Rachel has recently completed her Master’s with the He Kāinga Oranga/Housing and Health and New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities research programmes, and now works as an Assistant Research Fellow at the University of Otago, Wellington.
Rachel works between housing and energy poverty research, with a particular emphasis on working with the public housing community. Her Master’s thesis explored the experiences of public housing tenants during COVID-19 and the public health and social measures enacted in response. Alongside her focus on housing equity Rachel has a deep interest in communication, and how we most effectively communicate our results and projects with participants, community groups, industry, and policy makers alike.
Rachel is currently working on the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities, Marsden funded Heating Up, Cooling off project which is exploring the indoor thermal comfort and cooling practices of New Zealanders in the heat of summer.