Hope Simonsen

Hope has spent more than 18 years working in the housing sector. Her housing journey began with Housing New Zealand (now Kainga Ora) in 2005 when the agency received crown funding to grow the number of community housing providers and increase the community housing supply. Several organisations were established as housing providers as a result of this funding. After seven years, she began working as a property consultant in the commercial sector with The Property Group and then spent a year working for Community Housing Aotearoa. 

She leads the Emerge Aotearoa Housing Trust, which provides long term social housing for whānau and individuals from Whangarei to Invercargill and is also responsible for building and managing a growing property portfolio to provide safe, warm and dry homes.

Hope is Co-Chair of the National Science Challenge, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities | Ko ngā wā kainga hei whakamāhorahora], a Community Housing Aotearoa Council member and is a committee member of the Aotearoa branch of the Australasian Housing Institute.