Management Committee
Colin Whittaker (Co-Chair)
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.
Ana Serrano (Deputy Chair | Coastal News & Special Publications 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.
Michael Allis (Co-Treasurer)
Email: mike [at] allisco.nz
Managing Director
Allis & Co
Bio: Michael (Mike) is the director at Allis & Co, an independent coastal and climate change consultant with experience throughout New Zealand and the Pacific. With a focus on coastal hazards, climate risk assessments, adaptation strategies, and community resilience, Mike has experience in engineering and research projects across the private sector, government entities, and development funds. From assessing climate risks to scoping resilient infrastructure, Michael provides practical solutions tailored to the unique needs of each community and environment. Michael is the Treasurer of the NZ Coastal Society on the Management Committee.
Ryan Abrey (Co-Treasurer | Memberships Coordinator)
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)
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 | Conference Coordinator)
Email: shari.gallop [at] pdp.co.nz
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.
Sophie Horton (University & Education Coordinator)
Email: sophie.horton [at] @canterbury.ac.nz
University of Canterbury
Bio:
I have been a member of the New Zealand Coastal Society since 2019 and joined the Executive in 2024 with portfolio interests in education and outreach programmes within the Society. I am an academic at the University of Canterbury where I teach Coastal Processes as a part of the Geography Programme. My research interests are in contemporary processes of sediment transport and mobilisation in both coastal and fluvial environments, as well as investigating the role of neo-tectonic landscapes and long-term changes in landscape evolution. In particular I am interested in processes of denudation and erosion and how these manifest in mountain environments and at the coast recognising the intrinsic linkages that our coastal systems have to our mountains (Kia uta ki tai). My research uses geochemical techniques to discern the origins of sediment, as well as field-based experiments of water velocity and transport capacity, and interrogates the role of different wave spectra for undertaking geomorphic work.
Connon Andrews (Coastal News & 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 Bear (Conference Coordinator)
Email: alison.bear [at] jacobs.com
Principal Coastal Consultant
Jacobs
Bio: Alison is a coastal scientist and consultant with over 15 years professional experience working in the field of coastal science and management. Her interests and specialist areas of practice include coastal physical processes and morphodynamics, coastal hazards, shoreline management and coastal adaptation to climate change. During her career, Alison has developed extensive knowledge and practical experience applicable to a range of coastal and estuarine management and adaptation issues. These skills have been recognised by her certification as a General Certified Environmental Practitioner (CEnvP) under the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand programme. Alison’s expertise is frequently sought after to undertake technical peer reviews and input on behalf of local authorities and regulators as part of resource and building consent processes. Alison also has experience as an expert witness in the coastal hazards and coastal processes impacts at council hearings.
Andrew Allison (Memberships Coordinator | Regional Reps Coordinator)
Email: andrew.allison [at] urbanintelligence.co.nz
Technical Director - Climate and Resilience
Urban Intellegence Ltd
Bio: I am a coastal scientist and modeller specialising in the interactions between natural and engineered systems. I develop models and tools to improve decision-making in complex coastal human-environment systems in response to sea level rise, climate change and land use change. I am experienced in agent-based and system dynamics modelling, having developed ecological, economic, geomorphic, infrastructural, multi-hazard interaction, social and political models, as well as whole-system models simulating the interactions between these systems. I completed a PhD in Geography in 2020, during which I developed and implemented a new methodology for transdisciplinary complex systems modelling to investigate publicly identified concerns about New Zealand’s estuarine systems.
Holly Blakley (Emerging Career Representative)
Email: HBlakely [at] tonkintaylor.co.nz
Coastal Engineer
Tonkin and Taylor
Bio: Holly is a Coastal Engineer at Tonkin + Taylor, working on a range of coastal hazard assessments, modelling, and design projects. She holds a research-based master's degree in Coastal Engineering, with a focus on nature-based mitigation of wave overtopping. Since completing her studies, Holly has continued to apply her expertise and passion for nature-based design in her work, contributing to innovative solutions for coastal resilience.
Karen Bell (Central Government Liaison)
Email: kbell [at] doc.govt.nz
Senior Policy Advisor
Department of Conservation
Bio:
Karen Bell has over 30 years experience in the resource management field. She is a Senior Policy Advisor for the Department of Conservation and is responsible for leading work on the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement and works on the RMA Reforms. Karen has worked for DOC since 2018. Prior to that she ran an environmental and facilitation consultancy for 20 years, led work on the National Environmental Performance Indicators Programme for the Ministry for the Environment and worked at the Canterbury Regional Council as a Resource Management Planner. She has a Master of Science with 1st Class Honours from Canterbury University, and is also a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute.
Eddie Beetham (Regional Rep Coordinator | Professional Development Coordinator)
Email: ebeetham [at] tonkintaylor.co.nz
Coastal Scientist
Tonkin and Taylor
Bio:
Eddie is a Coastal Scientist at Tonkin + Taylor with 10 years of applied research experience. He has gained specialist expertise on the coastal impacts of sea-level rise during a PhD and subsequent Research Fellow appointment at the University of Auckland, focusing on low lying atoll islands that are among the most vulnerable landforms to climate change.
Megan Tuck (Emerging Career Liaison | Professional Development Coordinator)
Email: megan.tuck [at] aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Senior Coastal Scientist
Auckland Council
Bio:
Megan is a coastal scientist with extensive experience in coastal geomorphology and hazard research. She completed her PhD in Geography at Auckland University. Her research has focused on coastal change both in Aotearoa New Zealand and across coral reef islands in the Pacific, providing insights into the dynamics of these unique environments. She has also played a central role in developing and publishing New Zealand’s Coastal Change Dataset, a critical resource for understanding coastal evolution and resilience.
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 Coordinator)
Email: nzcoastalsociety [at] gmail.com
Managing Director
Coutts Consulting Ltd
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 is the managing director of Coutts Consulting Ltd, providing expertise on three-waters compliance 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.