Te Hikutū, Ngāti Pākau and Ngāti Korokoro; Te Kapotai, Te Uri-o-Rata and Ngāti Paeahi; Ngāti Rora; Ngāti Whēru; Ngāti Te Taonui.

Rawiri is an independent writer, researcher and advisor on Māori, Indigenous and Inter-cultural human rights. He was New Zealand’s first Professor of Indigenous Studies. Rawiri is a well-known political writer who has written over 400 newspaper and magazine articles and book chapters, winning seven writing awards.

Dr Taonui has presented at the UN Experts Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He is a member of the Tribunal to Investigate Claims of Genocide in El Salvador.

Ngāti Porou / Ngāti Kahungunu / Ngāpuhi

Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi was one of the cornerstones of the Kōhanga Reo movement as a means to revitalize the Māori language.

Picking up on the playcentre philosophy of community ownership and management, Dame Tawhiwhirangi helped create a whānau development model that is not only underpinned by cultural and administrative sovereignty, but has also created new opportunities in education and employment for Māori women, and whānau involvement.

Internationally, the Kōhanga Reo model is now the established benchmark for the regeneration of indigenous languages.

Ngāti Kuri / Ngāti Porou / Te Aitanga a Hauiti

Board member Dr Margaret Merimeri Taurere was previously a lecturer at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and is presently a teacher/counsellor at Te Kura Taumata o Panguru.

Margaret has enjoyed a long career in education, teaching at both primary and secondary school levels and working in Māori student recruitment and retention and for the Equity Office at the University of Auckland.

She has a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in counselling. During her career, she has developed an interest in support for Māori students in secondary and tertiary education, as well as support for Māori staff in education.

Margaret helped establish the Tertiary Education Māori Liaison Network and has worked with Māori liaison colleagues to create collaborative models for Māori student recruitment. Margaret has held national positions with the Tertiary Education Union and the Tertiary Education Commission, representing Māori interests.

Whakatōhea / Te Arawa

Kelly is a dynamic teacher and leader who excels in supporting his students to achieve their potential. He has a very diverse range of students on his programmes and goes out of his way to build a whānau ethos within each class. Every student is valued for the contribution they make. He acknowledges his own role models as he has developed as a teacher and works hard to be a role model himself.

Kelly was the recipient of an Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching at the 2010 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. 

Ngāti Kahungunu / Tainui / Ngāpuhi

Ivy Harper has a demonstrated history of working in the education and environmental management arena, and has a keen interest in gender issues and human rights - particularly the rights of indigenous peoples.

Skilled in non-profit organisations, with strong research and analytical skills, Ivy completed an internship at Columbia University. There she studied indigenous rights and the rights of First Nations people whilst working with diplomats at the United Nations for the duration of her studies.

Ivy was able to bring these learnings back to Aotearoa where she continues to support Māori in the pursuit of their rights and interests.

Ngāpuhi

Lee represents Te Tira Whakahaere of Te Toi Tauira mō Te Matariki on the Rūnanga where he’s been a member since 2015 and Deputy Chair from 2018. He has been on Te Manu Mātauranga organising kōmiti since the 2010 inaugural Tuia Te Ako conference and chaired from 2011.

He has almost 20 years’ experience in academic and educational administration from the compulsory education sector to tertiary. Lee previously managed the Equity fund for Māori and Pasifika students at Auckland University and is presently Te Pou Tuarā for TEU Te Hautū Kahurangi.

Lee is passionate about working with Māori and Pākehā to develop and advance the Tiriti relationship, and is concerned with social justice and equity for all.

Ngāti Porou / Ngāti Kahungunu

Teina Mataira has twenty years’ experience in tertiary education in the ITP (polytechnic) sector, having held roles in foundation education, teaching, lecturing, student support and education management at AUT, MIT and EIT (Tairawhiti). He is the currently Pouārahi - Director Maori and Pasifika Education, UCOL.

Teina is a member of the World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) and is also studying towards a Masters of Māori-Pasifika Development at the University of Waikato. 

Ngāti Porou

Karyn has 20 years’ experience in tertiary education as a lecturer in Te Tumu – School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago, where she teaches primarily in the areas of Māori language, culture and performing arts. She was the recipient of an Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching in a Kaupapa Māori context and was also subsequently awarded the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence at the 2014 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. 

Karyn is committed to the advancement of Māori knowledge and student success. She is a co-director of an Otago Research Theme, Poutama Ara Rau, alongside Professor Jacinta Ruru and Professor Suzanne Pitama, the aim of which is to research how Māori knowledge and teaching and learning pedagogies can transform tertiary teaching.

Ngāti Pikiao / Ngāti Whakaue / Ngāti Awa

Mamaeroa is currently the Tumuaki Takirua o Te Mana Ākonga (Co-President of the National Maori Tertiary Students' Association 2019-2020) after holding the title of Tumuaki of Ngā Tauira Māori (Co-President of The University of Auckland Māori Tertiary Students' Association 2018).

When she's not busy with Māori student politics, Mamaeroa is a Kia Piki te Ora Coordinator for Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao focused on improving the health of her iwi.