Jim Ebenhoh, Planning and Policy Manager at Waikato District Council, has 25 years of planning experience in New Zealand and overseas, across local and central government as well as private sector consulting. He moved to New Zealand in 1995 and has worked for 20 years in NZ local government (Dunedin City, Wellington City, Kapiti Coast District, Westland District, and Waikato District Councils), in addition to having worked in the policy team at Housing New Zealand and as a planning consultant for ECONorthwest in Portland, Oregon. Jim has a BA in Social Studies and a Master’s in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard University, as well as a Diploma for Graduates from the University of Otago.
Jim has been a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute since 2006, and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and American Planning Association (APA) since 2002. He spent several years on the NZPI Wellington Branch Committee, where he helped organise the 2011 national conference, and more recently has been on the Waikato Branch Committee, where he is helping to organise the 2024 national conference. He has attended two APA conferences (Seattle and San Francisco) to keep an international perspective on planning. He is also a member of Taituarā – Local Government Professionals Aotearoa.
Jim hopes to bring to the Board a unique perspective gained from his mix of US and NZ education and experience, across a wide range of planning topics, locations, roles and legislative frameworks. With increasing uncertainty on the horizon, he believes his innovative and adaptable approach will help the Board accomplish its various aims. His focus would include ensuring strong advocacy for the planning sector and for good planning outcomes, and strengthened inclusivity, communication and collaboration within the wider planning field.
With his extensive local government senior management experience, Jim has a good understanding of governance principles and procedures, which he believes would make him an effective member of NZPI’s governance board. The diversity of his work across urban, suburban, town and rural planning environments means he understands the varied needs of the NZ planning sector, including the Central North Island area which he seeks to represent.
Outside of his passion for planning, Jim has two school-age daughters, loves cycling and train rides, and enjoys spinning vinyl – especially from NZ’s Flying Nun label that he first encountered as a Harvard radio DJ in the early 1990s.
