Amanda hails from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and grew up fascinated by peoples, cultures and histories from all around the world. On completing her studies in Law, History, and German at the University of Auckland, including a one-year exchange in Freiburg, Germany, she took an exploratory foray into public service with a two-month internship at the New Zealand Aid Programme at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). This led to over ten years of work with MFAT, primarily focused on international development in the Pacific and Asia, including a role at the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok working on agriculture projects in Myanmar. During a three-year posting at the New Zealand Embassy in Cairo, Amanda covered political, trade, foreign affairs, defence, human rights, security, and consular issues in Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. Small countries = small diplomatic missions = multi-tasking diplomats! In her most recent role, Amanda led outreach and consultation on MFAT's engagements in the Pacific with Aotearoa's Pacific diaspora communities and other domestic stakeholders. Amanda is interested in the intersection between foreign policy and development, bold policy ideas, communities in all their many forms, and how government systems and approaches can better include and serve them.