I have 25 years’ experience as a teacher and researcher with New Zealand’s leading programme in museum and heritage studies, focusing on heritage practice, research and visitors. I am particularly passionate about connecting both local and international audiences with the rich cultural and natural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand, and building capacity in the heritage sector to better understand and engage audiences. I am also committed to promoting heritage practices and experiences that enhance intercultural understanding, empathy and openness to others’ perspectives.

I pursue these passions across my teaching, research and engagement with the heritage sector. I present at international conferences and publish widely on visitor studies, intercultural practice, museum diplomacy, international exhibitions and heritage tourism. I recently published The Visitor Studies Guide: Theory and Practice for Heritage Contexts (Routledge, 2025). I am co-author, with Leticia Pérez Castellanos, of Cosmopolitan Ambassadors: International Exhibitions, Cultural Diplomacy and the Polycentral Museum (also available in Spanish), which was awarded the Miguel Covarrubias prize for best research work in museography by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico in 2020. I am currently working on a guide for the promotion of intercultural dialogue in museums and heritage sites, to be published by UNESCO in 2026.

I am an experienced and sought-after postgraduate supervisor for MAs and PhDs, currently supervising seven PhDs across a range of museum and heritage-related topics. In 2019 I received a Supervisor Award (Honorable Mention) from the Post Graduate Students’ Association.

My work is firmly grounded in theory and practice and I have built close collaborative relationships with key national and international heritage institutions. I am an experienced facilitator of workshops and symposia for museum and heritage professionals and regularly work as a consultant for external organisations, including the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Museums Aotearoa, and Manatū Aorere / Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Between 2020 and 2023 I undertook a major project with the Latin American Centre for Asia-Pacific Excellence called Cultural Partnerships for Intercultural Understanding with Professor Leticia Perez from the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía in Mexico. This project strengthened cultural relationships between Aotearoa and Mexico through collaborative projects for students and emerging heritage professionals, workshops for cultural sector professionals and an exhibition to enhance New Zealanders’ understanding and appreciation of contemporary Mexican life and culture. Our exhibition De la milpa a la mesa: A Mexican food journey was shown in four centres throughout Aotearoa.