I work strategically across arts, academia and advocacy. I am interested in how enthusiastic public actions can lead to long term perception and policy changes.
In the arts, I am founding editor of Lawrence and Gibson. I'm also a novelist: in April 2022, Down from Upland was published and long listed for the Ockham NZ Book Award fiction prize. In collaboration with Renters United in 2023, my previous novel, Rat King Landlord was re-released in a full colour tabloid newspaper edition with 16 original illustrations.
In 2013 I launched the Doing Our Bit advocacy campaign to double New Zealand's refugee quota from 750 to 1500. Drawing together numerous civil society groups, the campaign led to non-partisan policy commitments of an increased quota from every political party in parliament.
In 2013 I launched the Doing Our Bit advocacy campaign to double New Zealand's refugee quota from 750 to 1500. Drawing together numerous civil society groups, the campaign led to non-partisan policy commitments of an increased quota from every political party in parliament.
In the academic space, I am a Fulbright Scholar having returned to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2024 from a period of in-depth research into humanitarian refugee intakes in Los Angeles. This work was published as the book Visas Now! (2025), which also features reflections from 10 former refugees and community members.