Sarah Ann "Norm" Stuart-Black (née Norman; born 1972) is a New Zealand official, prominent in the fields of

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

relief. On 7 December 2020, Stuart-Black took up the role of

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the New Zealand Red Cross.

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 2016 Kaikōura earthquake was a 7.8 earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 Time in New Zealand, NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). earthquake rupture, Ruptures occurred on ...

, the 2017 Port Hills fires, the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks and Whakaari / White Island eruption, and the 2020 response to the coronavirus disease in New Zealand. Sarah Stuart-Black QSO investiture

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Stuart-Black was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

, for services to emergency management.

Origins of "Norm"

Stuart-Black is widely known as "Norm", including by the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...

. In an introductory video to members of the New Zealand Red Cross shortly after taking up the post of Secretary General, Stuart-Black attributes the nickname "Norm" as an enduring professional moniker to her having started working at the Ministry of Civil Defence and being sat next to another Sarah. "After 10 minutes," Stuart-Black said, they decided that the confusion was "never going to work" and she took to being referred to as "Norm", a nickname derived from her maiden name.

Publications

* Norman, S., & Talib, A. (2005). ''Improving child survival in Ethiopia: Needs assessment for the Ethiopian health care system''. Cambridge, Mass: John F. Kennedy School of Government. *Stuart-Black, J., Coles, E., Norman, S.; Disaster research and the social sciences: lessons learned and future trajectories. (1 January 2005). Bridging the divide from theory to practice. ''International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters.'' *Stuart-Black, S., Stuart-Black, J., Coles, E., & Health Protection Agency (Great Britain). (2008). ''Health emergency planning: A handbook for practitioners''. London: TSO.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart-Black, Sarah 1972 births Living people New Zealand nurses Emergency management in New Zealand New Zealand public servants New Zealand women public servants 21st-century New Zealand public servants Companions of the Queen's Service Order