steph
bougen

Steph joined 4Sight in July 2022 as a Principal Planning and Policy Consultant, based in our Tauranga office.  

 

Steph has over 12 years’ planning experience, spanning local, regional, and state government in New Zealand and Australia. Prior to joining 4Sight, she worked as a Principal Planner at Tauranga City Council, and spent several years in the Consents team at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Steph prides herself on being a ‘specialist generalist’, as her expertise is founded on her exposure to a wide range of planning projects, spanning strategic, spatial, policy and implementation planning. Her experience also spans both natural resources and urban planning and includes involvement in a large range of land use, subdivision, freshwater management, stormwater, and coastal projects amongst others. 

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She also has considerable experience in presenting reports and expert evidence and representing Councils at hearings and Environment Court Mediations.

  

Steph became interested in becoming a Planner after spending a year volunteering in Vanuatu, and seeing first-hand how better planning decisions would positively impact the environment and people living there. She enjoys working across different disciplines and putting the pieces of the puzzle together to get a balanced outcome.  

 

Steph is an active member of the Bay of Plenty branch of the New Zealand Planning Institute and is passionate about mentoring emerging planners to help them achieve their career goals. She is also a certified Resource Management decision maker under the Ministry for Environment’s Making Good Decisions programme.   

 

Outside of work, Steph loves horse riding and exploring NZ’s many hikes and trails on foot. She can often be found up the mount or in the bush carrying one of her young sons in the front or backpack.