve been kayaking for over 20 years and am now based in Wellington, working in conservation and spending as much time as possible on rivers around Aotearoa. I joined the Whitewater NZ board to help protect the health and future of Aotearoa’s rivers, and to support more people getting outside and enjoying these incredible places. Our rivers are one of our greatest natural assets, and I’m motivated to see them valued, protected, and accessible for generations to come.