Regional council staff scoop national awards

Northland Regional Council (NRC) staff are celebrating two wins at the recent Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM) conference in Wellington.

The council’s Digital and Design Manager, Jalissa Karena-Lange was named ‘Web Digital and Communications Professional of the Year'. This award recognises top performers in their disciplines who have outstanding abilities and enhance the organisation’s performance and delivery in their field.

Jalissa’s career at council began as a cadet 13 years ago. Through that time she has worked on a raft of significant digital projects – either leading directly, supporting her team or working with the wider organisation to help meet its goals.

Council Chair Geoff Crawford says that Jalissa is an outstanding young woman and an asset to the organisation. “Jalissa is a highly skilled and talented digital practitioner, who always has our communities front of mind.”

Jalissa’s Digital and Design team also took out the title of ‘Web Digital and Communications Team of the Year’. This award recognises outstanding teams who provide high-quality services, make a difference to their organisation and its customers and deliver outcomes.

“As individuals, they are passionate about community engagement, the environment and servicing our diverse communities of Te Taitokerau. As a team, they are motivated through shared values, putting the voice of our communities first, and inspired by going against the grain in the digital space.”

Council’s data team was also a finalist for ‘ICT Project of the Year’ for their Continuous Environmental Data Automation Tool (DatPro). “The DatPro was created to allow us to automate our environmental data processing. This clever tool, leverages AI to make our decision-making faster and more accurate because of its machine mind.”

Chair Crawford says he’s immensely proud of all the NRC staff who were recognised at the awards. “It’s fantastic to see the team recognised on the national stage, and it’s testament to their hard work and dedication to our region.”

It’s not the first time the regional council’s work in the sector has earned it accolades, last year the GIS team won an award for their Natural Hazard Portal.