Students and Collaborators
Emma Steel
Kia ora, my name is Emma and I am currently working towards my PhD in Psychology at The University of Canterbury. My research interests are centred around improving employee mental health and wellbeing. My PhD research investigates the individual and job-related factors that influence stakeholders’ ability and willingness to manage workplace psychosocial risks. My current focus is on the role Health and Safety Inspectors play in this area, and the barriers and enablers that influence their engagement with organisations regarding psychosocial risk management. I am currently also working part-time as a Research and Evaluation Analyst at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Outside of work, I enjoy spending my time connecting with friends, and with my husband and our 1-year-old daughter.
Phoenix (Mohammad) Soleymani Ashtiani
I am a Master’s student in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of Canterbury. My research investigates how leadership and cultural adaptation (acculturation) influence psychological safety for migrant employees in the workplace.
Originally trained as an engineer, I completed a PhD in Structural Engineering at UC and worked as a Chartered Professional Engineer. During a period of mental health distress in 2017, I underwent a transformation that redirected my career towards coaching, wellbeing, and psychology.
In 2020, I established my own life-coaching practice in Christchurch. Through online platforms, I have supported clients across Aotearoa and internationally. Alongside coaching, I have also worked in New Zealand’s mental health sector, assisting individuals from diverse and underserved backgrounds (including migrant communities) through both one-to-one and group work.
I am an ICF-accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC), a Whole-Person Certified Coach, a Trauma-Informed Certified Coach, and a trained Peer Support Specialist. My coaching style is holistic and draws on coaching psychology, Motivational Interviewing, and Intentional Peer Support.
With lived experience of migration and mental health recovery, I am passionate about fostering psychological safety, inclusion, and meaningful change. I strive to support individuals to find their purpose, set goals, and pursue growth with confidence and compassion.
Outside work and research, I enjoy philosophical conversations, connecting with nature, travelling with my partner, and staying active in whatever way I can.
Susan Rowe
I am a current Psychology PhD student at the University of Canterbury with 27 years of practical experience in commercial litigation, employment, and health & safety law. My doctoral research explores how legal employers identify, evaluate, and implement psychosocial risk management strategies.
Before embarking on doctoral studies, I practiced law for nearly three decades. I led Buddle Findlay’s Christchurch Employment and Health & Safety team for ten years, advising clients across both private and public sectors where I appeared as counsel in various Courts and Tribunals. In recognition of my expertise, I was ranked as a Notable Practitioner in dispute resolution and employment law by Asia Law and Legal 500. My background also includes quasi-judicial and governance roles, including membership of the Film and Literature Board of Review (hearing appeals to classifications by Te Mana Whakaatu, the Classification Office) and convening a New Zealand Law Society’s General Standards Committee, adjudicating conduct and costs complaints about legal practitioners.
My multidisciplinary background spanning litigation, governance, and regulation informs my current research. My goal is to translate practitioner insights into science-backed interventions that advance psychosocial risk management in professional services firms.
Outside of my research, you will find me in a yoga studio, in my garden, watching movies or hanging out with my two children and dogs.
Centre for Good Work
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha