Kali Mercier appointed WSP Fellow at the Helen Clark Foundation

WSP in New Zealand and The Helen Clark Foundation are pleased to announce that Kali Mercier has been appointed as the new WSP research fellow at The Helen Clark Foundation | Mahi a Rongo, taking over from Acting WSP Fellow Anne Cunningham.

Wellington-based Kali will spend her tenure as Fellow producing high-quality research reports with WSP in New Zealand and promoting public policy that helps make Aotearoa New Zealand fairer for all.

With eight years’ public policy experience and an interest in public health, criminal justice, housing and social justice issues, Kali has most recently worked as policy director at the NZ Drug Foundation, and as principal advisor in the harm reduction and public safety team at the Ministry of Justice.

Kali says she’s excited to start the WSP Fellow role and is looking forward to undertaking in-depth research on challenging topics that are meaningful for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s society and can help frame debates for years to come.

The WSP and Helen Clark Foundation research fellow partnership has been running since October 2019. The partnership’s most recent research report on safer cities by design investigated how better urban form can lead to safer and more vibrant city centres in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Previous reports have examined congestion charging, transport equity, New Zealand’s diaspora, loneliness, and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

More information about the partnership can be found here.