Michelle Too Meaclem

About Michelle Too Meaclem

I have over 6 years’ full-time professional experience across the transportation and water sectors in civil and stormwater infrastructure design, climate resilience, infrastructure growth planning, stakeholder engagement, and asset management in New Zealand and Oceania. This experience includes designing culverts for rail and shared paths, culvert extensions, reducing flooding to urban areas, bioretention devices, climate change risk assessments, three waters growth plans, and asset valuations. I was also recognized as a finalist for Young Engineer of the Year in 2023.Currently, I am pursuing a Master in Public Policy to combine my knowledge of the built and natural environment with my interest in developing equitable and climate-aligned infrastructure policy, financing, and strategy, particularly related to local communities. I also advocate for increasing community resilience to climate change, bridging the science-policy divide, and meaningfully involving young people at the decision-making table. I have done this through my role as the 2023 co-lead of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations\' Young Engineers/Future Leaders\' Working Group on Climate Action and as a Steering Committee member of the Commonwealth Youth for Sustainable Urbanisation network. In 2023, I was also selected from to be a COP28 International Youth Climate Delegate Program delegate. As part of this program, I undertook capacity building sessions on and COP processes, as well as on multilateral climate negotiations through Harvard Kennedy School. Through the program I also had the opportunity to attend COP28, the 18th Conference of Youth, 78th UN General Assembly and Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023.

Experience

1. Civil Engineer

   Tonkin + Taylor

   Mar 2021 — Present · Wellington, NZ

   My role includes designing stormwater and civil infrastructure, three waters advisory, and climate change risk assessments. Through my time at T+T, I also completed a one year part time secondment at Wellington Water in the Growth Planning team. This involved putting together the 3 Waters Growth Plans, putting together cost estimates for proposed growth projects, writing activity briefs, and looking at the risks and water asset renewal opportunities in major transportation projects. I am currently on the stormwater design team for the Te Ara Tupua Alliance, delivering drainage packages for Tupua Horo Nuku South Shared Path and Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One.

Education

• University of Canterbury

  Bachelor’s Degree with Honours, Civil Engineering

  2014 — 2017

• The University of Hong Kong

  Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Civil Engineering

  2017 — 2017

• Queen Margaret College

  High School

  2010 — 2013

• Harvard Kennedy School

  Master in Public Policy

Skills

• Local Government
• Communication
• Engineering
• Sustainability
• Matlab
• Environmental Awareness
• Arcgis
• Microsoft Office