Claire Troon

Ember Psychology Limited

Clinical Psychologist

Claire is a clinical psychologist who trained at the University of Canterbury and Waikato University. She has worked in the fields of mental health and correctional settings for 10 years. Within the Corrections’ setting she has provided expert legal, ethical and professional advice to the psychology and rehabilitation programmes workforces.

Claire has several years of experience in roles with a core focus on using medico-legal principles to provide clinical best practice advice and practice frameworks. She also has experience with design and implementation of rehabilitation programmes, policy creation, handling complaints and legal requests, developing practice guidance, and design of systems to ensure integrity in practice.

Claire has worked with a range of stakeholders at the national level to ensure services are delivered in a responsive way and are defensible. She enjoys delivering training and providing supervision to other practitioners or groups.

Daniel Scheibmair

Simpson Strong-Tie

Specification Engineer

Daniel is a member of Engineering NZ, holds CPEng status, has had various roles with manufacturers of Engineered Wood Products and structural connectors and fasteners, and joined Simpson Strong-Tie in early 2019.

Daniel is passionate about encouraging and supporting uptake of timber in commercial, industrial and multi-storey construction with involvement in numerous industry bodies, standards committees, current BOINZ board member, and time as President and management committee member of the NZ Timber Design Society.

Daniel Wellington

MiTek

Design Engineer

Daniel, a structural engineer from the University of Auckland, specializes in structural timber engineering. With nearly a decade at MiTek, he collaborates with engineers, architects, builders, and frame & truss manufacturers to deliver efficient solutions for low to mid-rise timber buildings. He focuses on optimizing construction outcomes, including adopting MiTek systems and multi-storey light timber frame structures, supporting MiTek's global commitment to smarter, more efficient construction.

Inka Gliesche-Humphris

Hutt City Council

Building Compliance Manager

Inka holds a Bachelor of Building Science and Architecture Degree.

Working in central and local government for over 25 years has given Inka comprehensive knowledge of New Zealand building legislation and the regulatory building control framework. In her current role Inka is responsible for overseeing and ensuring compliance with building codes, regulations, and standards related to construction and development projects. This includes BWoF registrations and audits, compliance schedules, swimming pools, earthquake prone buildings, complaints and site investigations.

Inka held the position of Secretary to the BOINZ Wellington Branch for four years and was a member of the BOINZ Technical Committee for seven years.

Jayson Ellis

Timaru District Council

BCA Manager

Jayson is a qualified builder with 39 years of industry experience, including 17 years at the Timaru BCA and 8 as its manager. He currently chairs the Southern Building Controls Group, representing 11 BCAs. A BOINZ member since 2008, he has served on the board and various technical advisory groups. 

Passionate about the building regulatory environment, Jayson is actively involved in training development and delivery, with a focus on improving BCA operations, knowledge, and consistency.

Jeremy Neven

Granite Ridge Consulting Ltd

Managing Director

Jeremy has been involved with the building industry for over 30 years starting out as a tradesman and moving in to building regulatory compliance almost 20 years ago. He has managed municipal building units in Canada, has been an inspector and assessor with Auckland Council and was part of the original team that established Consentium before moving into his own regulatory consulting business.

In the past several years, (in addition to providing standard regulatory services) he has assisted numerous BCAs with their response and recovery from emergency events allowing him a unique insight into the application of some of the more recent sections of the Building Act.

Jimuel Mejica

MiTek

Senior Design Engineer

Jimuel is a New Zealand Chartered Professional Engineer with 18+ years of experience in structural engineering for heavy industrial complexes. At MiTek, he leads timber truss design, provides technical advice, mentors junior engineers, and issues Producer Statements (PS1) to clients.

Jitendra Bothara

ResiPro International Engineering Ltd

Director

Jitendra Bothara, a seismic and structural engineer, is Director of ResiPro International Engineering Ltd, based in New Zealand. Originally from Nepal, he has over three decades of international experience advising governments, multilateral agencies such as the UNDP, World Bank, and ADB, and private sector clients on earthquake risk reduction, preparedness, and recovery.

Jitendra’s work spans Asia, Europe, and the Pacific, including New Zealand, and covers a wide range of areas, seismic assessment and strengthening of vulnerable buildings, design of new earthquake-resilient structures, post-earthquake evaluations, and post-earthquake response and recovery strategies. His expertise has informed national standards and guidelines in countries such as Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He was one of the key contributors in updating New Zealand’s Building Assessment Guideline (2017) and led the section on unreinforced masonry buildings.

Beyond engineering, Jitendra is a strong proponent of integrating local culture and community needs into disaster resilience efforts. He believes seismic safety solutions must reflect not only technical rigor but also social relevance. His contributions include numerous publications, capacity-building initiatives, and support for the development of earthquake engineering research facilities.

Katie Bourke

BarrierFree

Accessibility Advisor & Educator

Katie has over 15 years of experience as an accessibility consultant in Ireland and the UK, working with organisations big and small. She has a real passion for enhancing accessibility, fostering inclusion and promoting universal design. Gaining her qualification through the University of Ulster after becoming a wheelchair user at 24, Katie has an overwhelming belief that with the right set of minds and circumstances, anything is possible.

During her career, Katie has consulted on international projects, worked with historic universities, government departments and education providers. She has run an equality & accessibility program with 30,000+ students taking part and has helped design and build a ramp to the local community centre to allow everyone access through the front door.

Outside of her professional life Katie is a mum to 3 children and loves spending with family, going on adventures, reading and coffee. She is also a little obsessed with pointing out foot operated bins in accessible bathrooms!

Katie Symons

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

Principal Advisor - Engineering

Katie Symons is a chartered professional structural engineer in New Zealand and the UK and has over 15 years’ experience designing building structures in both countries.

During her time at MBIE she has been involved in work on standards, seismic performance, building code updates, and reducing emissions from the building and construction sector. She has been working on the development of the Building Product Specification since mid-2024.

Marie-Claude Hébert

Christchurch City Council

Senior Geotechnical Engineer

Marie-Claude Hébert is a senior geotechnical engineer with over 18 years of international experience. Since joining the Building Consenting Unit at Christchurch City Council in 2021, she has led a team of geotechnical specialists conducting regulatory reviews. She provides expert advice on building and resource consent processes as well as for dangerous building assessments. 

With a deep understanding of the consenting requirements and the NZ Building Act, Marie-Claude collaborates with various teams at Christchurch City Council, as well as MBIE, Engineering New Zealand, and external stakeholders, striving to enhance the quality of geotechnical assessments and documentation delivered throughout the consenting process.

Mike Farrell

Ashburton District Council

Building Official & Technical Lead

Mike Farrell has worked in the construction industry since 1978, gaining hands-on experience in a range of roles including leading hand, foreperson, and project manager. One of his most notable projects was managing the construction of the Hakatere Marae Wharenui in 2016.

Since 2007, Mike has served as the Building Official and Technical Lead for the Ashburton District Council. He is also a contributing member of the New Zealand Standards revision committee for NZS 4297, NZS 4298, and NZS 4299.

Mike’s lifelong passion for architecture and history sparked his interest in earthen construction early on, a fascination that has only deepened over time. After attending the 2016 International Straw Bale Building Conference in Methven and connecting with the wider earth building community, he became even more committed to advocating for sustainable and natural building methods. He was particularly moved by the challenges people face in gaining design approvals and building consents for earth structures—an issue that continues to drive his work and dedication to this field today.

Neil Savery

International Code Council (ICC)

Managing Director

Neil Savery is the Managing Director of ICC Oceania, an arm of the US based International Code Council, which develops the model I-Codes, promotes building safety and provides practical solutions for practitioners who work in the building sector.

Neil was the Chief Executive of the Australian Building Codes Board for nine years, having been a Board member for eleven. In that role Neil championed the transition to improved access, awareness and understanding of the National Construction Code.

As part of the Council of Australian Government processes for twenty years, Neil was involved in advising Ministers on significant building and planning policy reform, including his time as Chair of the Senior Planning Officials Group.

Neil has been the Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Building and Plumbing Industry Commissions and served as the inaugural Chief Planning Executive for the ACT Planning & Land Authority for eight years.

He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra, holds qualifications in town planning, urban design and ecologically sustainable development, and is an inaugural Board member of the International Building Quality Centre and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Paul Kirby

Te Ao Rangahau

General Manger and General Counsel

Paul is responsible for legal and risk and the functions of the Registration Authority under the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2022. This includes Chartered Professional Engineers registration, reassessments and register and a legal team that hears complaints about engineers and provides in house legal services to Engineering New Zealand. 

Prior to this role Paul has been Registrar of the Social Workers Registration Board, legal counsel for Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust and has several years experience in private practice.

Revan Ram

New Zealand Steel

Technical & Product Development Manager

With a passion for people and process, Revan Ram is the Technical & Product Development Manager at Pacific Steel. With a background in Chemical Engineering, Revan has worked across the various manufacturing facilities at NZ Steel, and more recently with the sales team at Pacific Steel.

In his current role, Revan focuses on bringing technical insights from the "outside in," bridging the gap between Pacific Steel and the wider market. With experience in both operations and sales, Revan is dedicated to fostering positive industry collaborations and driving processes to improve product quality, compliance, sustainability, and customer experience. While Revan remains passionate about the steel industry and its impact on our daily lives, he maintains balance by staying connected with family and friends outside of work.

Ryan Cooper

Christchurch City Council

Principal Building Official

Ryan's affinity for the construction industry blossomed early on, leading him to pursue a career in carpentry and joinery in the UK. Upon relocating to Christchurch in 2013, he continued to broaden his knowledge and experience.

Following a brief stint in the rebuild, Ryan transitioned into the regulatory world, initially serving as a building control officer. In this role, he managed tasks ranging from processing building consents, undertake building inspections and certifying building work. Through these experiences, he honed a thorough understanding of regulatory compliance and building standards.

Currently, Ryan holds the esteemed position of Principal Building Official within the building compliance team at Christchurch City Council. In this pivotal role, he serves a team of professionals, ensuring processes and procedures are adhered to, consistency is maintained and seeks opportunities for improvements. With his extensive industry tenure and diverse skill set, Ryan stands as an invaluable advocate for building safety and compliance within the built environment.

Shawn McIsaac

Oculus Building Science & Facades

Director

In 2016, Shawn left Vancouver, Canada to start a new chapter in Auckland, NZ. Shawn has become well known in the NZ construction industry for challenging the status quo and advancing the sector.

His more than 15-year career includes 10 years of overseas experience designing enclosure systems in similar climates and seismic zones.

When Shawn is not out spending time with family or working on one of his projects he enjoys cooking delicious meals or surfing in Piha.

Tony Kao

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

Geotechnical Engineer

Tony is a Geotechnical Engineer with over 10 years of experience spanning both the private and public sectors. Currently, he works in the Building Performance and Engineering team within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) as a Geotechnical Engineer focused on providing sound geotechnical engineering advice to support work across MBIE in relation to the building regulatory system and its performance.

Prior to joining MBIE, Tony worked in a consultancy environment to assist with Canterbury post-earthquake remediation. His work included both carrying out geotechnical investigations and design for both residential and commercial developments. 

Tony holds an Engineering Degree from the University of Auckland and is based in Christchurch.

Veronica Dessein

Engineering New Zealand

Registrar & Assessment Manager

Veronica has been the Registrar for Chartered Professional Engineers since November 2022. Veronica's key focus is ensuring a robust assessment process, and a fit-for-purpose register of Chartered Professional Engineers in New Zealand. Prior to this role Veronica spent 10-years working as a project manager across regulatory, health and corporate market research sectors.

Wade Maurice

Safe-R Insulation

Managing Director

Wade brings extensive experience in the building and insulation industry, contributing invaluable insights on insulation standards and practices. With years of hands-on experience, he has played an instrumental role in shaping initiatives related to the Insulation Association of New Zealand (IAONZ), ensuring that industry standards meet evolving market needs.

Wade has also actively participated in the development of NZS4246, the New Zealand Standard for retrofitting insulation in existing homes, equipping professionals with the tools to enhance insulation quality. Moreover, he has been involved with the latest H1 roll-out, which focuses on improving the energy performance of buildings in New Zealand, aligning with governmental efforts to combat climate change and improve residential comfort. 

Attendees can expect to gain insights from his expertise, ultimately advocating for more streamlined processes within BCAs to support homeowners in achieving warmer, healthier living environments.

Sally Grey

Auckland Council

Manager - Premium Business Consents

Sally is a senior manager in the building consents team at Auckland Council. More recently Sally has been seconded to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as a Principal Advisor for the BCA structure and Liability reform programme.

Sally is on the Taituara Regulatory and Bylaws Reference Group and is the past chair of the Building Advisory Panel.