Landing in New Zealand with a 20kg backpack and her Matakohe partner, the German-born and raised business student immediately took to the Kiwi lifestyle.
She was set for a career in the United Nations, she laughs, but her heart led her to Dargaville, after she studied for her business degree at Massey University. She works as a chartered accountant for Gilmore Brown and took on the forum role earlier this year.
"Dargaville is a great community, with the businesses as the backbone," she says. "It's friendly, energetic."
But people still don't talk enough there.
She says the forum was about creating conversations and facilitating changes in the business and wider community.
Resilient
The forum has kick-started a new initiative - once a month professional development breakfasts - to help inspire and motivate business people in the district.
"We are working with the Kauri Coast Promotion Society towards providing new signs for the town."
She says the general consensus in Dargaville is that the townfolk can do it for themselves.
They pretty much have to, she says, as Kaipara District Council has left businesses feeling "neglected".
The funding and focus of central government was mostly on Whangarei and the Bay of Islands.
"There is zero budget from the economic arm of the Council [Northland Inc] for Dargaville."
But this neglect has fostered self-efficacy.
"We just do it ourselves. People just get on with it here. There's a resilience in Dargaville and it's something positive that has come from the situation with KDC."
The forum was also filling the vacuum that KDC had left.
One of the key areas of focus for 2016 involved the integration of young people into the business community.
"We will have mentoring systems, as members of the business community hold tremendous knowledge and skills," Maw says.
The project is also going to involve schools in Dargaville and Ruawai. We had feedback that there was a disconnect between the youth and the local businesses. We don't see enough younger people at events and so, we want to engage with them more."
Fresh start
With the looming local body elections in 2016, communities in Kaipara were also talking about what they want in the form of a fresh start.
"We are asking ourselves, 'what kind of councillors and mayor do we want?'."
Along with elections will come some conversations about infrastructure for Dargaville.
"For example, Dargaville is a rare town in that it faces away from its river.
"Yes, it's a brown river but it's an underutilised area. We need to ask 'how do we turn to face our river?'," Maw says.
She and Peter Boyd, chairman of the Dargaville Business Forum, are also members of the newly created Dargaville Community Development Board. The board sits between the business forum and KDC.
Next week, the board and forum will focus on the CBD. From 7am to 7pm on Thursday, December 17, Dargaville's Victoria St will become pedestrianised as the Riverside Markets move up on to the street with around 20 stallholders and the local shops participating in an event that would help Kaipara residents imagine a more vibrant town centre.
"It will show people the potential we have," she says.
