Sarah Stuart-Black


Sarah Stuart-Black is a New Zealand government official in emergency management. In 2014 she was appointed New Zealand's Director of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. In 2020 she is leading the Civil Defence response to the coronavirus disease in New Zealand.

Biography

Stuart-Black originally trained as a nurse, completing her qualification in 1993. She then worked in New Zealand and England as a nurse. In 1997 she returned to university and completed a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in disaster management. She was a member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team for nine years and has worked in Ethiopia, Niue and the Solomon Islands.
Stuart-Black joined the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency Te Rākau Whakamarumaru in 2003, and in December 2014 she was appointed director of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. She led the Civil Defence response to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, the 2017 Port Hills fires, the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks and Whakaari / White Island eruption.

Publications