For the last 30 years, I have forged a career working at the intersection of Planning, Surveying, Law, and Spatial Science. Much of that time has been spent in and around local government, although I spend a lot of time talking to ‘ordinary humans’ as well. My specialist area has been acting as an interpreter where laypeople and technocrats collide. My current passion is growing the emergent fields of Civic Technology and GeoDesign, which are transforming the way governments engage with communities around the world. My willingness to re-design local government processes was further illustrated through the Kamo Place Race town planning process. The project fundamentally altered the relationship between citizens and Council, by moving the Council's role from an arbitrator to community facilitator. The project received widespread acclaim, including the award for Best Use of Social Media in Local Government. I spoke about the project in my talk at TEDx Christchurch in 2014. I have been organiser and mentor at Startup Weekend and Global GovJam service design events. I am also on the organising committee of the nationwide GovHack event and am a regular contributor to the hackathon and open data communities in New Zealand and beyond.