Damien Puddle, affectionately known as "Dr. Play," is a playful academic and urban mischief-maker with a mission to turn cities into vibrant playgrounds. Based in Invercargill, New Zealand, he's a play enthusiast with a PhD in parkour—yes, really. Damien’s diverse career spans academia, local government, and non-profits, where he passionately advocates for child-friendly, playful spaces. Whether he's advising councils, promoting the benefit-risk approach to health and safety, or dreaming up new ways to inject play into urban life, Damien brings a unique blend of research, dynamism, and fun to everything he does.

Kimberly is a passionate advocate for accessibility and inclusion in our built environment, particularly in providing accessible play opportunities. She is the author of the family-friendly accessible travel blog, Grab Your Wheels, Let’s Travel, where she reviews inclusive recreational spaces such as playgrounds, parks, beaches, and walking trails. Kimberly also champions inclusive cycleways and recently reviewed 50 kilometers of cycleways around Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Bike Auckland.

Over the past year, Kimberly has been actively involved in a working group with Recreation Aotearoa, focused on developing guidelines to enhance inclusion on recreational trails across New Zealand. She brings invaluable lived experience as a parent of a child with a disability, advocating for greater accessibility in play areas across Tāmaki Makaurau. Kimberly’s efforts contribute to a broader conversation about creating more inclusive and accessible environments for all.

Greer Oliver is Arup’s New Zealand Planning and Design Lead. Her work is centred at the intersection of people, places and the future with a focus on how we shape place and space to respond to the changing needs of both humans and the environment within our cities.

Grounded in a passion for building better cities, she has a keen interest in exploring how insights derived from engagement and data can shape solutions that prioritise socially equitable outcomes and deliver innovative and sustainable solutions.

Greer works across policy, planning, transport, and urban design projects from large scale transport infrastructure and spatial planning through to masterplanning and placemaking projects across Australaisia.

Recently, she has been at the forefront of the thinking that has shaped the Aotearoa Play System – Led by Sport New Zealand. This work is paving the way to bring to life more playful, child-friendly cities, one neighbourhood at a time.