Te Whānau a Āpanui

Willie Te Aho is from Raukokore in Te Whanau a Apanui where he lives. He is married to associate Professor Linda Te Aho of Ngati Koroki Kahukura and they have two sons and a mokopuna of 10 months – the new centre of his universe! Willie holds a BA, LLB and MBA. He worked on housing developments within Maori Affairs in the late 1980s and has established a number of papakaenga developments from the Waikato to the Bay of Plenty. Willie was the inaugural Managing Director for Toitu Tairawhiti Housing Limited ($73m) until May 2022 when Annette Wehi who started with him succeeded him. Willie is Annette’s Strategic Adviser through to June 2023.

Tony’s research interests are broadly focused on a number of areas in the teaching and learning of mathematics in the medium of Maori.

This includes researching the complex relationship between te reo Maori and mathematics, particularly the development of the mathematics register and the teaching and learning of the register.

His research also focuses on student achievement in Maori medium mathematics and the factors that support and impinge on student progress.

Erica (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Te Whānau ā Apanui) started at NIWA in 1995. After completing a MSc (University of Waikato) developing a blue mussel embryo-larval toxicity test, she spent a number of years in the NIWA freshwater fisheries team. Here she gained skills in fish population studies, the downstream migration adult eels and fish passage through culverts.

Her PhD (University of Auckland) investigated the effects of a group of contaminants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on shellfish. She is currently working on a wide range of projects spanning both the marine and freshwater environments within the National Centre of Māori Environmental Research.