Prof Bryony James

Prof Bryony James gained her PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland, and her Bachelor of Engineering with Honours from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. Her research interests have moved from traditional areas of materials engineering to the intersection of materials, food and nutrition.

As Provost, Prof James is Te Herenga Waka’s chief academic officer. She is responsible for driving the highest standards of academic excellence across the University, and providing strategic participatory leadership to Deans and all academic, teaching, learning and research activities.

Macushla Howell(Head of Data at NZ Post)

With over a decade of experience in data and analytics, Macushla Howell is a passionate advocate for building diverse technical teams. She had led several high-performing data teams across several large organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a focus on building capability and an inclusive culture. Over her career she has continued to ‘follow her curiosity’, which has seen her transition from a career in Market Research to her current role as Head of Data at NZ Post. Her philosophy is that careers are long and people should focus on how you want to spend your time as opposed to focusing on the job title. Over the years, she has taken a couple of ‘career’ breaks, more recently taking a sabbatical in 2023 to explore Europe in a camper van with her family. She spoke on a podcast recently about how stepping away enabled her to step in to this next phase of her career with more purpose and clarity in how she approaches leading technical teams.

Austin McCourt (Data and Insight Analyst, NZ Police)

Austin McCourt is a Data Insights Analyst at New Zealand Police, where she develops dashboards and reports focused on the Health, Safety, and Wellbeing of Police staff. She has a Masters of Applied Statistics from Victoria University. Austin believes in the importance of data-driven decision making and data insights being made as simple as possible, so everybody can access and benefit from them.

Daria Kwon (Manager Integrity Compliance, ACC)

Daria Kwon has been working with data & analytics teams and leaders over 20 years in public sector – including Stats NZ, RBNZ and ACC. Throughout Daria’s career, her passion has always been identifying talent and inspire them to make the changes for themselves, beyond their job descriptions or roles, which ultimately delivers better outcomes for Aotearoa.

Daria’s current role in ACC is leading Fraud Analytics team which is to be expanded in next 6-12 months. This is an exciting time for ACC as we look into exploring future data capabilities and utilising vast amount of data that ACC holds; to protect the sustainability of the scheme.

Jan Sheppard (Chief Data and Analytics Officer, PHF Science)

Jan Sheppard is an innovator who uses data to build new worlds to see things not previously visible, enabling organisations to be better versions of themselves and deliver greater outcomes. Jan has extensive experience across a range of sectors, using data to drive the transformational change the future needs. Jan takes a system perspective to ensure she is delivering the right value and invests in developing the people capability needed for today and tomorrow. Jan’s approach and the outcomes achieved are acknowledged across Aotearoa and globally.

Emma MacDonald

Emma is the Director of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) at Stats NZ. She joined Stats in 2023 with a mandate to establish a centre that would help the public service navigate the complex ethical challenges of data use. In 2024, CDEI was launched as a small but focused unit dedicated to supporting government agencies in considering the ethical dimensions of data and the real-world impacts on people when things go wrong. CDEI is focused on practical solutions and recognising ethics isn't about perfection, it's about thoughtfulness and balancing competing priorities.

Although not a data scientist by training, Emma has spent much of her career working alongside data experts and scientists. She brings deep experience as a policymaker, with a particular focus on the social impacts of digital innovation. Her work is grounded in a commitment to ensuring that data-driven technologies serve the public good.

Tahia Eaqub

Tahia leads the Analytics, Data Systems and Economics teams at Social Investment Agency, which she joined in 2021. Tahia is passionate about connecting data with communities and decision makers.   She has over 20 years of experience in data analytics and economic research and is experienced in leading teams to deliver high quality analysis in the social sector. She has previously worked at ACC, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, NZIER and Stats NZ. Tahia has a Master of Economics from Lincoln University.

Amelia Bentley

Amelia Bentley is a recent graduate from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, where she majored in Data Science and Psychology. She works at HazardCo as a Graduate Data & AI Scientist, where she’s using her background in behavioural science to support analytics and AI development in an ethical and human-centred way. With hands-on experience in machine learning, statistical modelling, and data visualisation, Amelia is passionate about building intelligent systems that genuinely work for people — especially in contexts that blend data, creativity, and purpose.

Dr Junhong (Jennifer) Zhao

Dr Junhong (Jennifer) Zhao is currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), New Zealand. Her research interests include deep learning, machine learning, computer vision, computer graphics, and audio/image processing. She contributes her expertise to artificial intelligence research and its real-world applications, including the innovative domain of intelligent aquaculture.

Ngapera Riley

Ngapera is the CEO of Figure NZ Ngapera believes everybody should have access to good information, and that knowing how to find and use data is vital to solving our country’s biggest problems. She cares about everyone being able to take part in that, so we can collectively work towards a better future for Aotearoa.

Ngapera works closely with Māori business and education efforts across New Zealand. She currently holds board positions with the InZone Education Foundation, Simplicity Foundation, and Te Ohu Whai Ao Trust, which connects indigenous business efforts from around the world.

Formerly the Global Director of the World Class New Zealand Network for Kea, Ngapera has also worked for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Ministry of Health, University of Auckland, and Manukau Institute of Technology.

Poppy Schlaadt

Originally from Dunedin, Poppy studied Computer Science at Otago University. With expertise spanning both front and back-end development, Poppy specialises in harnessing the power of C++, JavaScript, and React. She is passionate about creating dynamic digital solutions that both meet practical needs and address computational complexities

Talk: Data science at scale - from data and research to operational outputs

Lydia Acton

A Computer Science Graduate of Otago University, Lydia’s expertise spans from computer science into mathematics and statistics. Equipped with a keen interest in Python, data science and web development she develops quality code for our clients that is both flexible and effective to use.

Talk: Data science at scale - from data and research to operational outputs

Shawn Wimalaratne

Shawn Wimalaratne is a social equity advisor and changemaker with a background in advocacy, community engagement, and storytelling. They hold a Bachelor and Master of Design (First Class) Auckland University of Technology and have built a career advancing LGBTQIA+, ethnic, and migrant rights across Aotearoa New Zealand. Currently, Shawn is a Trustee, Engagement and Storytelling lead for Adhikaar Aotearoa.

Shawn’s work spans government, civil society, and the creative sector, with a focus on embedding equity and intersectionality into systems change. As a former Senior Advisor at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, they led the ethnic communities insights to the conversion practices ban and continue to advocate for Rainbow and BIPOC communities.

Their work is deeply rooted in community, drawing on lived experience and a commitment to healing and decolonisation.

Dr Dana Briscoe

Dana Briscoe is a Senior Data Scientist with the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. With a PhD in Ocean Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz, her multidisciplinary research focuses on the integration of near real-time ocean intelligence with ML/AI technologies for marine management. She currently leads the research and development of novel data science methodologies using machine learning, image recognition, and innovative approaches to data visualization for climate-ready conservation and management tools.

Liz MacPherson

Liz joined the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in April 2020 as Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Policy and Operations following an extensive public service career spanning more than 30 years including policy, operations, regulatory, strategy and corporate governance roles. Liz held several Deputy Chief Executive positions at the Ministry of Economic Development and MBIE before being appointed to the position of Government Statistician in 2013 and later Government Chief Data Steward.

Liz has been reappointed to statutory Deputy Privacy Commissioner for five years and leads the Office’s Capability and Guidance, Policy, Compliance and Enforcement and Investigation and Dispute Resolution teams.

Dr Silvina Pugliese

Talk: Lessons Learned in Data Analytics – Plus a Demo

Abstract:
In my first data role back in 2020, I had so many questions! In this talk I will share key lessons I learned about data analytics in the real world and walk you through a hands-on demo of a complete data analytics project from start to finish.

Bio:
Silvina Pugliese is the founder of Think Data Lab, offering on-demand data coaching and pragmatic data solutions. She holds a PhD in Physics from Victoria University and has five years of experience in the data space, including energy system modeling for scenario analysis and developing data tools for the publication of open data and statistical analysis.

Ernestynne Walsh

Ernestynne is the Service Lead for Māori Data at Nicholson Consulting, with extensive experience in projects focused on Māori businesses, te reo Māori revitalisation, iwi data support, and implementing Māori data governance. She holds a Master of Science and a Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership, specialising in Māori data sovereignty and Indigenous data governance.

Ernestynne was part of the team that won a Te Hapori Matihiko award for contributions to Māori tech in the public sector and was a finalist in the corporate change category.

Talk:Implementing Māori Data Sovereignty: Lessons Learned from a Master's Study

Abstract:
In 2022-2023 Ernestynne carried out her Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership. She chose to focus on Māori data sovereignty implementation in the public sector and indigenous data governance. In this talk you can learn about how government agencies were implementing Māori data sovereignty at that time and understand the key lessons for successful implementation.