Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Evidence and Insights Forum 2024
27 November 2024 | Tūranganui a Kiwa, Gisborne
Nau mai, haere mai!
It is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf of Manaaki Tairāwhiti, who look forward to hosting you at our inaugural Evidence and Insights Forum. Nau mai, haere mai!
Ronald Nepe
Chair, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
CE Te Rūnanganui o Tūranagnui a Kiwa
Purpose
Please join us for the inaugural Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence and Insights Forum. The purpose of this event is to share the work that we have been doing and identify areas of work that we can better align moving forward, using the evidence and insights which we have gained after 7 years in existence.
Time and Place
- Event: Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence and Insights Forum 2024
- Date: Wednesday, 27 November, 2024 8:30am – 5:00pm
- Place: Midway Surf Rescue Community Hub, 40 Centennial Marine Drive, Awapuni, Gisborne.
No cost to attend. Venue opens at 8:30 for a cup of tea, karakia at 9am
The event will also be live streamed on this page. See below▼
Event Contact Person
Josie McClutchie
Topics for Discussion
- Systems improvement
- Innovation guided by whānau-centered evidence and insights
- Devolution and accountability
- Uplifting houses and moving townships – resilient communities post flooding
Presentation Videos
Karakia and Mihi Whakatau
Te Aorangi Harrington and Naomi Whitewood
Forum Introduction, setting the scene
Judy Campbell
Systems and Sector Improvement
Moera Brown, Jane Wyllie, Gina Campbell,
and Sarah Benjamin
Te Ao Marama/Tangatarite
Youth Justice Programme
Katerina Ngarimu, Reihana Turner
and Tony Fisher
From the ground up:
community-led innovation and action
Rebecca MacFie
Innovation guided by whānau-centred evidence and insights
Leslynne Jackson
Innovation, devolution, and accountability
Julie Fry
Partnering with Community –
Manaaki Navigator at Supergrans
Sarah Elliott and Rosie Allan
Insights from a practitioner’s perspective
George Reedy
Uplifting houses and moving townships – resilient communities post flooding
Jamie Simmons
Kei Hea Te Komako E Ko? Listening to Whānau Voices to Cultivate Whānau Ora
Professor Elizabeth Kerekere
Where to from here?
Manaaki Tairāwhiti Team
Programme
Keynote Speakers
Other speakers included NGOs and Iwi perspectives.
Leslynne Jackson
Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Leslynne Jackson Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki is Programme Lead for Manaaki Tairāwhiti. Leslynne’s work experience includes working for government agencies, community organisations and in the private sector. She has held a number of volunteer roles with various local charitable groups.
In 2020, Leslynne was awarded a Fellowship with the NEXT Foundation. With more than 35 years’ experience working in social services, Leslynne is a strong advocate for both community led action and systemic change to improve the lives of whanau.
Judy Campbell
Strategic Advisor, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Judy Campbell is a senior manager who has worked in the public and not for profit sector for the past 30 years. She has been a Chief Executive in a number of organisations, including the Gisborne District Council, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic and the Sport, Fitness and Recreation ITO (SFRITO). Her career has a focus on organisations with a strong emphasis on Te Tiriti partnerships.
Judy is currently a consultant helping organisations address issues of strategic change and financial sustainability, this includes a diverse range of organisations such as: Manaaki Tairāwhiti, Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou, Auckland Council, Tāmanuhiri Tutu Poroporo Trust, NorthTec Polytechnic and Maraetaha Inc. Judy is an independent Board member on Surf Life Saving New Zealand and has just completed a term as a Ministerially appointed lay member of the Medical Sciences Council.
Moera Brown
Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Moera Brown is the Systems and Sector Improvement Programme Lead for Manaaki Tairāwhiti. She is a former police officer and currently serves as a senior restorative justice facilitator, working with whānau in the court system. Moera is the Deputy Chair of the Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust and the Chair of Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.
With several years of governance experience, Moera has held positions as both a Board member and Chair. Since 2011, she has guided the iwi through significant milestones, including the Treaty of Waitangi settlement, Tuia 250, and the response to Covid-19. Her diverse experiences and background bring invaluable skills and insights to her role at Manaaki Tairawhiti
George Reedy
CE, Ngati Porou Oranga
George has a background in business, Non-Government Organisations and the public sector. A Chartered Accountant with an MBA by profession, his main roles concentrated on strategy and business development, especially in on-line digital environments, and owning and operating businesses in the Telco and IT sectors from start-ups to large enterprises.
George’s recent Chief Executive roles have been leading Kaupapa Māori entities to sustainably service whānau in Health, Housing and Social outcomes. George has a keen interest in supporting Māori economic development initiatives.
Julie Fry
Independent Economist
Julie Fry is a consulting economist who divides her time between New York and a family farm near Motueka. Her work focuses on wellbeing and improving people’s lives and brings together insights from lived experience and academic research. Julie has advised agencies including The Treasury, The Reserve Bank, Te Puni Kōkiri, the former NZ Productivity Commission and HM Treasury in London. Her Nuffield Fellowship at the University of Warwick in Coventry explored how to document and reduce discrimination in social service delivery. Julie founded the AmbitionNZ project and co-authored the book Ambition: What New Zealanders think and why it matters, which draws on a national survey and more than 200 interviews. She has also co-authored two BWB texts about migration, Going Places and Better Lives.
Rebecca MacFie
JD Stout fellow, Journalist & Author
Rebecca Macfie is the JD Stout Research Fellow for 2024. She has been a journalist for over 35 years, and has written for publications including the New Zealand Herald, North&South, Newsroom, Unlimited, Safeguard, National Business Review and The Independent Business Weekly. She was a senior staff writer at the NZ Listener for 11 years until 2018. She has been the recipient of multiple journalism awards including the 2017 Wolfson Press Fellowship to Cambridge University. She is the author of two books of non-fiction: Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and why 29 men died (Awa Press 2013) and Helen Kelly: Her Life (Awa Press 2021).
Hardship and Hope series
Jamie Simmons
Managed Retreat / Planned Relocation Specialist, NSW
Jamie Simmonds, an internationally renowned expert in the field of managed retreat and community relocation, hails from the United States but has made Brisbane Australia his home for over 20 years. Jamie’s journey has seen interest from audiences worldwide, particularly individuals seeking inspiration and guidance in their own disaster-affected communities.
In 2011, Jamie directed the relocation of Grantham, an Australian town left devastated by catastrophic flash flooding that tragically claimed the lives of 19 people. Displaying exceptional leadership alongside the late Mayor Steve Jones, within just 12 month they saw the transition of over 100 families to new homes in a prosperous estate, situated on higher ground surrounding Grantham. Today, this relocation project is considered one of the most successful examples of managed retreat or planned relocation globally.
In 2020, Jamie documented the story in his book about the Grantham experience to show communities the positives and challenges associated with community relocation. Since then, communities, media organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies from every corner of the globe have reached out to Jamie for guidance. Seeking to understand how to rebuild communities in a safer and more resilient manner in a changing climate, they have recognized Jamie as an invaluable resource.
With a rich background encompassing over 20 years in both government and the private sector, Jamie’s story serves as a testament to the incredible accomplishments
Tony Fisher
Pou Whirinaki, Ministry of Justice
Tony Fisher, Ngāi te Rangi/Ngāti Ranginui, was born and raised in Matapihi Tauranga where he still lives with his wife, Fu’a, and their eight children. Educated at Mount Maunganui College and as an adult student at Massey University Tony has navigated a career in the public service for over 40 years, the last 28 years with the Ministry of Justice. For the last 8 years his roles have been specifically focused on working with iwi and Māori organisations to drive improved justice outcomes for Māori. His current role is Pou Whirinaki in the Ātea a Rangi-Strategy group of the Ministry of Justice Wellington.
Tony has worked closely with Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa over the last 3 years, supporting the design and delivery by TROTAK of their Tangatarite service which is operating in the Gisborne and Wairoa District Courts and is being extended into the Family Court. Tony is passionate about Iwi and Māori communities being enabled to identify and deliver interventions and services to address the needs of their communities, and has led and supported a number of key iwi/hapū and hāpori Māori initiatives over the years.
Sarah Benjamin
Director, System Improvement, MSD
British born, Sarah discovered the work of Professor John Seddon, founder of Vanguard Consulting Ltd in 2003, having become increasingly frustrated with the conventional, sub-optimal organisational environment she was in and seeking an alternative.
This created a passion to help organizations understand themselves from a different point of view, challenging organizational norms, transforming service delivery to understand effective delivery of value while improving efficiency and increasing morale.
Using the best of what she’s learnt over the last 20 years, Sarah specializes in helping organisations use a systems based, outside-in lens to better understand and improve our organisations, including, critically, the way we understand and measure them.
Sarah has worked extensively with progressive leaders in the private, and public sector in the Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
She is currently the Director of System Improvement and heads up a team of coaches who are hosted within the Ministry of Social Development. They work across the sector, bringing this interconnected systems lens to the organisations they work with.
Sarah is based in Wellington with her 2 children and as a qualified yoga instructor, Sarah is always encouraging as many people as possible to join her on the mat!
Sarah Elliot
General Manager of SuperGrans Tairāwhiti
Though I hail from North Auckland, my heart has resided in the stunning Tairāwhiti for the past nine years. Tairāwhiti has become the cherished home of my family, as my husband is of Ngāti Porou descent grew up here. We are proud parents to two wonderful children born here. I have been the General Manager of SuperGrans Tairāwhiti for one year, and prior to this role have had over sixteen years of experience in various roles such as Manager of multiple Social Work and Trauma Services, Manager of a Human Rights Organisation, Social Work Practice Leader, and Lecturer – with roles both in Aotearoa and developing countries. My academic background includes a Master of Social Work, a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work and Community Development, and a Bachelor of Social Science in Politics and Human Resource Management and certificates in adult education, leadership, and coaching.
I am deeply committed to empowering and supporting the people of Tairāwhiti, with a keen focus on enhancing community well-being and also individual holistic growth and development.
Rosie Allan
Navigator at SuperGrans
My name is Rosie Allan. I first started as a Manaaki Tairawhiti Navigator in 2021, at CCS Disability Action. After a small stint overseas, I returned as a Manaaki Tairawhiti Navigator in December of 2023, but this time for SuperGrans. I have a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Human Geography and Development Studies, and spent a number of years in Wellington working as an Early Childhood Teacher before coming home.
Jayne Wyllie
Ka Awatea Programme Lead, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Jayne Wyllie is the Ka Awatea Programme Lead for Manaaki Tairāwhiti. Jayne has extensive work experience from working for Tairawhiti iwi organisation to government agencies in the social sector both regionally and nationally. She has held a number of volunteer roles with various local charitable groups and is an active community member in Manutuke and Muriwai. Her most rewarding roles is as a grandmother to her very young grandsons Ethan and Sutton, whom she draws inspiration off to continue work in system change.
Gina Campbell
Ka Awatea Kairaranga Whanau Iwi Support
Nāu i whatu te kākahu, he tāniko tāku.
You wove the body of the cloak, I added the tāniko.
Ko tenei wahine he uri o te Tairawhiti me te Taitokerau. I tenei wa, he Kairaranga a Gina i Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa.
Gina has gained extensive experience across the landscape of Tairāwhiti as an OSCAR Childcare Centre Manager, Work Broker and Kaiawhina in the Whāngaia Ngā Pā Harakeke Family Harm Team. She has a Bicultural Social Work Degree and is a Matanga Wairua of Wiremu Niania Cultural Therapy. Gina is a volunteer of Three Rivers Community Patrol, Youth Mentor at the House of Breakthrough and ringa raupa of her Marae in te Akau o Tokomaru and Manutuke where she serves as a Trustee of Ohako Marae.
Prof Elizabeth Kerekere
Lead Investigator Manaaki Tairāwhiti Research
Prof Elizabeth Kerekere (she/her/ia) is Lead Investigator for the Manaaki Tairāwhiti research project alongside Programme Leader, Leslynne Jackson
Whānau a Kai, Ngāti Oneone, Te Āitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Co. Clare, Co. Tipperary
Elizabeth is a takatāpui/LGBTIQ+ activist and scholar of national and international renown. Active within Māori (40y+), Rainbow and youth development (35y+) sectors, she has mentored over 60 youth leaders. Elizabeth is Founder/Chair of Tīwhanawhana Trust which advocates for takatāpui to “tell our stories, build our communities and leave a legacy.” Elizabeth’s PhD on takatāpui identity and well-being is required reading in universities here and overseas. Her suicide prevention resources are used in health and school settings across the country and Elizabeth has contributed to research projects on assisted reproductive health and family formation; LGBTIQ youth; trans and non-binary health and well-being; and intersex human rights. As a Member of Parliament, Elizabeth’s record-breaking petition led to banning conversion practices. She contributed to new gender markers on birth certificates and introduced the term ‘takatāpui’ into legislation for the first time in the reform of the health system. Elizabeth’s framework for takatāpui health and well-being Te Whare Takatāpui is currently being applied to the health system and she was appointed Adjunct Professor in Public Health at Victoria University of Wellington in 2024.
Katerina Ngarimu
Manager, Tangatarite Programme, TROTAK
Katerina Ngarimu is a proud Ngāti Porou mother of four and grandmother of one, originally from Whareponga. She leads the Tangatarite team at TROTAK and TRONPnui. Before this role, Katerina worked in Youth Justice with Turanga Social Services. She then applied the principles of Systems Improvement to the Te Ao Marama project at the Gisborne District Court, ultimately being appointed as the manager of the team.
