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.
吴昕晓Jessie XinxiaoWu长期热衷于环境保护与可持续发展，减废实践及可持续发展推广。自2019年加入 Zero Waste Events 项目担任 Advisor 以来，她结合丰富的媒体传播、大型活动及社区沟通经验，积极推动零废弃理念在亚裔社区中的传播与实践，为各类大型活动提供活动策划、执行及废弃物管理方面专业指导与支持。
2017年，昕晓创立了Cubee Group ，一个融合媒体与教育理念的创新教育平台，致力于培养专业人士、承认学员及青少年学生在公众表达、传媒传播及职业沟通方面的能力。她相信，有效的传播、社区参与和公众教育，是推动可持续发展与社会行为改变的重要力量。
Connect with Jessie: [email protected]