Dr Joe Te Rito is of Ngāti Hinemanu descent from Ōmāhu out of Hastings. The community was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle which flooded the whole community including over 100 houses, the marae, cemetery, school, and kohanga reo. Joe has actively assisted in the recovery efforts by his community since then to provide shelter for displaced families; water, food and stores to local whānau, the rural farming community and other marae; plan for future housing; gather up kōiwi from the cemetery and an ancient burial site unearthed by the flood; recover old carvings from an old pātaka; and revive local Māori history that had been forgotten. He was former head of Māori Studies at EIT (17 years), worked at Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (11 years), currently works for Ako Aotearoa (7 years); and is the original and current head of Radio Kahungunu (35 years).
Kahu is the Manager Research at Te Rau Matatini. Kahu has worked in the health and disability sector for over 20 years, with a special focus on Māori health research and child and adolescent mental health.
Kahu holds a Dip Nursing (Psychiatric), Higher Dip Teaching, B Ed, M Phil (Māori), D Phil (Psychiatry). She was a Member of the Māori Health Committee, New Zealand Health Research Council from 2008 to 2014, and Chair of Ngā Kanohi Kitea Community Research Committee, New Zealand Health Research Council during that term, She is the lead for Te Rā o Te Waka Hourua
Karyn's research interests are in a number of areas that intersect at various points. These are: sociological issues surrounding Māori urbanisation and Māori identity development and maintenance; Māori performing arts, particularly poi, the analysis of haka and waiata compositions and the role kapa haka plays in identity; grammatical aspects of the Māori language and second language acquisition; Māori language and Māori performing arts teaching methodologies.
Katharina is a Senior Research Analyst and Researcher at the University of Otago. She uses a kaupapa Māori framework to focus on the translation of policy into practice for Māori. Her research is broad-ranging and includes Māori small and medium enterprises, Māori business innovation, Māori language, and Māori ‘social licence’ in the oil, gas and mining industries.
Dr Kepa Morgan's (BE, MBA, PhD, CPEng, FIPENZ ) bi-cultural background is rooted in his cultural identity as Ngāti Pikiao of Te Arawa. During his engineering career Kepa has strengthened his understanding of Pikiaoanga while also striving for excellence both professionally and academically. As an indirect result of this combination of identity, interests and expertise, Kepa has found himself at the juncture between Māori aspirations and the engineering profession on many occasions.
Dr Keri Wikitera is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Hospitality and Tourism. Her Māori tribal affiliation is Tūhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue of Te Arawa. Keri's personal and academic interests are specifically positioned within promoting and enhancing indigenous tourism development, intercultural exchange, Māori cultural identity, Māori economic development and management studies.
Kiri is a lecturer in property in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Auckland. Her teaching focuses on Māori land issues and Māori entrepreneurship and business development. Kiri’s research and areas of expertise focuses on competitive Māori strategy, Māori economics and Māori business.
Lily gained her doctorate in social anthropology from Massey University in 2010, with research on Awataha Marae in Northcote, Auckland. The research explored innovation of Māori tradition through three periods of cultural renaissance.
Lisa Te Morenga is a Research Fellow in the Department of Human Nutrition and is affiliated with the Riddet Institute – a National Centre of Research Excellence in food science and nutrition. Lisa works closely with Professor Jim Mann and collaborates with researchers associated with the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes and Obesity Research at the University of Otago Medical School. Her PhD was on “the effects of macronutrient composition on risk of diabetes” in 2010, both at the University of Otago.
Dr Lynne Russell works as a Senior Research Fellow - Maori Health with the Health Services Research Centre (HSRC) at Victoria University of Wellington. Much of her professional and academic work has centred around the Indigenous knowledge and healing practices used in recovery from trauma associated with mental distress, suicide loss and self-harm. She describes herself as an writer, activist and public speaker stirred by cultural resilience, social justice, Indigenous and LGBTI rights, and the amplification of voices more readily silenced in society.
