The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE Network) are proud to present a daytime speaker session with Rachel Kelleher.

Rachel is the Director Community at Auckland Council and a member of the council’s Executive Leadership Team. She leads a directorate that places the natural environment, diverse communities and the services Auckland Council provides to Aucklanders at the heart of everything they do.

If Auckland is dealing with an emergency response, be it severe weather or the threat of a tsunami, Rachel is also one of Auckland Emergency Management Controller group. When rostered on, she is on-call 24/7, ready to respond. For those in Auckland, Rachel became a familiar face as she headed the media for the 2023 Anniversary Day floods and Cyclone Gabrielle and was often on our screens.

Hear Rachel’s experience of being a key decision maker during an emergency response, how she deals with the pressures that role brings and what it was like to be the face of the 2023 severe weather event.