Riana Manuel hails from a small village called Manaia in Pare Hauraki.  Riana is the daughter of two very hardworking and community-minded parents. She is a wife to Hone Manuel, who hails from Ruatorea, is of Ngāti Porou descent, and is a Mama and Nanny (she says her finest and most important role to date).  Riana is a skilled and strategic leader within Māori and health sectors, with extensive experience leading kaupapa Māori organisations. She is passionate about creating changes that provide better health and well-being for Māori and improve social determinants that affect hauora.

Riana is currently serving as the National Director (Interim) of Hauora Māori Services at Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand. In 2022, she was appointed as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority.  In her role as Chief Executive Officer, Riana focused on ensuring resources were directed to providers, iwi, hapū, and whānau, recognizing that communities are best positioned to address their own needs. She emphasised empowering communities to implement solutions grounded in their knowledge and instincts.  Riana saw this reform as a rare opportunity to address long-standing systemic issues that have failed to meet Māori health needs.

Drawing from her experience as a kaupapa provider, she understands the immense pressure created by these inadequacies. While she acknowledges that the health system's inequities have been nearly two centuries in the making, she remains committed to driving meaningful change, knowing it will take time to achieve lasting transformation.

During COVID-19, Riana worked as the Chief Executive Officer at Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki and was also the CEO for Hauraki PHO. The reality of the pandemic highlighted many aspects of what makes a whānau vulnerable. This included large intergenerational whānau living in tiny households that experienced overcrowding and, therefore, were at a higher risk. She said, “Before COVID, we talked about what highly vulnerable subsets look like, but post-COVID, you can actually touch and feel it, and our response has to be driven by whānau.”

Riana has been a registered nurse for over 30 years and enjoys a career that sees her work across many different parts of the health sector. She also owns the Phoenix House Rest Home and Hospital, an Aged Care Residential facility that her parents built in Coromandel.  Growing up around Phoenix House taught me about service to our small and very rural community.  She has been involved in several Treaty of Waitangi claims, including the health-related Wai 2575 claim, and she put in many hours to support vaccination and testing centres during the pandemic response.

She has received a Bachelor of Nursing from Waikato Institute of Technology, a Graduate Diploma in child, family and community care from Whitireia Polytechnic and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Administration from Te Whare Wananga o Waikato the Waikato University.

Riana strongly believes that we must change now so that our tamariki and mokopuna have a better future.

Links:

A Change is Gonna Come - talking with boss of new Māori Health Authority

Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Our Leadership

Riana Manuel: Finally, a Treaty partnership in health

Meet the new chief executives

Riana Manuel: the gap between Māori and non-Māori life expectancy should be falling within five years

Head of Māori Health Authority Riana Manuel says Māori health has been in 'poor state for decades' but stops short of saying it's in a crisis

Riana Manuel | CE of Te Aka Whai Ora

Health Sector Reforms and the Māori Health Authority | Riana Manuel