He Pito Mata Emerging Leaders

She supports those who suffer from mental health issues and drug use, helping them to reconnect with themselves, their whānau, culture, and society.

Carleen Heemi plays a pivotal role in her community as a Speech and Language Therapist, advocate for normalising Te Reo Māori and seeing all those around her reach their full potential. 

Isaac's background lies in exercise physiology and the role of physical activity in improving Māori health and reducing health inequities.

Kelly is committed to enhancing the well-being of her community, using her knowledge and experience to support and empower individuals and whānau.

As an aspiring Māori health practitioner, she is on the path to becoming a  future Māori health leader.

Charlizza Matehe utilises her creative and artistic abilities to facilitate challenging conversations around mental health with young people.

As an aspiring Māori Health practitioner, she is on the path to becoming a future Māori health leader.

Grace Tairua is a wife and mother of four girls who is currently in her second year at Wintec studying for a Bachelor of Nursing.

Raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, during high school, she became aware of the social categorisation between Māori and non-Māori in Aotearoa and the health disparities among different ethnic groups.

Māmā of two girls, working full time and always focused on equity and better outcomes for our people.

He is passionate about using traditional Māori forms of exercise and healing in his mentoring and training roles.

Having personally experienced severe addiction and depression, anxiety, homelessness, incarceration, and Chris is now dedicated to supporting others struggling with drug and alcohol dependency an addictions practitioner and creative therapy consultant.

Maraea Mokaraka is passionate about whānau transformation and building healthy communities.

Dr Te Aro Moxon is a paediatrician who works to improve cultural safety, cultural competency, and understanding of Te Reo Māori in the health sector.

He strongly advocates for whānau to join health interventions and community programs focusing on better whānau outcomes.

Simone embraces this change as an opportunity to align her future career with her core values of equity, rangatiratanga, and service.

Cyrus Rudd is a promising young individual who is deeply committed to using his knowledge and experiences to inspire and uplift others, especially those with lived experiences of mental distress.

Tapeka's passion for advancing Māori oral health is palpable and deeply rooted in a profound understanding of the significance of oral health within Māori culture.

Tia Haira is a biomedical scientist specialising in chemical genetics, immunology, and biobanks within mātauranga Māori and western science systems.

DClinPsy, MSc Psychology

Emerald Muriwai is a Clinical Psychologist with a background in kaupapa Māori research, public health, indigenous psychology and sport psychology.

He recognises his purpose and passion in life is to share, collaborate and advance the self-determined health aspirations of Māori and Pacific peoples.

Sam is committed to advancing equitable health and education outcomes for Māori students and their whānau. 

She is dedicated to advancing Māori health services and instilling a Māori perspective and presence into the academic and clinical side of the hōhipera.

Mataku-Ariki de Roo is passionate about creating kaupapa Māori spaces for people to share their experiences of mental health and suicide prevention and postvention.

Rutu King-Hazel is an aspiring mental health advocate and catalyst for positive change. She is passionate about public speaking, empowering others, and demonstrating compassionate leadership to support the well-being of whānau.

Gloria Sheridan, first and foremost, is a Māori wāhine, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, and mokopuna with strong connections to Te Tairāwhiti. She is passionate about advocating equity and choice for Māori to counter the ideologies of the current Western medical system

Danielle works with key stakeholders to create opportunities for Māori with lived experience to initiate and lead change at local, regional, and national levels.

From a young age, Chloe Fergusson-Tibble aspired to become a doctor. Throughout her studies, she maintains a steadfast commitment to incorporating Māori healthcare approaches by staying connected to her whakapapa.

Dr. Carrie Clifford is passionate about cultural and intergenerational well-being practices and their potential contributions to overall hauora.

Growing up with Te Reo as her first language and through kōhanga reo and kura Kaupapa, Aroha believes health interventions are already within pūrākau and traditional Māori practices.

Becoming a doctor has always been Boudine's dream, and the chance to give back to her community drives her. Her journey has been made possible through the support of her whānau and generous scholarships.

Awhina Murupaenga, a mother of two, serves as the director of Whatu Creative. Through the traditional Māori art of tukutuku, she shares whakapapa, history, innovation, healing, and storytelling with communities. She's equally passionate about empowering young Māori to set and accomplish their aspirations.

Adele Tohiariki is an aspiring Māori medical practitioner and champion for Māori representation in the health sector.

Māia Lockyer is currently a 3rd-year medical student at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, the University of Otago.

Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri works as a surgeon and researcher to improve Māori well-being and experiences in healthcare.

As an aspiring Māori health practitioner, Denver is on the path to becoming a future Māori health leader.

Adele Hauwai is a mentor and facilitator who strongly focuses on supporting and contributing to mental health, well-being, and suicide prevention work.

Shaquille Graham is passionate about the health, well-being and hauora of Māori. He works to improve Aotearoa and tangata Māori through research into the well-being issues and inequalities that communities in Aotearoa face.

Patrick Salmon is an advocate and public voice for ways to share and uphold the well-being of Māori in modern-day society. He uses his creative skills and innovative thinking to develop solutions that support the oranga aspirations of a person's life journey.

Maia Mariner founded Lazy Sneakers, a not-for-profit organisation that collects and redistributes reusable sneakers for free. Maia is just 18. She came up with this idea at 12 and has enabled tamariki to participate in sports and other activities across Pōneke and around the country with a simple pair of shoes. She became one of the country's youngest entrepreneurs.

Dr Grace Hinepua Walker is a data scientist focusing on changing Indigenous narratives by producing data for Indigenous and minority groups as well as commercialising affordable diabetes management devices.

In her work, Genevieve is committed to bridging the inequity gap between Māori and non-Māori, particularly in secondary mental health services; she would also like to see Māori whanau overrepresented in education and underrepresented in all other negative statistics.

Ben is an emerging leader in mental health and addiction services. He works at the cutting edge of health and politics to drive innovation and creativity in service commissioning to improve equity of health outcomes for Māori and improvements in the health system.

As a researcher and academic, Anna draws on Kaupapa Māori research inquiry paradigms to conduct research to support the health and well-being of wāhine, pēpi, and whānau Māori.

Aaryn Niuapu has a long history of strategically championing the voices of tāngata whai ora, whānau, and hāpori in mental health and addiction service design, delivery, and governance.