Our speakers

Clare joined Taituarā in January 2025, as Manager, Sector Readiness. She brings with her the experience and relationships she developed working with the local government sector for more than 10 years at Local Government New Zealand and more recently at the Ministry for the Environment. Her career includes working for several councils in resource management-related roles.

Clare is working in Sector Readiness, focused on resource management reform and elections. She is particularly interested in working with the sector on implementation challenges.

In her free time, Clare enjoys tramping and walking and making the most of her commute from the Kapiti Coast to read.

Dale Ofsoske is Managing Director of Election Services, providing electoral services, including assistance with democratic reviews, to a large number of local authorities.

He is an experienced electoral officer (since 1985), foundation member and deputy chair to the former Taituarā Electoral Working Party, current member of the Taituarā Electoral Sub-Committee and honorary Taituarā member. Dale is electoral officer for a number of councils, including Auckland Council, and brings his expertise and widespread knowledge on electoral matters to this forum.

Dave brings several years of experience as a coach and senior leadership and organisation development practitioner. He has worked at a senior level in multinational business in UK and in the public sector in New Zealand including being the Organisation Development Manager for the Ministry of Education, HR Director for MSD and Corporate GM for Northland Regional Council.

He provides leadership coaching and mentoring at all levels including Board and senior managers incorporating neuroscience principles.

David has worked as an economist in New Zealand for 19 years, a large share of that work being on projects with local government, both in consultancy and as a Council team member. Immediately prior to his current role, he was Chief Economist at Auckland Council for 4.5 years, where he grappled with funding and financing issues on a daily basis, as well as the challenge of prioritising infrastructure investment with limited funding resources.

At GHD, David regularly works with Councils on development contributions policy, targeted rates, value capture, third party funding and the evaluation of proposed new tools such as development levies and the rates assistance scheme. He has also provided advice to central government on the infrastructure shortfall and options for attracting overseas based investors into the New Zealand infrastructure market.

David regularly provides expert witness evidence into plan change and resource consent processes for infrastructure investments, including assessing the affordability challenges of investment decisions. He has also assisted several Councils working through the Local Water Done Well process, to understand the financial implications of working together to form Water CCOs.

David has extensive experience in local government both as an executive and commercial advisor which provided him the opportunity to lead and advise on a range of infrastructure partnership models that have assisted councils unlock funding, share risk, and deliver better outcomes for their communities.  His partnership model journey began as a senior manager of the legacy Auckland City Council where he led the execution of the first outsourced bus shelter street furniture project in New Zealand in 1993. In the 2000s, this arrangement was extended across eight city councils with a then estimated value of $200m.

Since that time both as a council executive and commercial advisor, he has been involved in numerous other third-party partnership opportunities in local government covering a wide array of service areas including property, waste management, public transport, waters and recreation facilities. This experience extends to advising the wider infrastructure sector on procurement and project financing models including PPPs and value capture models. David also has undertaken a range of related studies for industry bodies and government agencies.

Since joining GHD in 2018 as establishment APAC Market Leader Advisory, he has continued to lead and advise the sector on a range of infrastructure matters including strategic asset management, economics, infrastructure risk, water reform, independent expert reviews, funding and financing.

Dean has been at NZ Post since 2012 and been involved with Local Body Elections and the Elections Reference Group since 2018, working on his first election campaign in 2019 and again in 2022.

Within NZ Post he is part of a team of 9 specialists focused on Mail Services, providing product knowledge and solutions to meet customer requirements, and developing strong relationships with our customers. During the 2022 elections Dean worked closely with Datam and NZ Posts internal Management Teams to deliver the local body voting packs and manage the end-to-end processes. He also coordinated the collection of return votes from the Auckland Council Ballot Box votes.

Outside of NZ Post Dean’s passion is photography and can be found roaming the countryside at unsociable times of the day in search of a grand landscape, or just some peace and quiet.

Dean’s career in public service spans over three decades, including leadership positions in emergency management, economic development, community services and more. Appointed Marlborough District Council’s Electoral Officer in 2001, Dean was responsible for introducing STV elections to Marlborough in 2004. He has served on the Taituarā Electoral Reference Group since late 2013 and was appointed Chairman in 2016. Dean was Co-Chair of a Taituara Joint Working Group that investigated online voting over a two-year period. More recently, he has advised the Fijian government on legislation, process, and structures for the country’s first local government elections since 2005.

In addition to his role in local government, Dean is also Chief Executive of Marlborough Airport, a commercial entity wholly owned by Council. The regional airport welcomes 300,000 passengers per year, while also serving as a lifeline for the community under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. Dean has also been involved in Marlborough’s emergency response and recovery efforts since 1993, including serving as alternate controller currently as the group recovery manager under the Emergency Management Act. From the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes to recent flood events and COVID-19 response, Dean has led the airport and Council teams in navigating uncertainty.

Dean holds a Master of Arts in Recreation and Leisure Studies from Victoria University of Wellington. Since 1996, he has served as a Rotarian with various leadership roles in the Blenheim community, where he lives with his partner and teenaged son.

Devorah held a variety of business management roles before moving to the public sector, first with Biosecurity New Zealand then moving to local government in 2010.

She is an experienced people leader whose areas of responsibility have included representation issues and elections, governance, information and privacy management, developing and implementing business processes, and cross-organisation projects. Each role has reinforced her strong belief in the importance of good process, informed decision making and facilitating people’s ability to have their say on their things that really matter to them.

She was ‘baptised by fire’ into the world of elections in 2016 with a race that demonstrated the power that just a few votes can have.

In 2020 she moved to Te Tauihu and is currently the Manager Governance and Support Services with Nelson City Council.

Donald has worked for in local government-related roles for the Local Government Commission and the Department of Internal Affairs for a number of years.

This included working for the Commission in the late 1980s when the New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government took place and then continuously since 1997. Activities since then have included 9 rounds of representation reviews, several reorganisation processes, and the determination of boundaries, wards and local board arrangements for the Auckland Council in 2010.

For the Department of Internal Affairs, Donald was for a number of years Manager, Local Government Services which included responsibility for some electoral matters – the STV calculator, approval of voting documents and election monitoring. This was carried out alongside the Rates Rebate Scheme, the National Dogs Database and the Lake Taupo Harbourmaster.

Doug Griffiths is a wildly popular community strategist and author of two best-selling editions of 13 Ways to Kill Your Community. He has supported, guided and inspired hundreds of communities to create effective change. Whether through speaking and presentations, or through advising and consulting, he is dedicated to helping communities across North America find their own pathway to success.

He grew up on a ranch outside a small town where he learned the value of hard work, critical thinking skills, and the value of community. That background led him into politics, but he insists he has since been through rehab and is fully recovered. 

Dr Ellen Joan Ford is terrifyingly ambitious about improving the working world for people and for organisations.

As a leader, researcher, military veteran, international speaker, TEDx speaker, facilitator, consultant and parent, Ellen draws on her research and practical experiences to drive organisational outcomes such as improved retention, productivity, engagement, well-being and ultimately, profit, by enhancing inclusive leadership capabilities and workplace culture. Her keynotes and workshops are full of practical takeaways.

Dr Paul Wood overcame a troubled past marked by crime, addiction, and incarceration. After spending over a decade in some of New Zealand’s toughest prisons, he emerged with a newfound purpose. Now, he dedicates his life to helping others realise their potential through bespoke leadership and organisational development programmes, workshops and speaking engagements.

“Build your dream leadership team by empowering them to gain the skills and capabilities required to reach local government leadership excellence.”

Stephen Young is lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Otago, where he researches pseudolaw, International Human Rights Law, and laws and Indigenous peoples. As a theoretically informed socio-legal researcher, he examines considers the ways in which legal systems interact and how new legal subjects are made, sometime with unintended and problematic effects. Prior to pursuing an academic career, he worked in private practice as a civil litigator in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Elizabeth’s career spans 35 years in the local government sector including Hamilton City, Tauranga City and Waikato Regional councils. She also spent six years as communication and strategy leader for Local Government New Zealand. Her qualifications include a degree in resource management and a post- graduate diploma in communication.

She is passionate about local democracy and engagement with local communities.

For the past 10 years Elizabeth has run her own business working with elected members and council managers as a facilitator and consultant advisor around strategic change, communication and engagement and crisis management. She is also a columnist for the LG News magazine – providing fresh insights and/or practical advice on local government issues.

Emma is a strategic and results-driven leader with over 16 years of experience in public libraries, community development, and education. Proven expertise in managing teams, driving operational efficiency, and fostering partnerships that contribute to long-term community development. Adept at implementing digital transformations, enhancing service delivery, and ensuring strong financial oversight. Passionate about empowering teams, advancing public services, and creating sustainable, customer-centric strategies.

Frances Dagg (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa / Ngāti Kauwhata) is the Water Manager at the Commerce Commission, where she supports the development of the regulatory framework for water services in Aotearoa. With a background spanning policy, iwi/Māori relationship management and partnership‑building, she joined the Commission in July 2025 and committed to approaches that reflect local perspectives and deliver positive outcomes for communities across Aotearoa.

Ganesh is well known to local government having previously been the Chief Economist for BERL.

As the Former Chair of the Productivity Commission, he oversaw the Fair chance for all inquiry into reducing persistent intergenerational disadvantage in Aotearoa.

Ganesh outlined some of the findings from the inquiry, including a review into the recent progress of joined-up social services. Read the review Together alone: A review of joined-up social services or a summary here

Hamish is a Senior Associate in Simpson Grierson’s local government and environment group, based in Wellington. He is a specialist local government and resource management lawyer. His practice encompasses all aspects of resource management law. In addition, he regularly advises and represents local authorities in relation to judicial review, compensation disputes, and enforcement matters, including issues relating to: rates and rating valuations, building code compliance, liability issues, natural hazards, compulsory acquisition of property, infrastructure projects and dog control.