Joy Ratima

She has 20 years experience in administration, previously working as Office Manager and EA at Robert Walters in Melbourne. She moved back to Aotearoa late in 2021 to immerse her whānau in culture and enable her tamariki to attend school in Aotearoa as well as being able to spend more time with family. Joy has 5 children and is currently studying Te Reo part time. 

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joyaratima@gmail.com

Grant Berghan

Grant is from the Tai Tokerau region with links to Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai and Te Rarawa iwi.

He has extensive experience working in Māori development and the public health sector. Along with Tania Hodges, of Digital Indigenous.com, he is a co-facilitator of Māori leadership programmes throughout New Zealand.

He was recently the public health lead for Te Aka Whai Ora after spending two years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Health Association of New Zealand. Prior to that, Grant spent four years working in regional economic development, firstly with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), and then with the Provincial Development Unit, (MBIE) administering the Provincial Growth Fund in Northland.

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Grant has extensive senior management experience. He has experience in policy development and implementation, funding, advocacy, facilitation and evaluation. He is a life member of STIR: Stop Institutional Racism and a previous recipient of the PHANZ Public Health Champion Award.

Leah Waipuka-Bain

Ko Ngāti Kahungunu mē Rangitāne, ki Wairarapa ōku iwi, Ngai Tūmapūhia-ā-Rangi te hapū.

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Leah's experience in the education sector spans two decades in both English and Māori immersion contexts specialising in health, physical education, and Te Reo. She has led iwi operations in the treaty settlement process. She is a proud wāhine leader of her whānau and hapū continuing the mahi of her tipuna for most of her life at grass roots. Leah is also a policy specialist who advises and integrates Te Ao Māori, Matauranga Māori, Te Tiriti, and Te Reo into policy across both the NGO and public sectors. Her other skills are within Māori Strategic Communications.

Currently Leah leads policy supporting the aspirations of the Mana Wāhine claims.  She also has worked as a principal advisor to Te Aka Whaiora secretariat and governance in the lead up to establishment. Leah was the Acting CE of the Public Health Association, before representing the PHA Māori Caucus on executive board. She is the Director of Kōpū Consulting Ltd, and an executive member of STIR. Leah is currently completing her Masters in Education (Te Reo Māori Medium) at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. 

Leah is a supporter of constitutional change, stopping racism in all its forms, social justice, and decolonisation through both high level and flax roots advocacy. She enjoys a range of leisure pursuits particularly around the sea, mountains, native forests and birds of Aotearoa.

Wiremu Woodard

Wiremu Woodard is an Indigenous therapist, father of four, activist, environmentalist, sometimes contemporary dancer and artist. Wiremu is committed to reducing health disparities for Māori and promoting social justice.

He currently works in community practice at KERERU and in a previous life taught Psychotherapy & Counselling programmes at Auckland University of Technology. Wiremu is a founding member of Waka Oranga - a group of dynamic Indigenous Māori practitioners committed to emancipatory freedom.

Tracy Karanui-Golf

Tracy Karanui-Golf, a wāhine Māori with Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kuri heritage, is a dedicated professional deeply committed to tangata Māori, the field of speech-language therapy, and advancing Te Tiriti alignment across various domains, including health, justice, and higher education settings. In her role as a Speech-Language Therapist, she empowers whānau by helping them understand their communication profiles, actively promoting equity in communication access. Her dedication to promoting equitable communication extends to the legal realm, where she serves as a Court Appointed Communication Assistant, ensuring that communication aligns with Te Tiriti within justice spaces. Tracy's commitment to equity is further exemplified in her role as Kaiākiaki Māori (Māori advisor) at Massey University's Speech-Language Therapy Program, where she advocates for diversity and cultural competence among future therapists. With a strong academic foundation, including a Postgraduate Diploma in Bicultural Supervision, she continues her exploration of Māori Law and Philosophy through her master's program at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Tracy's commitment to equity and her substantial contributions to culturally responsive speech-language therapy have earned her recognition, including the distinction of receiving the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapy Association's inaugural Cultural Award for Rangatiratanga, solidifying her status as a transformative figure in her field.

Erina Korohina

Ki te taha o tōku matua

Ko Maungakeke te maunga

Ko Orutua te awa

Ko Horouta te waka

Ko Ngāti Porou te Iwi

Ki te taha o tōku whaea

Ko Llantrisant te maunga

Ko Ely, ko Clyde, ko Bann ngā awa

Ko Phillip Laing, ko Pleiades ngā waka

Ko Wīwī, ko Wīra, ko Kotemana, ko Irihi ngā iwi

Ko Erina Korohina tōku ingoa.

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Erina has been working as a public health practitioner since graduating from a BSc in Human Nutrition in 2006. Nine of those years were spent living and working in Tai Tokerau supporting the workforce development of the Māori nutrition and physical activity kaimahi and working on grassroots community development programmes.

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In 2018 and again in 2020 she was  awarded the Heart Foundation Māori Cardiovascular Fellowship.

In 2021, she was asked onto a leadership team to design an integrated programme of work to support heart health outcomes for Māori. She is now the principle investigator for this programme titled Te Ara Poutama | Kaupapa Māori heart health research co- funded by Pūtahi Manawa –  Centre for Research Excellence and the Heart Foundation.

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In her down time she heads down Tairāwhiti to connect with whānau and whenua. She enjoys learning about sustainable living practices and systems such as maramataka so she can support her whānau to redevelop their papakāinga.