New Board Member Appointed

New Board Member Appointed

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) would like to announce the appointment of Associate Professor Leonie Pihama (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Māhanga, Ngā Māhanga a Tairi) to its Board. Leonie has been selected to fill the position made available through Te Haumihiata Mason’s resignation in late 2016 and will join an experienced collective of seven Board members.

Leonie is the Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato and also works as an Associate Professor in Education at the University. She is a leading kaupapa Māori educator and researcher and has extensive experience in the fields of policy analysis, Māori women’s issues and the politics of representation of Indigenous peoples. Leonie was the Principal Investigator of the Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research project 'Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke: Māori childrearing within a context of whānau ora’.

In recent years Leonie has been working in the intersecting fields of education, health, whānau wellbeing and Māori immersion education. She also served on Māori Television's establishment board, has had active involvement in Te Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori and currently holds a Ngā Pou Senior Fellowship at the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

NPM's Board Chair Tā Tīpene O'Regan said today; "We welcome Leonie’s appointment to the Board through Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga’s Electoral College, Te Tira Takimano. Leonie brings with her considerable expertise and understanding of research, across all its dimensions from community involvement, development and funding, through to research, outreach and delivery. She has built a solid reputation not only as a quality scholar but also as a mentor and educator of emerging and early career academics.

She has worked on many kaupapa Māori research projects, has been involved with NPM over a number of years and indeed was our inaugural Fulbright-NPM Scholar when she visited and undertook study at the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the University of Washington. I look forward to Leonie joining us at our next hui. Her expertise in connecting and talking to diverse communities, iwi and hapū will be a valuable addition to the Board as we continue to advance towards our vision of Māori leading New Zealand into the Future."

Associate Professor Leonie Pihama will be attending NPM’s second Board meeting of the year in Wellington on 24 May, followed by NPM's Hui-a-Tau (Annual General Meeting) the next day.

Tā Tīpene continues, "On behalf of NPM's Board and executive, I would also like to acknowledge the important role that Te Haumihiata played in the first year of NPM's new Centre of Research Excellence contract. She joined us at a vital stage in our history and her wise counsel over the past 12 months has been greatly appreciated, most especially her considerable expertise and knowledge of te Reo Māori revitalisation and research. We thank her for her input and service to our mission, and wish her the very best for the future."

ENDS

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) is a Centre of Research Excellence hosted at the University of Auckland comprising 21 research partners and conducting research of relevance to Māori communities. Our vision is Māori leading New Zealand into the future. NPM research realises Māori aspirations for positive engagement in national life, enhances our excellence in Indigenous scholarship and provides solutions to major challenges facing humanity in local and global settings. Visit www.maramatanga.ac.nz

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