Dr Mary Ellen Gordon(She/Her)

Dr Mary Ellen Gordon has spent her career helping students, colleagues, and clients become wiser with data. She has taught data science, business analytics, and market research courses as well as other business courses for several universities and other educational institutions. She founded and led market research and analytics teams at Apple, Flurry, and Market Truths, and has recently published a business analytics textbook.

Lisa Thomasen (She/Her)

New Zealand Statistical Association (NZSA)

Lisa Thomasen completed her studies at the University of Canterbury and has been a consultant statistician in industry for the past decade. Lisa coordinates the New Zealand Statistical Association (NZSA) mentoring program and was the 2024 recipient of the NZSA Campbell Award for her advocacy for students, early-career, and professional statisticians alongside her mentoring and community-building initiatives in this space.

Ernestynne Walsh (She/Her)

Ernestynne is a trustee of Te Taumata the Māori exporters advocacy group, an AI lead in the public sector and a former Māori data service lead. Her expertise had led to her running workshops to help businesses with Māori data governance implementation and speaking about Indigenous digital trade issues at the World Trade Organization Public Forum. She holds a Master of Science and a Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership specialising in Māori data sovereignty and Indigenous data governance.

Emily Mason (She/Her)

Managing Director, FrankGroup

Emily Mason is Managing Director of FrankGroup, with 20+ years experience leading policy development, analytics and insights, and delivery across New Zealand’s public sector. Emily specialises in bringing evidence and insights to policy design from strategic policy development through to operational delivery and capability building. She has led teams at the Social Investment Agency (version 1.0), the Ministry of Education, and ACC.

Tori Van Loenhout (She/Her)

Senior Data Scientist with Nicholson Consulting

Tori is a Senior Data Scientist with Nicholson Consulting whose vision is 'A more equitable Aotearoa'. She has over five years experience specialising in cross-domain research in the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD). She is currently a lead developer on the Stats NZ modular coding team creating standardised research modules with cross-agency buy-in to improve the quality of IDI research. Tori has a Master of Public Health with previous roles spanning public and private organisations across the Justice and Health sectors.

Jocelyn Cranefield (She/Her)

School of Information Management, VUW

I'm the Academic Programme Lead for the Master of Professional Business Analysis, and former Director of the Master of Information Management. I greatly value keeping in touch with our network of alumni, from whom I have learned a lot. Many are in senior roles in the public or private sector, or managing their own business.

My professional background spans television writing and directing, visitor experience design, learning design, educational publishing, and IT project management. I've worked as a team manager, senior manager, manager of R&D, and consultant/adviser in digital strategy and experience design. I greatly enjoy working with managers and industry practitioners to help them understand opportunities and barriers, and to achieve positive outcomes.

Emily O'Riordan (She/Her)

Lecturer in AI, School of Engineering and Computer Science, VUW

I joined Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington in early 2025 as a lecturer on the Artificial Intelligence programme. I completed my PhD in Mathematics at Cardiff University 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 in 2023, having studied distance measures and data manipulation for high-dimensional data, with applications in artificial intelligence. I then moved to New Zealand to start a post-doc on the 'DeepWeather' project, researching machine learning methods to improve weather forecasting in Aotearoa 🌤️.

My current research interests lie in the intersection of deep learning and meteorology, particularly AI-based numerical weather prediction and downscaling atmospheric data. I am still a mathematician at heart and am interested in the effects of distance measures, data manipulation, and kernel-methods on machine learning algorithms.

Madeline Newman (She/Her)

Executive Director, AI Forum New Zealand | Te Kāhui Atamai Iahiko o Aotearoa

Madeline joined the AI Forum as Executive Director four years ago. She brings extensive experience in strategy, transformational change, and helping organisations recognise the potential of innovative technologies.

“I am very excited to be leading the AI Forum of New Zealand as Executive Director at such a pivotal time. We have a highly engaged Executive Council, and the exceptional work our members are producing is essential for advancing AI that is innovative, responsible, and inclusive for the benefit of all Aotearoa.”

Neha Arunkumar (She/Her)

Data Scientist, Fraud Prevention and Investigation, ACC

Tracey Savelio (She/Her)

Founder of Inati Labs

Tracey Savelio is the founder of Inati Labs, a Pacific-led AI and data education initiative, and Tokelau In Tech, a platform created to support communities into technology. Her work focuses on AI literacy, data literacy, and Pacific data sovereignty by ensuring Pacific communities help shape how emerging technologies are used, rather than being shaped by them.

Jaime Linton (She/Her)

Jaime is a recent graduate of the Masters of Data Science programme at Victoria University of Wellington, and was a recipient of the 2025 Postgraduate Women in Data Science scholarship. She currently works as a tutor at VUW teaching research methodology and cognitive science courses, and will be beginning her data career in 2027. She chaired a panel at the 2025 WiDS conference and is excited to return for WiDS 2026 and kōrero with the speakers and attendees.

Kayla Hegedus (She/Her)

Kayla Hegedus is the Chapter Lead for Data Science at Contact Energy, where she guides AI governance and development across the business. Her recent projects include High Vis Docs, an AI-driven safety document retrieval tool, and Māpuna, a geothermal well management solution that is a finalist at this year's Energy Excellence Awards. Before joining Contact, she spent eight years at a startup and earned a Masters in Physics from Imperial College London.

Aleisha Amohia(She/Her)

Aleisha Amohia (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Hāua, Cambodia, India) (she/her) is a Technical Lead at Catalyst IT. She has worked with open source library and collections platforms since 2014. Her role has encompassed many responsibilities, from development to solution architecture, as well as consulting, training, and presenting around Aotearoa and overseas. Aleisha is passionate about open source software, data sovereignty, technology for good, and online safety, and regularly weaves these threads into her work. She is also an advocate for gender justice and Indigenous rights and was recognised as a Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Local Hero Medalist 2025 for her efforts in this space. She contributes to these areas through governance and leadership roles with community groups, including Innovative Young Minds, Tūhura Tech, Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network, and Global Shapers Wellington.

Laurie Hyde(She/Her)

Laurie Hyde is a Technical Lead who helps organisations connect systems, unlock the value of their data, and solve complex business challenges. She chairs the Fusion5 NZ Women in Tech Action Group and is passionate about mentoring, creating pathways into technology, and supporting greater diversity across the industry. Laurie is also active in the wider tech community, regularly contributing to events, mentorship programmes, and initiatives that encourage more people to pursue careers in STEM.

Laurie is part of Fusion5, a leading Australasian technology and business solutions provider, helping organisations innovate through data, integration, AI, cloud, and business applications.

Samina Munir(She/Her)

Samina Munir teaches in the Master of Professional Business Analysis programme at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington's School of Information Management. After more than a decade working in industry, she joined academia to help prepare the next generation of business analysts while continuing her own research. Her current research focuses on understanding the information needs of breast cancer patients and improving access to information that supports informed healthcare decisions.

Tania McGowan (She/Her)

Tania has been instrumental in the development of professional short courses and micro-credentials at Wellington Uni-Professional for over 21 years. Her extensive experience includes cultivating collaborative relationships and creating impactful learning programmes. Tania’s deep understanding of the university’s strengths and the global market has led to successful partnerships with governments, organisations, and international stakeholders. Her expertise in managing complex projects and delivering tailored educational solutions has been key to the ongoing growth and success of Wellington Uni-Professional’s offerings.

Tania’s expertise, combined with her ability to craft tailored learning solutions, makes her an ideal partner for organisations seeking to elevate their people capability. If you’re looking for customised educational programmes that drive real results, reach out to Tania and the team at Wellington Uni-Professional today.

Marianna Pekar (She/Her)

Holly Masters (She/Her)