International Women’s Day celebration - #investinwomen

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  • 09:30 am - 12:00 pm
Venue: Auckland Transport, 20 Viaduct Harbour, Auckland and Online

Hosts: Te Aka Wāhine o Tāmaki Auckland Government Women’s Network, Auckland Transport Women’s Network and Te Rōpū Wāhine Auckland Council’s Women’s Network

Keynote: Dame Valerie Adams DNZM OLY

Panel: 

Register: Eventsair

Welcome to our 2024 International Women's Day event with key note speaker Dame Valerie Adams.

Dame Valerie Adams is undoubtedly the most dominant track and field star New Zealand has ever produced. She is an Olympic Gold Medalist, coach, Chair of the World Athletics Commission, World Athletics Council Member and Board Member of Sport NZ. Dame Valerie is a leader and role model in the Pacific community, a seven-time Halberg sportswoman of the year and featured in a theatrical documentary film Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold on her life and sporting career was released in October 2022.

Following our keynote speaker there will be a panel discussion around how we can accelerate the progress of women’s careers in the Public Sector by investing in women. This will be followed by an opportunity to share kai and network.
Please RSVP as we have a limited number of in-person places. Alternatively you can attend this event online via Teams.

 

More on our speakers

Dame Valerie Adams

Dame Valerie Adams

 

Dame Valerie Adams is undoubtedly the most dominant track and field star New Zealand has ever produced. From 2006-2014 Dame Valerie was unbeaten in major championships, enjoying an unprecedented winning streak in world athletics of 107 competitions during that period. Her major wins included back-to-back Olympic gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, and four world championship titles. In 2016, Dame Valerie added silver to her Olympic medal collection at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and was later appointed as a Dame of the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Athletics.
As a mother of two, Dame Valerie continued to compete at the top level and won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (postponed to 2021) whilst also coaching younger sister Lisa to her gold medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the shotput.
Dame Valerie announced she would be hanging up her throwing shoes in March 2022. She continues to be involved in Athletics through coaching and is Chair of the World Athletics Athletes Commission, is a World Athletics Council Member and in September 2022 was appointed to the board of High Performance Sport NZ. Dame Valerie also enjoys spending time with her young family, working in the community and with her commercial partners.
Dame Valerie is a leader and role model in the Pacific community, a seven-time Halberg sportswoman of the year and featured in a theatrical documentary film Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold on her life and sporting career was released in October 2022.

As a person, the global track and field star has come to symbolise more than heaving a steel ball distances that defy physics. She exists in a space where Pasifika achievement and cultural identity and female empowerment and body image and leadership and motherhood all collide."
- Dana Johannsen, National Correspondent - Stuff

Dr. Claudia Wyss

 

Dr. Claudia Wyss is recognised as a leading executive manager and transformational change expert.

She has over 30-years’ management experience, including as Chief Executive, Executive and Director, and has led major operations and large-scale business transformations, including to improve service and financial performance.

Her expertise includes:

  • Leadership, governance & change management.
  • System redesign & transformational change.
  • Strategic planning, quality & operations.
  • New technology applications.

    She received her MBA with a Dean's Award and Honours from Harvard Business School, and her medical degrees from the University of Auckland. She practiced as a medical doctor, with a focus on surgery, before moving into management roles. Claudia joined Auckland Council in February 2020, leading its largest division with up to 3,600 staff, and managing a $11b asset portfolio that includes 56 libraries, 43 pools & leisure centres, around 400 facilities and venues, parks, 1,300 leases, 1,300 annual capital projects, events, grants, community and social innovation programmes. Over the last three years she has led significant change to improve service integration, effectiveness and efficiency.

Leilani Tamu

 

Leilani Tamu is a former NZ diplomat and published author. She is currently working as a Policy Director at the Ministry for Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE) while also managing a career as an executive leadership coach, creative writer and parent to her two children, Kahlei (13) and Luka (9). 

Leilani was a recipient of the Fulbright-Creative NZ Pacific writer residency at the University of Hawai’i in Manoa. She has been recognized in numerous fora, including as a finalist in Westpac’s NZ Women of Influence Public Policy category, and as one of the University of Auckland’s top 40 under 40 alumna. If you’d like to hear more about Leilani’s perspective on leadership before the panel session you can listen to a podcast interview with her on Spotify.

 

Lillian Tahuri

Lillian is currently the Head of Māori Engagement at Auckland Transport. She has a background in central and local government working across strategy, policy, planning, the implementation of legislation, tiriti o Waitangi and Māori outcomes, and worked in the private security sector. She is a personal development transformational coach that works with individuals and groups on trauma, phobias, high performance, and positive mindset tools to improve their lives. She is passionate about the environment, human rights, gender equality, diversity and inclusion and a former board member of UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand National Committee.

Lillian has successfully represented her iwi as a mandated representative and treaty negotiator to settle historic claims against the New Zealand government. Lillian co-authored two editions of the Amazon international best-selling book series, A Journey of Riches sharing her neurolinguistic programming journey and sustainable living.

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