The Stream Team
Amy Whetu - CEO
Amy is an accomplished business leader with many years of experience leading and working within a range of businesses within Aotearoa. Amy combines this knowledge with her passion for developing strategy, infrastructure and processes to grow exceptional businesses. Amy’s heart for people and contributing to businesses that make a difference with creativity and innovation set her apart as a business leader. She is a woman of action who has the skills, tools, knowledge and expertise to help guide The Stream into its next exciting phase of growth. Amy has a special interest in governance and holds directorships in a number of businesses within New Zealand where she likes to stretch and challenge the organisations she is working with towards optimum growth and performance.
Amy has a Masters of Law in Environmental and Indigenous Governance, alongside a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Social Science, with an 18 year career that includes experience working in legal practice, with iwi, private consultancy, business operations, management and governance.
James Whetu - Strategic Advisor
James is of Waikato, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Raukawa descent. With extensive experience in resource management planning and town/community/rural development, James' ability to critically analyse any situation and work towards finding innovative solutions that meet the interests of all parties, is one of his most valued skills. James is skilled in engagement of communities and stakeholders in both a consultancy and local government work environment. He also has significant experience in implementation within collaborative and co-management processes in sustainable management. With over 20 years experience in environmental planning and policy, his passion currently sees him working to find ways to implement indigenous values, traditions and knowledge within other Western ideologies, world-views and data frameworks.
With a Bachelor, Post-Graduate Diploma and a Masters of Environmental Planning, James is also currently part of the 2021 Cohort of Masters of Technological Futures, exploring data in decision making.
Nic Conland - Strategic Advisor
Nic has provided strategic advice and science communication to the primary sector on their water quality impacts and potential mitigations for catchment scale management within a freshwater quality accounting framework under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and regional plan developments. Nic has worked for over two decades across New Zealand developing natural resource management plans with performance mechanisms that provide feedback loops to measure ecosystem health and promote resource efficiency. Nic is a specialist in developing science based policy and planning instruments for communities and sees data as an integral component of this measuring and improving our eco-systems.
Nic has been engaged with iwi, Universities and providers of analytical equipment to provide solutions for managing catchments and communicating freshwater conditions, outcomes and values for Te Taiao.
Chris Keenan - Strategic Advisor
Chris has 25 years’ experience in freshwater and natural resource management. He has extensive experience in freshwater, marine and air quality monitoring and research as well as experience in odour and seismic monitoring. He has worked for local and central government and environmental consulting businesses. Chris' core competencies stem from his extensive experience in the management and negotiation of complex water resource projects. Chris has worked as a technical adviser on freshwater allocation, rights & interests; and natural resource accounting for Government as well as in establishing freshwater limits.
Chris has supported land use change and resilience projects for agribusiness and Māori agribusiness clients in many regions, with a focus on horticulture and developing the right infrastructure for environmental improvement, higher value land use, water and energy resilience. Chris has a BRS (Resource Studies) and BSc (Conservation ecology) from Lincoln.