Emily Afoa
Company: Tektus Consultants
Job title: Pou Whakarae, Director / Environmental Engineer
Emily Afoa
About Emily
Emily (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto) is a Director of Tektus Consultants. An Environmental Engineer, she works to empower multi-disciplinary design and the valuing of mātauranga Māori across her practice.
Whakapapa pepeha:
He uri ahau nō Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto nōki.
Strategic vision
My strategic vision for ACE New Zealand aligns with the association’s vision “To actively and positively shape the future of Aotearoa by supporting our members to create sustainable value for themselves, their clients and their communities.” I see ACE as a conduit to lead members, and through members of the sector, to recognise our place in te ao tūroa (the enduring world, natural world) as symbiotic. While we often work in the built environment, it needs to come from a position of respect to ensure a sustainable, resilient, and healthy Aotearoa for our generations to come.
To me, this is founded on relationship building. ACE as an association can support members in responding to the fundamental challenges and opportunities facing our sectors – climate change, technological advances, and the need for diversity and inclusion. To me, this includes connecting across disciplines, striving for multifunctional outcomes, and looking for alternate means for optioneering, beyond traditional cost-benefit assessment. We need to value alternate knowledge forms – such as kōrero tuku iho, our oral histories representing generations of lived experience – and recognise the true cost and true benefit of work programmes, including multi-generational impacts, and intangible or qualitative elements.
As consultants, as specialists, ACE members have the opportunity to influence outcomes across multiple spheres. My strategic vision for ACE is to enhance this while contributing to the diversity of thought and practice – with a responsive understanding approach - watchful listening and empathetic, interactive participation in an ongoing dialogue, in which each participant preserves the integrity of the other. All with the vision to expand the minds of our industry and achieve better outcomes for us all.
Strengths
I am a Director of Tektus Consultants, a small multi-disciplinary consultancy providing collaborative engineering, environmental and planning solutions. My previous role as part of the Leadership Team at Morphum Environmental Ltd, a medium-sized consultancy integrating science and engineering practice. My experience is reflective of the member organisations ACE represents – integrated professionals, across a greater breadth of the sector than engineering alone. I also provide a voice for the challenges faced by small to medium enterprises and can provide strategic direction for how ACE can serve SMEs – including, for example, talent development.
In addition to a technical design background, I bring an academic perspective with both research and teaching experience and have worked in local government. This breadth of experience across public and private sectors enables me to frame problems from a wider perspective and to engage in active communication with empathy for the perspectives or experiences of others.
I am on a continued journey to reclaim my reo. I bring a voice to empower and normalise the application of mātauranga and tikanga Māori within ACE New Zealand, and for the association to support member organisations to strive for culturally appropriate and socially conscious outcomes.
What does diversity and inclusion mean to you?
To me, diversity and inclusion is broad – it encompasses diversity in all its forms, including world view, ethnicity, gender, and age, but also expertise or discipline, work style, and experience. Through the inclusion and celebration of diversity we can invite innovation and create outcomes that represent and cater to the breadth of society. Outcomes which also ensure people feel valued and supported to contribute. I believe a strong commitment to championing diversity and inclusion is essential to create a thriving sector serving Aotearoa as a whole.
Based on my experience, in regard to diversity and inclusion my passion lies across two main areas – enhancing the representation of Te Ao Māori and indigenous values in our field of practice and supporting women in what have traditionally been largely male-dominated fields. To empower rangatahi Māori and Pasifika within the sector, navigate the ways our project roles can support strong relationships with Tāngata Whenua, and how to recognise mātauranga, tikanga, and kaitiakitanga as highly-valued skill sets that can enhance project outcomes through co-design.
Initiatives such as The Diversity Agenda, including ACE’s Diversity & Inclusion policy, set a clear commitment to positive impact. To me, the ongoing challenge is how we continue to translate strategic objectives into on the ground actions, to build knowledge and understanding, and develop as a sector such that a diverse and inclusive organisations and work programmes are ‘business as usual'.