Joining Kimberley Savill (they/them) in the Nature Team are Ciara Moynihan and Christina van der Velde. Their arrival feels well-timed as they begin to shape what comes next for nature at SBN. The work of building relationships for nature, between businesses, communities and the living systems we all depend on, takes people with a rare combination of skill, heart and commitment. We think we've found them.
Ciara
Ciara joins us as a Project & Partnership Manager, bringing a background in organisational development, regenerative change and multi-stakeholder engagement. Over the last six years she has worked with businesses, institutions and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand, Ireland, Germany and the UK on sustainability and regeneration, organisational change, and creative climate action.
Ciara believes change is best embodied through culture, which is why she draws on storytelling, restorative circles, movement, somatic and creative practice in her work. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship alongside her training in Regenerative Design & Development from The Regenesis Institute, which means she brings both creative depth and pragmatic project management to her mahi.
With one foot planted firmly in Aotearoa and the other in Ireland, she holds strong environmental ethics and a deep reverence for traditional song, story and ceremony. At SBN, Ciara is focused on strengthening relationships and strategic partnerships for nature and creating systemic change in the sectors we work with through her work on the Tāmaki Taiao Alliance.
Christina
Christina also joins the team as a Project & Partnership Manager, bringing a background in sustainability consulting, community engagement, relationship-building and marketing. She has worked across organisations large and small, from thinkstep-anz, where she supported businesses on sustainability strategy and circular economy work, to Te Whāngai Trust, where she worked alongside rangatahi and community members to create social and environmental change. Most recently she co-founded Whakatipu Mana Kai, building a growing platform around kai sovereignty through community wānanga and storytelling.
What drives Christina is a deep belief that businesses can be a genuine force for good, me mahi pai kia puāwai te ao. She brings an enthusiastic, values-led approach to everything she does, always looking for ways to create positive change for people and planet. Outside of work she's in her fifth year of studying te reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and volunteers with Ark in the Park doing predator control in the Waitākere Ranges she calls home. Her commitment to nature doesn’t stop at the office door!
At SBN, Christina is focused on Connect for Nature, helping businesses get their teams out into the taiao, restoring rivers, wetlands, forests and coastlines alongside the community groups doing that work every day.