Aroha is passionate about improving the health and lives of whānau Māori and holds a strong conviction that what is good for Māori is good for all people. Her work is focused on ensuring future health services are firmly underpinned by a kaupapa Māori approach, informed by mātauranga Māori and lived experience.
She is a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt and grandmother to a large and diverse whānau who live across Aotearoa and Australia. Spending time with mokopuna and whānau is of great value to Aroha and being a cancer survivor, she knows that there is privilege in growing old.
Therefore, working on her own health and wellbeing, so that she is “around to watch her moko grow up” is important to her. Her personal wellbeing focus has seen her take up riding horses again after a 20-year hiatus.
Her work in clinical mental health and addiction services, district health boards, non-government organisations, Māori health providers, the Ministry of Health and recently Te Aka Whai Ora and Te Whatu Ora has allowed her to develop leadership skills in operational and general management, strategic planning, policy development, service development and design, funding and commissioning, accountability, Ministerial and Government advice.
Aroha led Te Korowai Atawhai, the Canterbury District Health Board’s Māori mental health service, was the first director of Māori Health at Nelson Marlborough District Health Board and held various commissioning, accountability, and hospital infrastructure roles in the Ministry of Health including relationship manager, principal advisor, operations manager and chief advisor Māori for mental health and addiction.
She was the first General Manager Oranga Hinengaro at Te Aka Whai Ora, where her focus was on ensuring mātauranga Māori and lived experience informs strategic planning, policy and service development, design, and commissioning.
Her current role as Group Manager Localities, Te Waipounamu Commissioning, Te Whatu Ora reflects her understanding of the opportunity to progress Māori outcomes though Localities development as part of the new health reforms established in the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022.
Her leadership and organisational skills have also been well utilised away from work in elite Softball circles where she was the manager of the New Zealand Junior White Sox 2008 – 2015, and the New Zealand White Sox 2016 – 2019. This included managing the logistics and planning for many overseas tours to World Championships and an Olympic Qualifier.
Aroha lives in Ōtautahi with her husband Glen.
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