Who is the Commissioner?

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright

In March 2007 Dr Jan Wright was appointed as New Zealand's third Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Dr Jan Wright was sworn in as Commissioner for a five-year term on 5 March 2007.

She originally trained as a scientist and graduated from the University of Canterbury as a senior scholar in physics. A developing interest in policy applications of science led her to the University of California at Berkeley where she gained a Masters degree in Energy and Resources, and was involved in pioneering energy efficiency analysis at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

She continued working on energy research on her return to New Zealand, and began to broaden her interests to environment and transport issues.

Her next move was to Harvard University where she gained her doctorate in public policy, focusing on medical and environmental decision-making. Her dissertation led to faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health unanimously selecting her as Outstanding Student in Risk and Decision Sciences.

On her return to New Zealand, Jan worked as an independent policy and economic consultant, undertaking work for a wide variety of government agencies. She taught policy analysis at Victoria University and was a member of the Independent Biotechnology Advisory Council.

More latterly she has been active in Crown Entity directorship as chair of Land Transport NZ and Transfund NZ, and as a board member of Transit New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation, and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

A skilled communicator, Jan can apply intellectual rigour to complex matters affecting ordinary people. She enjoys thinking about big picture and long-term problems, while being focused on achieving change through small practical steps.

She comes to the position of Commissioner at a time of escalating public and political interest in environmental issues, and is particularly interested in the growing alignment between environmental and economic interests.

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The team

Environmental researchers are the core of the office. They come from a wide range of disciplines and bring a variety of work and life experience. Their work ranges from individual assignments to teamwork on major investigations that may last several months.

Supporting the researchers is a senior management team comprising the Commissioner, the Research Manager, the Relationship Manager, and an Office Manager. This team is responsible for strategic direction, operational effectiveness, and quality of work.

The multi-talented support team keeps the office running by looking after information management, financial accounting, information technology, report and document production, and the full range of administrative tasks.