Management Committee
Amy Robinson (Co-Chair)
Email: amy.robinson [at] waikatoregion.govt.nz
RMA Manager
Department of Conservation
Bio: Amy is RMA Manager at the Department of Conservation, where her team advocates for the protection of indigenous biodiversity in RMA processes as well as ensuring the NZCPS is appropriately implemented. 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 coastal consenting team. 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 and she has been on the Management Committee for eight years.
Mark Ivamy (Co-Chair)
Email: mark.ivamy [at] boprc.govt.nz
Natural Hazard Advisor
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Bio: I work at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council as a Natural Hazards Advisor. This role involves increasing our knowledge of natural hazards in the Bay to determine the risk to our community. This knowledge can then be used to increase community resilience through risk reduction planning. I specialise in coastal hazards including coastal processes, hazard and engineering. I also enjoy using online GIS systems to explore and share natural hazard information.
Colin Whittaker (Deputy Chair and University and Education Coordinator)
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.
Michael Allis (Treasurer)
Email: michael.allis [at] niwa.co.nz
Coastal Physical Processes Scientist & Coastal Engineer
NIWA
Bio: Michael is a coastal engineer at NIWA 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, coastal adaptation to climate change, and human activity impacts in the coastal zone. Complementing his engineering work, Michael has research interests in deep-water wave breaking (breaking onset and energy dissipation), swash zone sediment transport and multiphase flow processes (aerated flow) and coastal adaptation to climate change.
Jose Borrero (Website & Social Media Coordinator and Awards & Scholarship Coordinator)
Email: jose [at] ecoast.co.nz
Director & Coastal Scientist and Engineer
eCoast Marine Consulting and Research
Bio: Jose’s background is in civil and environmental engineering with an emphasis on water resources and specialising in numerical modelling. He is particularly interested in tsunami hydrodynamics and the coastal effects of tsunamis. Jose’s other research interests include coastal processes, sediment transport, wave breaking, and the design of erosion control and beach protection structures and schemes. He has also been involved in large-scale laboratory physical modelling projects related to tsunamis, coastal hydrodynamics and erosion.
Don Neale (Coastal News & Special Publications Coordinator)
Email: dneale [at] doc.govt.nz
Technical Adviser (Marine Ecosystems)
Dept of Conservation
Ana Serrano (National Regional Coordinator/Coastal News Coordinator)
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.
Sam Morgan (Professional Development Coordinator)
Email: samm [at] 4sight.co.nz
Senior Coastal Consultant
4Sight Consulting
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 Senior Coastal Consultant at 4Sight Consulting 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.
Tom FitzGerald
Email: t.fitzgerald [at] gns.cri.nz
Policy Specialist: Adaptation and Risk at Te Pū Ao
GNS SCience
Bio: Tom possesses nearly 20 years of experience across a variety of coastal-related roles throughout NZ, Australia and the UK. Up until February 2021 Tom ran his own company that coordinated and led multi-disciplinary teams designing, delivering and evaluating coastal adaptation strategies for local and regional governments across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Tom spent the better part of the last decade working and researching coastal management in Australia, including key initiatives like the NSW Coastal Management Act 2016, natural hazards policy and marine estate management. Now with GNS Science, Tom provides specialist advice on risk and adaptation policy and provides a key link between science and community, knowledge and action.
Tom is also a member of the Australian Coastal Society and a member of the NSW Coastal Conference organising committee.
Craig Davis (Awards & Scholarship Coordinator)
Email: craig [at] daviscoastal.co.nz
Coastal Engineer
Davis Coastal Consultants Ltd
Bio: Craig Davis is a Chartered Coastal and Structural Engineer and Director of a consultancy specialising in Coastal Engineering and Planning for the last 20 years. Over this period of time he has worked extensively on coastal process and hazard assessment, and in the real world of coastal structures and shoreline management. His particular interests are interacting with coastal communities and working through innovative solutions that can achieve a sensible harmony between protecting the coastal character, ecosystems and the use of our coastline and protection of coastal asset
Connon Andrews (Professional Development Coordinator)
Email: connon.andrew [at] beca.com
International Manager and Specialist in Coastal Processes, Climate Change and Natural Hazard Resilience
Beca
Charles Hendtlass (Coastal News Editor)
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)
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 has been working within Local Government since 2012 and is currently a Compliance and Improvement Team Leader within the three-waters sector focusing on resource consent compliance, environmental monitoring, and drinking water standards.
Belen Rada (Administrator & Communications)
Email: belen.rada.mora [at] wsp.com
Coastal Engineer
WSP
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 WSP, Belen has been involved in a variety of coastal, stormwater, wastewater, and water supply projects.