For 25 years, Mrs Petrie has worked as an employment specialist in the disability sector, placing hundreds of people with disabilities into paying jobs.
It is believed she is the country’s longest currently serving employment specialist working in the supported employment field.
While it was "kind of scary" to think her entire adult working life had been spent in one job, it was a job she loved, she said.
She particularly enjoyed building relationships with people while learning their skills and abilities in order to find the perfect job.
It was rewarding for both parties — "to be able to see their excitement [the employee] is really cool. The change it can make to people’s lives," she said.
One example was a person who came off the benefit, was now married with children and owned their own home.
Mrs Petrie originally started as a volunteer at Sherwood Centre; at that stage, it supported people to find jobs without having a contract.
She had been there for a few months when the centre got funding and she got employed. Sherwood and Community Care Trust merged eight years ago.
CCT became a registered charitable trust in 1995 and, with nearly 400 employees, it is the biggest employer in South Dunedin.
Not many people knew it was there, which was quite intentional but, the market was getting more competitive now, people had more choices, and it was having to market itself.
"We want employers to know we’re here," community and employment service manager Simon McCosh said.
Not only did it change people’s lives, but it was about that bigger societal change of how workplaces were capable of employing people with disabilities, Mr McCosh said.
Part of Mrs Petrie’s role was selling the benefits of employing a person with disabilities to employers. That included having a very dedicated employee who would usually adhere to every rule, health and safety policy and order.
CCT provided support to ensure they had enough training and support was ongoing. That support was also on-job so, if they were in a night shift role, then staff readjusted their timetable to accommodate that.
Mr McCosh said if a business celebrated inclusion and diversity, then it added to the culture of a workplace.
"All people get up in the morning and go to work knowing they’re helping someone out, and there are some cost-benefits to the employer as well," he said.
Some potential staff had "real gifts" and it was a talent pool that many employers were missing out on. "There’s a lot of talent sitting on couches."
While unemployment was at an all-time low, statistics for unemployment for those with disabilities had not moved for decades, he said.
Some people were now seeing the benefit of neurodiversity; it just required being more open, curious and "kindness is a big part" and they would get it back in productivity, loyalty and, often, creativity and innovation.
Mrs Petrie said her role did require resilience, as many employers did say no. She preferred those that did not make excuses, saying it was better to say "no thanks".
Living and breathing her job, she saw opportunities or potential for jobs "everywhere" she went, not just at work.
Mr McCosh said her dedication "goes beyond" and she was a strong advocate for people with disabilities, sometimes also helping them and their families navigating various challenges.
Sometimes those walking through the door at CCT wanted to gain more experience about being in a workplace but they did not know what they wanted to do and had no experience to base it on.
So they got an opportunity to try a variety of tasks, from cleaning and car grooming, to reception work, delivering online food deliveries, and property maintenance.
By the time they did that, the likes of Mrs Petrie had learned about their motivation, what support they might need in the workplace and built a picture of what might fit them best.
