Jade Sewell is a health champion committed to ensuring that relevant and accessible community health care is available to Māori whānau. She has worked in a number of different health areas, from the development of adolescent residential addiction services to social housing initiatives. Authentic relationships are a guiding principle for Jade professionally and personally and challenge her to ensure she always puts whānau at the centre of her approaches.

She has a Bachelor of Science, Statistics, Materials and Processing and Project Management qualifications from Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, The University of Waikato. Jade has also completed the executive Advanced Leadership Programme with Women & Leadership Australia.

Jade is currently a Deputy Chief Executive at Te Aka Whai Ora. Jade works to drive transformation and innovation within the current health system and further embed Te Ao Māori worldview in the fabric of health infrastructure. Within her work, she is committed to developing commissioning processes that guarantee Māori health improvement and works to enable the continued development of hauora approaches to achieve this aspiration.

She joined Te Aka Whai Ora after being at the Waikato District Health Board for five years as an operations director. Jade led a range of hospital and specialist services to deliver acute, planned, and preventative health services to support better outcomes for communities. This also included district leadership support for the COVID-19 response.

In a previous role with Te Rau Ora, Jade contributed to and wrote multiple pieces on projects that better community health and played a key role in establishing the Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing – Te Mauri Pimatisiwin in Aotearoa. During her time with Te Rau Ora, Jade was able to work alongside Maori communities nationally to tell their success stories in community development and community-driven hauora.

Jade works to drive transformation and innovation within the current health system so that the hauora aspirations of communities are realised.

Links:

He Rangatira Our Leaders

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.

Her inspiration is for the aspiration of oranga tonu both physically and spiritually.

Jordan is working with the future. He has a PhD, and like many people, he can do the theory, but what sets him apart is his ability to work at the marae with whānau and hapū.

Since 2003, when Boyd Broughton began his career in health with Hāpai te Hauora, he has supported te ao Māori within health services through various roles in NGOs, government agencies, tertiary institutions, local councils, Marae Committees, and other community groups.

Jade Sewell

Ngāti Maru, Te Arawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Porou

He Rangatira Our Leaders

Aroha Ruha-Hiraka

Ngāti Awa, Ngai Tūhoe, Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa

Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish DNZM JP

Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi

Dr Jordan Waiti

Ngāti Pikiao, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Haupoto, Ngaati Maahanga

Boyd Broughton

Te Rarawa, Ngā Puhi, Tainui, Ngāti Porou