Your board
Mana whakahaere
Rakihia Tau
Director (Chair)
Rakihia Tau (Ngāi Tahu) grew up in Tuahiwi Pā North Canterbury. He is married to Sonya Faisst and has three children. Rakihia runs his own consulting company Ihia Ltd. He has held several governance and executive roles in the private, public and Māori sectors. Within Ngāi Tahu he has held the roles of Group Head Strategy Relationships and Investments and Commercial Manager. In the public sector he has chaired a State Owned Enterprise and is currently the chair of the Crown Forest Rental Trust.
Professor Emma Wyeth
Director
Professor Emma (Kāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga) is a Professor of Māori Health and the Associate Dean, Māori in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. Emma has a PhD in Genetics and has spent the last 16 years specializing in Māori Public Health research and teaching. Her research has been awarded several large funding grants and her research predominantly focuses on Māori experiences and outcomes within New Zealand’s health system. As a wahine Kāi Tahu, Emma has strong links with Karitāne and Awarua, and is involved in many rūnaka and iwi activities and entities, including as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Alternative Representation for Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki. Emma has wide governance experience, especially focussed on hauora Māori.
Norm Dewes
Director
Norm (Ngāti Kahungunu) has a strong background in social justice, human rights, community development, business innovation, education, organisational management, sports, and recreation and this is underpinned by his own values and philosophy. Norm works with a variety of organisations such as government agencies, commercial businesses, tertiary institutions, health and social service providers, community groups, iwi, marae, and whānau Māori. He has represented Māori on numerous boards, panels, and councils.
Professor Suzanne Pitama
Director
Professor Suzanne (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Whare) is a registered psychologist, health researcher, health advocate, and Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Suzanne has spent her career researching, advocating, and producing evidence on how the current health system maintains health inequity for Māori. Alongside the team at the Department of Māori/Indigenous Health Innovation (MIHI), she has developed Hauora Māori models, frameworks, and training programmes for health professionals. Suzanne is also a current Board member of the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
Dr Maira Patu
Director
Dr Maira (Ngāi Tahu, Te Arawa) is a Māori health professional with extensive medical and education experience working as a General Practitioner, Clinical Lead Māori Health with the former Canterbury DHB, and as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Maira has been the Clinical Lead for the MIHI mobile vaccination team, is part of a team working on an Equity Toolkit that has been designed to improve Māori health care experiences and outcomes in hospital departments.
Ruth Jones
Director
Ruth (Ngāti Porou and Rongowhakaata) is a registered social worker, manager and consultant in the health and disability sector. As a wahine Māori with lived experience of disability, she has a clear understanding of the intersectionality of the systems. Ruth has been part of the governance and advocacy to transform the disability support system, so that disabled people, tangata and whānau whaikaha have increasing rangatiratanga over their lives. Ruth is known locally and nationally, and has worked and trained under the korowai of Ngāi Tahu. Ruth has experience in governance, including recently with Oranga Tamariki.
Te Tauraki exists as a limited liability company wholly owned by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and with charitable status (Te Tauraki Limited). Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has appointed seven Directors to the Board of Te Tauraki, including one ngā mātāwaka representative. Te Tauraki, and the Directors, are accountable to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.