Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Whatua, Ngāti Porou, Te Whanau A Apanui, Ngāti Hine.

Rawson leads and advocates for several large Māori business initiatives in farming, forestry, and economic development. He has collaborated on indigenous research in South America and enjoys the relationships with our whanaunga in Canada, USA, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Australia, and the Pacific. His expertise lies in farming, forestry, carbon trading, housing, and IT. He has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from University of Auckland and NZ TCB in Dairy Farming.

Te Arawa, Tainui and Ngāti Porou.

Te Taru has more than 30 years’ experience in a wide range of professions ranging from scientific research to change management, human resource management, indigenous tribal development, facilitation of government consultation processes and provision of key policy advice. He has held leadership positions at National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, the New Zealand Māori, Arts and Crafts Institute and Te Puia.

Rārua/Te Ati Awa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Ātiawa, Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Kahungunu/Ngāti Kere, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Rārua, Rangitāne, Ngāti Kuia. M.Ed (Distinction) B.A. Public Policy

Tainui, Tūwharetoa, Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu.

Dr Joseph completed his Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees at Waikato and was admitted to the Bar in 1998. He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and was a senior research fellow for the Te Mātāhauariki Research Institute at the University of Waikato under the leadership of Judge Michael Brown and Dr Alex Frame. Dr Joseph completed a PhD in Law in 2006.

(Tūhoe, Whakatōhea) BA LLB AGNZ is principal of Te Whenua Law and Consulting, assisting organisations to realise a commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and enhance responsiveness to Māori.

Tania is a graduate of Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Māori Resource Management and Bachelor of Laws majoring in commercial and international law.

She is also a chartered associate member of Governance New Zealand and a committee member, Governance New Zealand Women on Boards. In addition, Tania is a member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Rivers Advisory Committee and a Local Government Development Contributions Commissioner.

Tania is interested in Māori social and economic advancement through sustainable commercial development, strategic relationship building and international trade. She is a former board member Global Focus, current lead Māori advisor to the Asia New Zealand Foundation and current legal counsel to the Federation of New Zealand Multicultural Councils. She is an inaugural alumnus of INDIGI-X, an international indigenous to indigenous trade exchange programme, and is currently contributing to an INDIGI-X report funded by the Indigenous Affairs Canada which aims to enhance Canadian First Nations fisheries trade to Asia modelled upon successful Māori fisheries enterprises.

As the mokopuna of Claude Edwards (Te Whakatōhea) and Waipiro Ihe (Ngāi Tūhoe) Tania recognises that international exploration, strategic relationship-building and trade are key tenets of Māori culture and is proud to work in this area as sustainable commercial development and global expansion are and have always been in accordance with our tikanga.

Ngāti Awa ki Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manaia ki Ngāpuhi, Uri o Pou ki Ngāpuhi.

John holds multiple chairman and executive roles focusing on research and development for whānau, hapū, and iwi trusts and charitable organisations. John is also a Policy Advisor for the Māori interest within Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Victor has held governance and executive roles across numerous sectors, including Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for Ngāti Porou Forest Limited, Director of Awanui-Moana Limited Partnership, Independent Director of Ngāti Pahauwera Commercial Development Limited and Trustee of the Mānuka Charitable Trust. He has also been the National Operations Manager of ApiMed Medical Honey Limited, the General Manager of Ngāti Porou Miere Limited Partnership, CEO of Te Aupouri Iwi and Group CEO of Te Kaahui o Rauru.

Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa.

Naomi is passionate about Māori development and advancement, so it’s no surprise that her career has seen her in various leadership roles within the public and private sector dedicated to improving better outcomes for Māori.
Having a strong focus on improving equitable access to STEM education and employment, in 2016 Naomi founded the Pūhoro STEM Academy (Massey University-led science, technology, engineering and maths project) which aims to improve Māori leadership and capability in a world needing more scientists. The Academy is now the most comprehensive indigenous STEM academy in the world and has won both national and international awards.
She has previously worked as a social sector researcher at Kāhui Tautoko Consulting Limited and held numerous senior advisory roles across multiple government agencies. Naomi was the principal investigator within numerous local and nationwide research projects including Youth Guarantee, Whānau Ora provision and Māori language revitalisation. Naomi co-founded Auraki Group Limited to grow Māori STEM capability, Naomi recently launched a Data Apprenticeship programme couched within a tirohanga Māori for iwi and Māori organisations to address Māori data analytics workforce shortages.

In 2018, Naomi was a finalist in the NZ Women of Influence Awards in the Diversity category and is a finalist in the inaugural Te Hapori Matihiko Awards in the Change Maker category.

Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāpuhi.

After a 12-year career working internationally with Citibank (Vice President), CEO of Te Rūnanga o Ngāpuhi and 10 years as CEO of Māori Women’s Development Inc., Teresa continues to thrive as a Senior Executive, to put her decades of community and corporate governance experience to work for her people.

Teresa was awarded the Dame Mira Scazy Alumni Award (1999) from Auckland University, a finalist in the ‘Women of Influence Awards’ in the Not for Profit Category (2015) and Board & Management Category (2016). In June 2016, Teresa received a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to Maori and business.

Teresa is an outstanding leader and innovator that will add immense value to the kaupapa of Te Taumata.