Maria Burnett

Maria Burnett joined the PLF in 2024 after winning the Parks Leaders Forum Young Leaders Scholarship. Maria began her career working in as a private planning consultant in Queenstown. Her personal interest in parks, open spaces and recreation drew her into the Parks Industry.  

She is the current Open Spaces Planner at Central Otago District Council. In this role, she is responsible for producing Central Otago District Council’s first Open Spaces and Recreation Strategy and first Play Strategy, as well as anything else related to planning, strategy and policy for Central Otago’s Parks and Recreation Team.  She also sits on the Generate Network Steering Group and the Recreation Aotearoa Southern Committee. This year Maria is the 2024 conference lead for Generate Network. She plans to represent PLF at the Future Green City Congress in the Netherlands in September 2024.