The Aspen Institute

Katie is a fifth generation family farmer living on the rugged West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. From a hands-on practical farmer she developed a governance career involved with farming advocacy and commercial operations, conservation and philanthropy. She became The first woman president of Federated Farmers New Zealand in its 119th year, breaking the grass ceiling and led it through the covid epidemic. Internationally she has served two terms on the World Farmers Org board representing Oceania, which has given her great insights to food production challenges worldwide and it all levels of development. Currently, she is on the board of Predator Free 2050 Limited which is a world first innovative approach to restoring the native forest’s back to a near original state full of unique birds many of which are flightless, lizards and plants by stopping them being predated on by introducing mammalian species. When at home, she is a volunteer firefighter and first responder and enjoys hiking, biking, and paddle boarding around the surrounding mountains, rivers and lakes with friends and family. Katie is the current chair of Aspen NZ.