Mary-Jane Rivers
| Mary-Jane Rivers |
 Mary-Jane Rivers is the Development Manager for Inspiring Communities and convenes The Exchange. It is hugely energising to see communities manage change and develop the capacity for innovation and renewal - in short to be resilient. That means being good neighbours as well as being able to deal with tough, complex issues and - through including everyone with their diverse and multiple talents - to focus on the future while understanding the past. How do we build these resilient and confident communities? How do communities share and learn from each other, accelerate development and reinvent the wheel as little as possible? These are questions that encouraged Mary-Jane into fostering Inspiring Communities. Phone: 04 385 1415
Mary-Jane's deep interest in resilient communities started with her work in local government. The importance of communities was reinforced in senior management roles in central government, especially leading social impact assessment work in the late 1980s. Mary-Jane has been CEO of the NZ Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and has run her own business. She feels privileged to have been involved with international development work in several Pacific countries and in Eastern Europe for the World Bank, UNDP and NZAID. She has seen the lasting and far-reaching impact of many community development initiatives based on community leadership working hand-in-hand with government, business, NGOs and funders.
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