I’m ready to serve our region having grown my passion, experience and empathy to make our region a climate resilient, nature-rich, safe and thriving place to live, work and play.
You may know my voice from my days of producing and presenting music stories on the radio, but there’s a bit more to me than broadcasting.
I’m proudly Burmese. My whānau came to Aotearoa in 1976 and I was born in Newtown. I was then raised in Tai Tokerau, but for the majority of my years Wellington is home. The environment, the attitude, the possibilities and the people being the greatest treasures of our rohe.
I have always been politically active and motivated by issues of social justice and climate action. Growing up, my elders instilled the value and importance of serving our community; and it was the least we could do as tauiwi to support the aspirations of tangata whenua.
When I was at primary school all I wanted to do was fix pollution, slow down deforestation and look after our planet. I saved my pocket money and bought a Greenpeace t-shirt emblazoned with NO TIME TO WASTE, which I wore proudly through the streets of Whangārei. I never imagined how much time humanity would waste and that the sentiment of the t-shirt would ring true, three decades later when I wore that t-shirt while supporting my kids on the 2019 SchoolStrike4Climate.
During university in the mid-1990s I was struck by the barriers fellow students faced in accessing quality tertiary education. This ignited my commitment and involvement in social justice and community campaigns. These also taught me what it meant to be tangata Tiriti.
As a WCC youth councillor I was part of a collective that established youth health service Evolve, pushed for after-midnight buses, and campaigned for a youth radio network. I have served on numerous Wellington City Council committees, Victoria University boards and advisory panels. I also assisted in the establishment of the Whanganui District Youth Council.
I ran for Wellington City Council in 2001 as a young person passionate about youth voice and representation, climate action and social justice. In 2004 I managed a mayoral candidate campaign.
Working in youth development throughout the mid-2000s taught me how to effectively build community participation and engagement. It is now a skillset I have put to use in many projects and roles I have since held. I have also worked in the non-profit sector and in our local film, media and tech industry.
In 2013 as Chairperson of Crossways Community Creche I oversaw the purchase and renovation of its current Mt Victoria home. Currently I serve on the Newtown School Board and Radio Active Charitable Trust.
Through all my roles I have gained a deep understanding of strategic planning, regulatory compliance, financial management, and the importance of working together. In my spare time I listen to a lot of music, raise my two children and love kicking a football or passing a rugby ball around.
