Conference Speakers

Ali Houpapa

Cultural Advisor, Te Ara Tupua Alliance

Ki te taha o tōku Pāpā, Ko Te Arawa Waka, Ko Te Whakatōhea. Ki te taha o tōku Māmā, Ko Taranaki Maunga, Ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa hoki.

Ahi kaa o te rohe nei, Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whānui ki Te Ūpoko-o-Te-Ika. Kaikaranga o Te Tatau o Te Pō Marae, Waiwhetu Marae, Pipitea Marae.

Kaiwhakahaere/kaiawhina/kaikaranga o Portnicholson Block Settlement Trust. Kaitohutohu Ahurea o Te Ara Tupua Alliance.Kaitohutohu Ahurea/Pou Kuia o Te Whare Wai Paranuku. Pou Kuia o Te Hā Wahine Māori Leadership Course for DOWNER CONSTRUCTION.

Ko Ali Houpapa taku ingoa.

Tēnā rā koutou katoa.

My name is Ali, I come from Rotorua, Opotiki, Taranaki, Wairoa & Wairarapa. My educational background is focused on Te Ao Māori, where I hold a tohu in Māori Performing Arts, Mau Rakau Māori Weaponry, Kairaranga, Māori Leadership Programs, Mixed Media Arts & Kapa Haka Performance.

My late husband and I have four adult children, ten whāngai (Māori adoption) & thirteen mokopuna, one of whom we have brought up since birth and who has a support dog named Mr. Bean.

Currently, I serve as the Cultural Advisor for Te Ara Tupua Alliance working on the shared cycle pathway going up near the rail corridor of Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One through to Tupua Horo Nuku (Days Bay/Eastbourne).

I provide support to my nephew Nate Rowe in his role as the Senior Cultural Advisor (Pou Kuia) to Te Whare Wai Para Nuku (Sludge Project), where an electrical boiling system will in the future turn human waste into non-smelling, ecologically friendly dust.

I have just been appointed through DOWNER CONSTRUCTION to the position of Pou Kuia (Senior Cultural Advisor) of Te Hā Wāhine Māori Leadership Course & administrate/coordinator & deliverer as a kaikaranga for Taranaki Whānui under the umbrella of Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust & sit on the paepae of my three marae Te Tatau o Te Pō, Waiwhetu & Pipitea.

Beth Eggleston

Co-Founder, Humanitarian Advisory Group

Beth, a co-founder of HAG and co-director alongside her trusted co-conspirator Jess Lees, has braved the acronym filled world of large international NGOs and the United Nations. Now, she revels in the dynamic energy of a nimble team, relishing the ability to make quick decisions and tackle humanitarian challenges head-on as they surface.

In an unforeseen turn of events, Beth found herself immersed in the world of humanitarian civil-military coordination which she got to learn about in several countries. This journey extended to working on humanitarian reform in the wake of the Humanitarian Response Review in 2005.

It was her passion for humanitarian civil-military coordination that saw Beth awarded a Fulbright Scholar in 2019 allowing her to spend three months at the US Naval War College with the Humanitarian Response Program team (where she sampled a diverse array of doughnuts). Beth has co-authored a range of publications including protection of humanitarian personnel, peace and development in Iraq, the role of women in countering violent extremism, From Principle to Practice: Protecting civilians in violent contexts and was involved in drafting the Australian Guidelines for the Protection of Civilians.  

Beth is the host of HAG’s podcast ‘I Think You’re on Mute’ which elevates voices from the Indo-Pacific and shares insights and findings from the Humanitarian Horizons Research Program.  Beth is a member of the Board of Trustees of Community Systems Foundation and as she Beth takes localisation of response seriously, is currently the Team Convenor for her local Macedon Ranges Australian Red Cross Emergency Services Team.

Blake A. Chrystal

Senior Development Counselor (SDC)

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Blake A. Chrystal entered USAID’s Foreign Service in September of 2005. Prior to beginning as SDC in August of 2021, Mr. Chrystal served as the USAID/Afghanistan Deputy Mission Director and before that as the Director of the USAID/Afghanistan Office of Infrastructure.  In addition to Afghanistan, Mr. Chrystal has served overseas with USAID in Botswana, South Africa, and Moldova.  Before joining USAID, Mr. Chrystal worked for Catholic Relief Services in Albania and Macedonia, serving as Chief of Party on a number of different USAID funded projects.  He also served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay from 1996 to 1998.  Mr. Chrystal has a B.S. in political science from Arizona State University, an M.A. in international policy studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and an M.S. in national resource strategy from the National Defense University.  Mr. Chrystal is accompanied in Canberra by his three daughters: Arami, Fiorella, and Belen.

Carlos Calderon

Head of Partnerships and Humanitarian, OXFAM Aotearoa

Carlos has worked in international cooperation, humanitarian and disaster management for over 24 years. He has led, implemented and managed programmes and projects in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, The Pacific and Aotearoa. Delivered humanitarian strategies and programmes, policies, influencing strategies, relationships and institutional representation, at local, regional and global levels.

Currently working for a second period in Oxfam Aotearoa as Head of Partnerships and Humanitarian, Carlos also worked for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam Spain, UNRWA Spanish Committee, Red Cross Spain and UNICEF, among others. He currently Chairs the Council for International Development Humanitarian Network, the peak body for the cooperation sector in Aotearoa.

Carlos studied for a Master’s degree in Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Aid at the University of Comillas – Madrid and graduated in Social Communication from the University of Lima, with a major in Communication for Development.

He has 26 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter and medical first responder in Peru, Spain and New Zealand.

Don Mann

CEO, Pacific Media Network (PMN)

Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāi Tūhoe, Vava’u – Kingdom of Tonga.
Don is the 3rd son of Don and Elaine Mann, born and raised in Kelston, West Auckland with his five other brothers.   Don resides in South Auckland with his wife Louise and daughters Sarah and Olivia.

Don was appointed Pacific Media Network CEO on 1 July 2020 and has led the transformation of PMN from a traditional linear radio broadcaster to a global pan-Pacific multimedia entity.  Don was previously CEO of the Pacific Cooperation Foundation and prior to that established the corporate partnerships team for Auckland Council.

 Don is a former General manager of the NZ Warriors NRL franchise and served in the NZ Police for 13 years. Don is a member of the Institute of Directors, is Co-Chair of Literacy Aotearoa and on the Boards of Sky City Community Trust and The Rising Foundation.  

Don has a Bachelor of Business from Massey University and has completed postgraduate study in strategic management and international business. 

Dr Steven Ratuva

Pro-Vice Chancellor, Pacific, University of Canterbury

Currently Pro-Vice Chancellor Pacific, Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and Distinguished Professor at the University of Canterbury, Ratuva also holds the position of Chair for the International Political Science Association (IPSA) Research Committee on Climate Security and Planetary Politics. He was Fullbright Senior Fellow at University of California (LA), Duke University and Georgetown University. With a diverse background in sociology, anthropology, political science, and more, he has conducted research globally and authored nine books, including a significant work on ethnicity. Prof Ratuva has received prestigious awards for his contributions, including the University of Canterbury Research Medal in 2019 and the Metge Medal for research excellence in 2020. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, he has made notable contributions to global knowledge. Prof Ratuva's expertise extends beyond academia, as he has advised and consulted for esteemed organizations such as the UNDP, ILO, World Bank, and Pacific Islands Forum.

Emeline Siale Ilolahia

Executive Director, Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations (PIANGO)

Siale is a Tongan civil society leader, women’s advocate and activist, working and base in Suva, Fiji.

As Executive Director of PIANGO, she represents the interests of Pacific civil society in a range of regional and international fora specifically in areas of human rights based approach, governance and institutional building, effective and informed participation of citizens in decision making to ensure that interest of Pacific peoples are safeguarded.

She has brought her experiences from her previous role as Executive Director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga to the region in the area of coalition building on issues as diverse as ethical leadership, women’s access to finance, women’s leadership and political participation, humanitarian localisation and locally-led development. Siale was awarded an inaugural Jose Edgardo Campos Collaborative Leadership Award in Washington DC in 2016 in recognition of her contributions to local leadership efforts in Tonga.

Heike Alefsen

Regional Representative Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for the Pacific

Heike Alefsen has almost 30 years of human rights, legal, political and development work experience with the United Nations, the Council of Europe and civil society. Until 2020, she was Senior Human Rights Adviser to the UN Country Team in Bangladesh and to the UN Development Group Asia-Pacific in Bangkok.

As Deputy Head of the OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia, she established a country programme for Myanmar and coordinated policy and information of the Human Rights Council’s special procedures at OHCHR Geneva. She also served with the UN Division for the Advancement of Women and the UN Development Fund for Women in New York, as Council of Europe Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with Amnesty International’s Legal Office in London.

Hema Sridhar

Strategic Advisor for Technological Futures, University of Auckland

Hema has nearly 20 years of experience in government, primarily in the defence and national security sector. In her previous role as the Chief Advisor for Industry and Science at the Ministry of Defence, she worked together with industry, research and science entities, government agencies and international partners to provide strategic advice to inform policy formulation, governance and capability decisions.

In her former capacity as the Chief Science Advisor for Defence, she worked closely with the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor (PMCSA) and other Chief Science Advisors to contribute to government strategic thinking and decision making.

Hema has a strong background in emerging and disruptive technologies with a focus on risk, governance and impacts.

Hema has a Master of Science in Physics and a Bachelor of Technology in Opto-electronics from the University of Auckland.

James Renwick

Professor of Physical Geography, Victoria University of Wellington 

Professor James Renwick is a leading climate scientist with a strong national and international reputation, and four decades of experience in weather and climate research. His appointment as a Lead Author and Coordinating Lead Author on three Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) demonstrates his expertise. He has also been involved in the governance of the World Climate Research Programme for the past eight years. He was awarded the 2018 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science Communication.

Michelle Sharp

CEO, UNICEF Aotearoa

Michelle Sharp is CEO of UNICEF Aotearoa, leading the organisation to raise funds for UNICEF's work globally and advocating for children's rights here in New Zealand. With proven commitment to business excellence and social change, her personal mission is to create a more inclusive society where no one is left behind.

Michelle’s extensive career spans leadership roles in both the UK and New Zealand, including as Vodafone’s Head of Digital Innovation, CEO of Kilmarnock Enterprises, Board appointments at City Harvest, Inclusive NZ, and Akina Foundation as well as Diversity and Inclusion work at Bank of New Zealand. She is currently Vice Chair of Kilmarnock Enterprises, an Edmund Hillary Fellow, Treasurer at the Council of International Development, and a proud mother of two teenage children. 

Peter Rudd

Executive Director, Council for International Development

Peter is a strategic-minded, impact driven and outcomes-oriented leader, with a deep set of skills and experience accumulated over 25+ years working within the private sector (local and multi-national companies) and public sector, including international government agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. 

Peter is a results-oriented executive with a particularly strong professional background in strategic leadership, international development, economic development and global trade & investment. He has worked with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE), the New Zealand government’s export and investment agency and in leadership roles with multi-national organisations including the Institute for International Research (IIR). He has experience as a Founder and Chief Executive with New Zealand based companies and has extensive governance experience.

Prior to joining CID, Peter was appointed by DT Global (on behalf of Australian Department Foreign Affairs & Trade) to lead the transition, establishment and operations of the Pacific Island Food Revolution (PIFR) to a stand-alone Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and registered Charity in New Zealand to continue their innovative development programmes in the Pacific. Before this, Peter was responsible for the establishment, management and sustainable growth of the inaugural Fiji Trade Commission to New Zealand on behalf of the Fijian Government.

Robert Oliver

Global Executive Director, Pacific Island Food Revolution

Oliver is a New Zealand chef raised in Fiji and Samoa who has developed restaurants in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Sydney, "farm to table" resorts in the Caribbean and food programs feeding homeless people and African immigrants with AIDS in New York City.

Robert is the Chef Ambassador for Le Cordon Bleu, New Zealand and has authored two popular culinary books: Me’a Kai: The Food and Flavours of the South Pacific and Mea’ai Samoa. Me’a Kai stunned the food world by winning “Best Cookbook in the World” at the Gourmand Awards in Paris.

He is currently the Executive Director and Founder of “Pacific Island Food Revolution”, a television media-led movement across the South Pacific designed to return the region to traditional cuisine in an effort to curb the Pacific’s NCD crisis. 

In 2017, Robert was honored with a KEA World Class New Zealander Award and in 2022 was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition for his services to the food industry and Pacific Communities.

TJ Grant

International Partnerships Director, World Vision New Zealand

TJ Grant joined the World Vision New Zealand in 2018 as their International Partnerships Director and is also the Deputy National Director.  He has served on the CID Board since 2019 and has a Master’s degree in International Development studies.

TJ has worked with World Vision globally for more than 15 years and has a passion for working with and walking alongside the poor and vulnerable.