Dame Rangimārie Naida Glavish is celebrating 30 years of service to the health sector.

Dame Naida (Ngāti Whātua) first became involved in Māori health and education in the early 1980s. She entered the health sector in 1990 as the former Auckland Area Health Board’s bicultural manager.

Today, she is the Chief Advisor Tikanga Māori with He Kāmaka Waiora, Māori Health, for the Waitematā and Auckland District Health Boards. In this role she leads the organisations in managing relationships with mana whenua and iwi Māori from a tikanga perspective. She also assists in upholding the DHBs Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.

Dame Naida was instrumental in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Waitematā and Auckland DHBs with Te Runanga o Ngāti Whātua in 2001 and has championed appropriate cultural support for Māori patients by developing bicultural and tikanga best practice policies, which have been implemented by other DHBs and some organisations in the private sector.

Dame Naida has also been influential in addressing inequities and barriers for Māori in the health system, enhancing the diversity of the DHBs workforce and is a passionate advocate of staff learning te reo Māori to improve health outcomes for Māori.

Waitematā DHB's Deputy Chief Executive Andrew Brant says Dame Naida’s work over the past three decades has been invaluable.

“Whaea Naida’s contribution to our communities and to Māori health has been extraordinary,” says Dr Brant. “Many people have benefited from Whaea Naida’s dedication to improving equity and tikanga within the health sector. On behalf of Waitematā DHB I’d like to extend our congratulations to Whaea Naida on her achievements and to thank her for her service to the health and wellbeing of our community.”

Auckland DHB’s Chief Executive Ailsa Claire says: “Dame Naida is a mentor, leader, teacher and friend who works tirelessly with Auckland and Waitematā DHBs to improve the health outcomes of Māori living in our communities. She and her team successfully help lead us as an organisation to reduce Māori health inequities and continue to educate and advocate tikanga and the use of te reo Māori. Kia ora Naida, congratulations on 30 years’ valued service to the health and wellbeing of our communities.”

Dame Naida is involved with a range of iwi, government and community organisations including Cultural Advisor to the Chief Coroner and she was appointed a member of the Māori Advisory Panel to the Chief Ombudsman in December last year.

In 2011, she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) and in 2018 was the recipient of the Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori and the community and was awarded the title of Dame Companion of NZ Order of Merit (DNZM).

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