Our Team

Executive Director

Eruera Tarena (He/Him/Ia)

I believe in rangatiratanga where we can determine our own path and create the future we want.  This inspires me to create mana motuhake solutions and grow the next generation of Māori leadership to lead what comes next.

Making Māori futures is my day job and that’s about as inspiring as it gets for me. It’s a mix of removing what’s holding us back whilst simultaneously designing and creating new ways of thinking and doing. This is challenging but rewarding mahi. I also never do the same thing twice so despite its complexity and challenges my job is my passion and it’s never boring.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn 

Kaiwhakatere

Awhina McGlinchey (She/Her/Ia)

My why always goes back to my whānau. My lived experience of being raised in the landscape of my ūkaipō guides my decision-making and ensures I work for collective outcomes.

Working at Tokona te Raki supports my why in a way that allows me to use everything I have learnt throughout my career to navigate complexity looking for a new way forward. I enjoy getting to collaborate with a crazy collective that makes up the Tokona whānau.

Email: [email protected]

Project Manager

Alice Dimond (She/Her)

My why is that everyone deserves a good quality of life and the system is currently built in a way that doesn’t offer that to some people. I am driven by social justice and a desire to create a more equitable future for Māori.

I love working at Tokona because we are always testing new approaches to change the structures, practices and ideas that are marginalising Māori. Plus working alongside other young Māori who are equally as passionate about shaking things up is pretty cool!

Email [email protected]
LinkedIn 

Project Manager

Ariana Te Whetu (She/Her)

I am an enthusiastic contributor to iwi, hapū and Māori aspirations. I specialise in convening community entrepreneurs, government champions and industry leaders within the Tokona te Raki social innovation lab. Where we research, design, and prototype collective impact models through our whānau insight into catalysing and growing the future for our people.

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn

Project Manager

Caitlin Sowden (Ia/She/Her)

I grew up in a small town where community and whānau were at the centre of everything we did. Years later working inside the beehive I saw how removed decision makers were from the whānau and communities they were making decisions for. It made me realise that many decisions are made on ‘gut feels’ and ‘personal bias’ and thought – I want to help change this.

Working at Tokona te Raki I know I am contributing to helping make informed decisions blending empirical evidence together with the voice of whānau to create unique and pragmatic solutions. Here at Tokona te Raki I am expected to use both world views; te ao Pākeha and te ao Māori together to make the world better for our whānau and communities.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Project Manager

Michelle Bergman (She/Her/Ia)

(Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Raukawa ki te tonga)

Empowering my tamariki to be brave, give anything a go and give them space to create their own destiny is my ultimate why. I am passionate about equity in education and creating tailored pathways to ensure anyone can have access and determine their own pathway. I wish for all of our babies to grow up with opportunities to help them unlock their super powers and live their best life within this complex world.

I love working with passionate diverse thinkers and solution focussed innovators who have a desire to develop fair and just systems based on the indigenous ways of our ancestors.

Email: [email protected]

Linkedin: Michelle Bergman

Developmental Evaluation Lead

Porsha London (She/Her)

I wholeheartedly believe in social justice and as a māmā, the drive to be part of creating a better world for all tamariki, rangatahi and whānau has never felt so important as what it does right now.

What I love about my mahi is facilitating ah-ha moments and supporting others to gather, interpret and build evidence to continue their amazing social innovations that are most needed in our local and global community.

Email: porsha.london@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Social Innovation Advisor

Billy Matheson (He/Him)

I’m future-positive. Despite the many challenges we human beings face, I deeply believe that we always have the choice to be creative and innovative and to make a positive difference. I love being part of an organisation that has been purpose built to create better futures for whānau, hapū, and iwi. As a Pākeha New Zealander, it’s always a privilege to be invited to participate in Te Ao Māori and to contribute to the work of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn

Project Manager

Hemi Inia (He/Him)

Supporting whānau Māori into education and employment has been my lifelong passion.

What I love about my mahi is helping rangatahi make life-changing decisions to advance their careers.

Email [email protected]

Project Manager

Roni Kumeroa (She/Her/Ia)

(Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Te Whakatōhea, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi)

I do what I do for my whānau and to make my tupuna proud.  I especially strive to be the best māmā I can be for my three-year-old tama. I want to envision a future where he navigates systems designed for his uniqueness, and the ability to traverse both Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā. I aspire to create a world where the conversations he has differ from our current reality.

I draw inspiration from collaborating with an organisation that fearlessly experiments with new ways of doing things, disrupting the ordinary and pushing beyond the status quo. Organisations that bravely commit to learning, refining, and embracing fresh approaches to lay the foundation for positive change in the future. Building relationships and connecting with people along this transformative journey is truly uplifting and fuels my passion for what we can achieve together.

Email: [email protected]

Linkedin: Roni Kumeroa

Phone: 021 793 941

Communications Advisor

Adrienne Anderson (She/her)

The opportunity to work in a dynamic and creative space with a team of passionate change-makers with a shared desire to make the world a better place is the best. The complexity of the mahi is challenging, exciting, and always rewarding. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new and expand my thinking and knowledge. 

My why:
Every pēpi born has the right to live their best life – we need to make the change and create the conditions that ensure they do!

Contacts:
Ph: 021 913 274

Project Manager

Piripi Prendergast (He/Him)

The challenge is what I love most about my mahi at Tokona te Raki. We have the opportunity to make big changes and the big challenge is to strive to make that a reality.

My why:

I want my mokopuna and all tamariki and rangatahi to have the best possible opportunity to reach their full potential, not just in education and employment but also in terms of their well-being.

Email: [email protected]

Social Innovator

Kaya Renata-Staples (She/Her)

My why is my whānau! Being a young māmā to 2 boys is my biggest driver to exceed expectations and provide a better lifestyle with more opportunities for them to thrive! This includes changing the negative narrative our young māmā face from the outset and shifting the view towards our wahine into a more positive light of empowerment.

My biggest dream in life is to provide a lifestyle for my tamariki to feel confident to live in both worlds and to see their culture as a superpower that will help them navigate life

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn

Developmental Evaluator

Irihapeti Pītama (She/Her)

My whānau and indigenous communities that continue to be impacted negatively by the systems around them is my purpose.

What I love about my mahi at Tokona is working alongside rangatahi Māori that want to create a better future for the next generation and being a part of an organisation that wants to make real change to the systems that have held our people back for far too long.

Email [email protected]

Social Innovator

Rangimārie Elvin (Wahine/Ia/She/They)

Ko te kaupapa mātua, ka whakamanatia ngā wawata o ngā tūpuna. What are the dreams of our ancestors? Inter-generational healing, protection of ngā taonga katoa, thriving te taiao and te reo Māori ki mua. Raised in the puna kōrero of my tūrangawaewae, it is whakapapa that helps me understand the following importance: me whakatinanatia te mana motuhake. My why is found in the kōrero of our manu, the laughs of my kui, harvesting kūmara, whakamoemiti at my marae, and holding the hand of my whānau. And yet, my full why is not here but I will know it when I hold them in my arms and can imagine their futures. Everything I do is in preparation for that moment, and that is when I will know my tūpuna will feel at tau.

Tokona te Raki is special as we get to tap into ancestral knowledge while still being grounded with Papatūānuku and what is happening for our whānau every day. I have called it “big brain” thinking as we are exercising our tino rangatiratanga by designing sustainable futures. We are re-indigenising hearts and minds as that is what our tūpuna promised us.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Social Innovator

Briana Lashon Te Haara-Barr (She/Her/Ia)

My why is and will always be whānau. Not only in the sense of the whānau I know, but the generations of whānau I’m yet to meet and the ones I’m yet to connect to. It’s about creating spaces for our people to understand their value to reconnect and continue to reclaim their Māoritanga and reindigenise our country and one day, the world.

What I love about my mahi is the people we get to meet along the journey. The relationships that we develop and strengthen across the motu. The stories, the learnings and the experiences we are gifted with because of this hononga.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Designer

Ashleigh Summerville (She/Her)

My why is the goal of decolonisation. Working in areas where there is a push for Māori success so that in the future my whānau and all Māori have equitable opportunities to succeed. In the future, I would love to develop spaces where Māori have agency in areas such as technology and digital design.

What I enjoy in my role at Tokona te Raki is using innovative design frameworks and tools to create transformative social change

Experiences:

Victoria University: Bachelor of Design Innovation – Majoring in Social Innovation Design

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn

Social Innovator

Amy Knudsen (She/Her)

My tamāhine is my ‘why,’ my driver to be the best version of myself, to bet stereotypes, and to clear the path for her to follow her dreams, free of societal expectations. She is not just my why; she represents my commitment to a better tomorrow and a symbol of the dream for a better future. Together, we can change a course that defies expectations and creates a better future. I want her to witness firsthand that we can rewrite the script and break free from the constraints that society often places upon us.

Before Tokona te Raki I was working at Rerenga Awa during that role I was supporting Māori youth workers. Before that role, I was involved with the Christchurch Youth Council for a number of years, which fueled my passion for rangatahi having their voice heard.

Email: [email protected]