AGWN joint event: International Women’s Day celebration 2025 – Accelerate Action
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- 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Hosts: Te Aka Wāhine o Tāmaki The Auckland Government Women's network together with Auckland Transport Women's Network, Te Rōpū Wāhine Auckland Council's Women's Network and PSA Women's Network
Keynote Speaker: Karen Chang, Serious Fraud Office Director and Chief Executive
Speakers:
- Parul Sood, Deputy Director, Auckland Council
- Commodore Maxine Lawes, Royal New Zealand Navy
- Tahi Maunsell, Team Leader, Auckland Transport
- Ping Sim, Principal Advisor, Auckland Transport
Register: Eventsair
This event will be hybrid.
More on the speakers
Karen Chang, Director and Chief Executive, Serious Fraud Officer
Karen Chang joined the Serious Fraud Office as Director and Chief Executive in April 2022. Prior to this Ms Chang was Head of Enforcement at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), a role she had held since 2017. She was also Acting General Counsel from November 2021, leading the policy, governance, corporate legal, investigations and enforcement functions.
Prior to joining FMA, Ms Chang was a senior Crown prosecutor at Auckland, conducting a range of judge alone and jury trials involving serious criminal offending. Ms Chang began her career in private practice, specialising in commercial and regulatory litigation, practicing in Auckland, Sydney and most recently, in New York. She remains a registered attorney of the New York State Bar.
Karen holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in Accounting & Finance, from the University of Auckland.
Parul Sood, Deputy Director Resilience and Infrastructure, Auckland Council
Parul is an experienced public service leader, bringing more than 20 years of experience in local government in New Zealand. Besides Auckland Council, she has held senior strategic and operational roles with the former Waitakere City and Rodney District Councils. She has a master’s degree in environmental science and a Diploma in Environmental Law.
In her recent appointment as the Deputy Director Resilience and Infrastructure at Auckland Council, it is Parul’s role to work alongside the director resilience and infrastructure to ensure Auckland Council is delivering on its commitment to build resilience in our region and respond to the impacts of climate change.
Our focus is on partnering with communities to build resilience, assessing current risks and vulnerabilities, and future-proofing our infrastructure.
Parul is also the chairperson of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand and one of the controllers for Auckland Emergency Management
Commodore Maxine Lawes, Commander Logistics RNZN
Commodore Maxine Lawes joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1985. She was first posted on HMNZS Monowai in 1986 and was part of a pilot study regarding the Navy’s journey to integrate women at sea. From 2000-2002 Maxine was a Supply Officer on HMNZS Te Kaha, and from 2004–2005 was posted through United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation as an Unarmed Military Observer in Lebanon and Israel, which she describes a complex region, and also her favourite region in the world. Commodore Maxine is currently Commander Logistics (COMLOG), Defence Logistics Command which is the organisation undertaking the delivery of logistics support/ supply chain management, engineering and shared services required to maintain and sustain the Defence Force operations and capabilities.
Tahi Maunsell, Team Leader, Auckland Transport
Tahi Maunsell is a co-convenor of the Auckland Transport’s Regional Delegate Committee, is an active Out @ PSA member and involved in Auckland Transport Rainbow Network. Tahi has significant experience in the Parking Compliance division including being a Team Leader and has a wealth of experience as a wahine providing front line service to Aucklanders.
Ping Sim, Principal Advisor, Auckland Transport
Ping Sim is the Principal Advisor Transport Safety at Auckland Transport. She is passionate about making a difference to the lives of our customers, through helping everyone be safe and feel safe as they travel.
She enjoys sharing our successes including presenting an Auckland road safety leadership case study at a Global Road Safety Executive Leadership Course and an Auckland speed management case study at the World Bank in 2024. She was delighted to see the Auckland Safe Speeds programme receive a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.
She loves working in partnership and is currently work on partnership-based general deterrence of drink driving with the NZ Police.
Ping was commended for her role in leading the development of a Vision Zero strategy for Auckland, which was awarded the Trafinz Road Safety Leadership Award 2020. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the NZ Chapter of the Australasian College of Road Safety. She has a master's in planning Practice (Hons) from Auckland University.