SHIFT Profile – Claire Adams

SHIFT Consultant Profile: Claire Adams

Claire Adams grew up in Auckland, originally wanted to be a policewoman, and one day would like to be a teacher.

She spends her spare time patrolling the beach at Piha, studying Māori under full immersion, mentoring law students at AUT, and chasing down any adventure available.

How do you find the time, and the energy for everything that you do?

At SHIFT I’m able to work 4 days a week. The flexibility allows me to be engaged in all the things I love to do outside of work.

I was finding that I had all these interests outside being an in-house lawyer and I was struggling to find the time to do them, as well as be there for family and friends.

I had a friend working for SHIFT who was also studying at university, as well as practising as a yoga teacher. And the penny just dropped. I thought wow, why don’t I rewrite my week? So I approached SHIFT and got my first gig with a  major New Zealand bank.

How did you end up in law?

I am a lover of all things sport so initially studied PE and Commerce, but quickly realised a career in it wasn’t for me. So I switched to Law, and the focus on methodical thinking and attention to detail really appealed. 

I started out in Tāmaki Makaurau working in private practice for 3 years. Then I moved to London and decided to work in-house. My first job was with the Ambassador Theatre Group – the biggest live theatre company in the world. It was THE dream job, dancing between the office in the west end to press nights, to shows. 

I was working with people who had trained in New York on Broadway and that’s where I realised that in-house was my space because you get a much broader variety of backgrounds and passions. 

It really was a dream job in that the Ambassador Theatre Group sponsored me to stay beyond my 2 year working visa. I came back to New Zealand in February 2020, processed my new visa, went back with the option to stay for 5 more years, and almost the next day everyone was talking about Covid. The following week we went into lockdown and all the venues went dark. So I ended up moving back home, favouring summer and freedom over winter and lock down – although this was only temporary as Covid soon found Aotearoa.

How did your journey into te reo Māori begin?

The first trigger was when I was welcomed in a kaupapa Māori way to my first role on return to Aotearoa. I was really confronted by the fact that I had no idea what was being said and had no way to respond. 

In addition, having just learnt so much about the history of all these places overseas, I realised I had very little understanding of our own. So it started out with curiosity. I wanted to learn about the history of Aotearoa and understand the Māori world view. 

I’m now aiming for conversational fluency and would like to work in a kaupapa Māori context in a way that elevates Māori, especially wāhine Māori. It’s a space I’m super grateful to be in, and there has been so much growth and development in addition to learning the language. Nōku te whiwhi.

What’s it like working at SHIFT?

Two things that really stick out are the people, and the purpose. 

Prue and the SHIFT team are so supportive, I think the kaupapa that they drive to help people return to work, especially women with little ones, is inspiring. For me, it’s allowed me to explore and learn on the outside which of course has a feedback loop to the work I do for SHIFT. 

The people are a big one for me. Not only in SHIFT HQ, but also the whole SHIFT community. I’d say I’m at the younger, less experienced end of the spectrum and I feel like I’ve learnt so much from the other consultants – awesome wāhine toa like Maria Noon, who I was paired with as a buddy when I first started.

How did you get into Surf Lifesaving?

When I was young I was very lucky to spend summers at Hot Water Beach. My grandparents bought a place there in the 50s, and it’s where my love of the ocean really began. I could see Nippers going on during the week but was always back in the city on the weekend because I was involved in school sports. 

Fast forward to 2020, I came back from London and set out to find my people – people who were keen for adventures! So I qualified as a guard and joined Piha.

Patrol season runs from Labour Weekend through till Easter and we’re rostered around 12 days in a season, and then you can do additional days if you want to help out.

I’m currently involved in a leadership programme through Surf Life Saving NZ and really enjoy the intergenerational aspect, not only helping out the young ones but also hanging out with people who’ve been guards for 50 years!

I’ve also just been to Outward Bound on a Surf Life Saving NZ scholarship. I did the 8 day programme and it was such an amazing experience. There were 11 of us, all on scholarship through different organisations – Scouts, St. Johns, Neighbourhood Support. 

It was hugely impactful. Challenging, shocking, all the things. White water kayaking was one of the things that I loved the most. I’d never done it before and it was such a humbling experience because it’s just so hard!  I was in this little, very agile kayak and swear I was paddling to go in a straight line, but really I was just doing donuts!

Best book/podcast/show you have recently indulged in?  

I recently went to an amazing one man musical called Be Like Billy? at Te Pou Theatre in Henderson. 

The actor Rutene Spooner used to impersonate Billy T James when he was younger and it’s about his processing as to whether that was a good thing. It looks at the impact of making comedy out of stereotypes and the future for Māori in comedy and was a very thought provoking experience.

 It was really emotional hearing him talk about making a better world for his daughter. He doesn’t want her to be limited by the stereotypes that comedy can push. If you haven’t been to Te Pou before, I highly recommend you keep an eye out for a show and head along.

Favourite Restaurant or Café and any menu recommendations? 

One of my all time favourites is Forest on Dominion Road. The chef Plabita Florence is first and foremost an artist. She’s got an amazing talent at curating flavours in a dish. It’s such a playful experience, a celebration of vegetables. And I’m not typically a dessert person but it’s one of those places where you really do need to save room! I was there a month ago and one of the desserts was a gingerbread pudding with a blue cheese ice cream – it’s just wild.

And I’d be remiss not to mention the surf club at Piha. It has a restaurant upstairs and they serve food and there’s a bar. At sunset on a gorgeous day, sitting out there is a pretty top place to be.

How do you unwind, or actively relax?!

I do really enjoy living at a high pace, I like momentum. And it’s very cup filling! But one of the things I do try to focus on, especially in the last couple of years, is recovery from all the things in the “delivery space”. 

I’m fortunate to have a real passion for the outdoors so in a couple of weeks I’m off to kayak school in Murchison. Hopefully no more donuts for me!