1.      First, list your current professional title. Second, describe your background, experience, and research as it relates to Quality-of-life studies. 

 I am an Associate Professor and the Deputy Head of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. Apart from this, I am also Vice-President of Finance for ISQOLS and the Economics Editor for the Journal of Happiness Studies, where I work with a team of seven associate editors. I am a member of the World Wellbeing Panel, a Research Fellow with the Global Labor Organization and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

My background is in development economics, which meant there was a natural progression in my career towards measuring quality of life and happiness since I am passionate about topics that will ultimately lead to a better standard of living for all people. My research relates to quality of life and happiness from an economist's point of view. This means I use the skills I learned while studying economics to quantify aspects of quality of life and happiness and develop models to understand how traditional economic indicators interact with subjective measures of well-being.

Since 2019, I have engaged in research to measure happiness in near real-time using Big Data and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) methodologies. The aim is to provide timely information to governmental and other public institutions regarding a country's mood so that people's needs and concerns guide policies for achieving collective outcomes and contribute to the ways we talk about and enact social well-being.

2.  What initially attracted you to the field of quality-of-life studies?

My supervisor for both my Masters and PhD, Prof Wim Naudé, greatly impacted my future research trajectory. Recognising my passion for increasing people's living standards, he introduced me to the field of measuring quality of life in 2005.

3. What are some areas of quality-of-life studies you feel are lacking attention? Any advice for future QoL researchers?

Most existing research focuses on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic) countries, with less attention given to diverse cultural contexts and non-Western perspectives. Understanding how cultural differences influence perceptions of well-being is important for developing more inclusive measures. Also, as we have learned, leveraging Big Data, social media analytics, and real-time data collection methods can provide new insights into well-being. However, these tools are still underutilised in current research, and we need more researchers applying these tools to add to the discourse surrounding the measurement of well-being. Lastly, I'm a firm believer in true transdisciplinary research. You can't go wrong with having people from multiple disciplines, such as economics, psychology, sociology, artificial intelligence, and non-academic stakeholders in your projects.

My advice to future researchers is simple. Keep going; you will make it. Keep attending the ISQOLS conferences, expand your networks, find someone you can work with, produce great research, and ultimately share your life with.

4. How long have you been a member of ISQOLS? Why did you choose to be a member of ISQOLS? How has your involvement in ISQOLS impacted your career/research/advancement in your knowledge of QoL studies?

I have been a member since 2007. The first conference I attended was at Rhodes University in South Africa. I can still remember how terrified I was... In the middle of my PhD thesis, I had to make a 'contribution' and speak in front of the greatest quality of life researchers. The reason I chose to stay a member and play a more active role is simply because during my first conference, even though I knew nothing and was scared beyond belief, everyone treated me with kindness and respect. I knew that this was where I belonged. Add to this that I had the pleasure of escorting one of the kindest men I have ever met, Prof Joe Sirgy, on his trip to Soweto and Pilansberg and I knew my fate was sealed. I will also never forget the first time I met Prof Ron Anderson. It was at the Arizona conference in 2015. Although I hid it well, I'm a natural introvert, and I was trying to hide behind a Jack Reacher novel in the hotel lobby. Prof Ron came up to me and said he was reading the same book, and we ended up having this whole conversation. I had the great honour of spending our closing dinner with Prof Ron and his wife, Nancy and I miss not seeing him at our conferences. Prof Ron is the person who inspired me to talk to conference attendees that I do not know. Ever since, I have met some great people, became part of international networks and made lasting friendships.

I can honestly say that my involvement in the society has made me the researcher I am today. I learn from and reflect on what I hear at our conferences, and this shapes how I think about quality of life and inspires me to make a real impact with my research.

 5. Feel free to include any other important comments or things you'd like to share with the ISQOLS community.

I said this at this year's Awards Ceremony too. We are very good at telling people what they need to do to have higher levels of well-being, but we are terrible at following our own advice. So many of our community members suffer from burnout because we push ourselves too hard. We work nights and weekends, not making time for family and friends, missing out on important moments in our lives and for what…. Take time away from your work, do the things that fill your tank and enjoy life.