Gloria Sheridan

Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Whakatohea, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ronogwhaata

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.

Currently, she works as part of the support team for Te Kete Pounamu regional representatives, where she works across ten regions throughout Aotearoa to encourage, grow and strengthen the Māori living experience community to ensure the voices of whānau are included in decisions and discussions relating to national health and social policy.

Within this work, she is also involved in the Nōku te Āo National Prejudice and Discrimination project, which seeks to address and reduce institutionalised racism, stigma, and unconscious biases to ensure quality of care and equity for Māori. She also supports whānau with lived experiences of discrimination to ensure their needs are represented in the change process.

As a Mataora, Gloria has trained in the Mahi a Atua wānanga, focusing on traditional methodology and sharing ancestral narratives to connect people to indigenous knowledge and healing through indigenising the mind and space.

Besides witnessing and supporting many Māori individuals through experiences of prejudice and discrimination, Gloria has had her own lived experience and role models on how Te Ao Māori practices can provide healing and restoration.

Links:

Te Kete Pounamu

Whāraurau – Gloria Sheridan  

Waka Hourua Community Initiative: Te Kupenga Net Trust

He Rangatira Our Leaders

Aroha Ruha-Hiraka

Ngāti Awa, Ngai Tūhoe, Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa

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.

Harley Rogers

Ngāti Raukawa ki Waikato, Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara ki Te Arawa

Harley Rogers is a senior health professional who has worked in community, primary, and secondary health.

Teah Anna Lee Carlson

Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngati Porou, Waikato-Tainui

Dr. Teah Carlson is a Kaupapa Māori researcher and evaluator dedicated to shifting power back to whānau and communities regarding the design and delivery of health services, workforce development, governance, qualitative methods, strategy, and evaluation

Kingi Kiriona

Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Apa

Kingi Kiriona is an orator, a kapa haka exponent, composer, educator, and broadcaster. His observation of Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Māori as a tool for improving the health and well-being of iwi and Māori communities has driven Kingi to realise opportunities for Māori language and culture to be shared, embedded, and recognised through the health system.