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About Donna
Donna Howell is the Project Director for the University of Otago Christchurch Campus Redevelopment (UOCCR), the largest project in the university's history. Since January 2021, she has led the design, construction, commissioning, and transition of a new six-storey building for the School of Medicine at the Christchurch campus. Howell brings extensive expertise in managing complex infrastructure projects, underpinned by her Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) from the University of Auckland, awarded in 1993 along with the Senior Prize in Architecture in 1992. She is currently pursuing a Master of Construction (Construction Law), anticipated completion in 2024. Her professional qualifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) certification obtained in 2008, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) in 2020, Registered Architect (Reg Arch), Associate New Zealand Institute of Architects (ANZIA), and Master Institute of Directors (MInstD). Additional certifications encompass Design Thinking for Innovation from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Design-Led Strategy from the University of Sydney, and Gateway Reviewer status from the New Zealand Treasury.
Howell's career spans over 25 years in construction project management across diverse sectors. Key roles include Director and Principal Consultant at Green Light Projects Limited since 2011; Project Lead for the $1.6 billion Domestic Jet Facility at Auckland International Airport from 2018 to 2020, handling requirements definition, design scoping, delivery planning, and alliance formation; Project Director for the $180 million Lincoln University and AgResearch Joint Facility from 2015 to 2018, delivering laboratories, offices, and education spaces for 680 staff under fast-track conditions; Project Director for Victoria University of Wellington's 2011 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon; Senior Project Manager at Arrow International from 2007 to 2011; and Client Representative and Programme Design Manager for the Department of Corrections Regional Prisons Development Programme from 2001 to 2007. In governance, she serves as Co-opted Board Member and Founding Chair of the Construction Special Industry Group at Project Management Institute New Zealand since 2022 and 2023 respectively, Deputy Chair and Council Executive Member of the New Zealand Construction Industry Council since 2015, former Independent Adviser to Otautahi Community Housing Trust from 2017 to 2022, Board Member on the Public Protection Committee of the New Zealand Registered Architects Board from 2012 to 2020, and President and Board Chair of the National Association of Women in Construction from 2012 to 2018, during which the organization received the New Zealand Institute of Architects President's Award in 2017.
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