Emma Wehipeihana

Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou

Dr Emma Wehipeihana is an award-winning writer, podcaster and political commentator. Combining expertise in medicine and accessible writing, she shares information on the experience of Māori in New Zealand's healthcare system.

Many people who enter the medical profession spend their entire lives aspiring to do so. For Emma, it hadn't crossed her mind until she realised that one day she would have to explain to her child what she had dedicated her life to.

Having studied through the Māori and Pacific Admissions Scheme, she was inspired by her teachers, mentors, and fellow students, including lecturers Papaarangi Reid, Elana Curtis, and Rhys Jones. Not only did she acquire technical skills from their lectures, but they also shared a "path to follow" to advance Māori health and wellness.

After graduating and working as a surgical registrar at Middlemore Hospital, she continues to incorporate their ideas on how indigenous health equity can be achieved.  Emma continues to write and produce content, but now her focus is on the challenges, experiences, and hopes within medicine.

She lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with her mother and daughter. Her first book is the bestselling memoir There’s a Cure for This, published by Penguin Random House in 2023.

Links:

Newsroom articles – Emma Espiner

Doctor and political commentator Emma Espiner on her journey to finding purpose

Emma Espiner: a life less ordinary

Podcast: Getting better – A year in the life of a Māori medical student

Dr Emma Espiner speaks from the heart as a Māori doctor

Hāpai te Hauora

He Rangatira Our Leaders

Kataraina Pipi

Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hine

Kataraina Pipi is the mother of two young women, Maraea and Mere Arihi. She is also a musician, facilitator, evaluator, and an avid supporter of whānau and community development.

Māia Lockyer

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine

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

Eugene Davis

Ngāti Haua, Waikato-Tainui

Eugene says his leadership approach has always been to lead from behind and the side. However, he also takes on the words of Selwyn Katene (Māori Public Health Leadership Wānanga, 2002), 'Someone has got to step up the front, rather than looking around for a leader, stop looking...you're it!'

Tish Siaosi

Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri, Ngāti Toa, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tama

As a mental health nurse and health consultant, Tish Siaosi focuses on incorporating Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles into her well-being support.