Who are we?

We’re passionate about making sure people know and understand their risks to natural hazards.

Kia ora. I’m Kate.

I’m an award-winning science communication and engagement specialist dedicated to making it easy for you to learn about natural hazards, their impacts, and how to manage them.

Why? So we can stay safe and look after each other during a disaster.

I’m a highly skilled science communicator and facilitator who makes complex science simple and communicates uncertainty clearly. I pride myself on my ability to target diverse audiences, in creative and innovative ways.

I’m passionate about science and have been privileged to work with leading New Zealand and international scientists, on a wide range of physical and social science research projects.

Kate Boersen

Illuminate Science

Our Vision

For a world where people understand and reduce their risks to natural hazards and know how to stay safe and look after each other in a disaster.

Our Mission

To make it easy to learn about natural hazards, their impacts, and how to manage them, using only the latest science.

Our Values

Innovation

We constantly look for creative and engaging ways to share science without losing its rigour.

Collaboration

We work in partnership because we know the benefits of working with others are immeasurable.

Passion

We are driven by our passion for ensuring science and research creates a positive impact.

Fun

We work best when we’re having fun, so we make it a part of everything we do.

What others have said

"Kate is an excellent science communicator who makes scientific topics accessible, fun and appealing. She has a national reputation as a recognised science communicator, particularly in geosciences. I’ve always found Kate to be professional in her approach, keeping everyone updated on project work, and delivering on time. She is also diligent about collecting information for research projects and presenting it in innovative and informative ways."

Lisa Pearse
"Kate was a pleasure to work with and extremely knowledgeable. She brought great ideas to our community engagement project and took the time to discuss technical information with whānau. She was also very responsive and easy to work with."

Pip Mckay
"Every time we have collaborated and contributed, it has been an absolute joy and privilege. Your professionalism, organisation, passion and general awesomeness always shone through in all settings and contexts. We also all really valued how you put the community at the heart of everything – which is often promised but rarely effectively achieved. I also want to acknowledge and compliment your leadership, vision and industry."

Prof Tom Wilson
"Kate was great to work with, she was objective and open-minded and was sure to check in regularly which made project management easy. When facilitating conversations she worked hard to understand where others are coming from and ensure that different viewpoints were heard. The final report was well received by the sector."

Alison Prins
"Kate has built up a huge reputation as a science communicator and was instrumental in building this [project] into a very successful project that is at the leading edge of collaborative risk reduction for a significant national hazard through multiagency and multidisciplinary communication with strong community involvement."

Ian Macdonald