Contact an advisor
Catherine Phillips
Catherine joined the Community WasteWise team in late 2024. She is excited to be a Waste Wise advisor and part of the Zero Waste Event programme.
With a love for nature and a background in education and tourism, Catherine is enthusiastic to use her presenting and community engagement skills to assist communities in Tāmaki Makaurau to reduce waste. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Development Studies and Spanish, from Victoria University of Wellington.
Connect with Catherine at [email protected]
Robin Wachsberger
Robin is a New York City transplant who has been in Auckland for 7 years. She has a decade of experience in the Not For Profit, Events Facilitation, and Placemaking sectors. Currently, Robin does work with EcoMatters and affiliated organisations. Her passion for sustainability shines through in her long-time involvement in Burning Man-inspired events, where she champions zero waste and leave no trace principles. Beyond her environmental dedication, Robin is a storytelling enthusiast, always eager to share engaging narratives. The intersection of sustainability and creativity is her happy place.
Connect with Robin: [email protected]
Sophora Grace
Sophora Grace is an Aotearoa born activist, organic farmer, and zero waste champion. With a history in engineering project management, Sophora turned her hand to community-led climate resilience five years ago and hasn’t looked back. From supporting frontline environmental protection actions, through to organising climate festivals, setting up community gardens, or composting food scraps from 50,000 people every week, she isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty or thinking outside of the box to make zero waste and kaitiakitanga creative, engaging, and most of all; Fun!
Connect with Sophora: [email protected]
Montana Lamb – Waiheke Island events
Montana has a background in environmental services and community engagement. She loves any opportunity to network and to bring together an action plan that educates those operating in the sustainability space.
Montana holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Environmental Studies, from Victoria University of Wellington. She is in her final year of completing a Masters in Sustainable Development Goals, with a specialisation in Climate Action.
As Zero Waste Manager at Waiheke Resource Trust, she enjoys training people about their waste reduction methods and assisting with ways of diverting waste from landfill.
Connect with Montana: [email protected]
Jessie Wu
Jessie is passionate about the environment and raising awareness about waste minimisation. Through her experience as a well-known TV presenter and event spokesperson, she has formed a close network with the Chinese community in New Zealand, and is focused on supporting them with zero waste event advice. In 2018, Jessie established Cubeekiz Media, the first organisation to integrate media and education for kids, providing comprehensive language training for young MCs and journalists.
Connect with Jessie: [email protected]