Mana whakahaere | Your Board
Our Board is a capability-appointed team, made up of representatives from across Takitimu, as well as Mātāwaka representatives. Each of our Board Members is committed to Hauora Māori, with proven track records in their sectors, as well as a wealth of lived experiences from the Board Room to grassroots leadership. We are very proud of our Board Members and the mahi they continue to do within their communities, and thrilled to have their expertise leading our team.
Kerri Nuku | Co-Chair
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Tai
Kerri Nuku has an extensive background in the health sector as both a Registered Nurse and Midwife including her current role as Kaiwhakahaere at Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (New Zealand Nurses Organisation). She brings with her a wealth of experience from her mahi locally, across the motu as well as internationally – making her an impressive addition to our Board as co-chair. Kerri is a firm believer that Hauora is more than just disease management, it is an “intrinsic connectedness we have as people”, “our whakapapa, our connection to the whenua”. She is motivated to realise a vision to create safe spaces of wellbeing, that are specific to our needs as Kahungunu and driven by whakapapa and whānaungatanga. Kerri is inspired by Dr Moana Jackson’s whakaaro, that if we continue to think if only what is possible, we won’t go far. If we think of the impossible and make it possible, then we’ll be able to push and move our people further. That’s inspiring!
Lewis Ratapu | Co-Chair
Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa
Lewis Ratapu has extensive knowledge of the health care system, as well as a deep care for and understanding of the people of Tākitimu rohe, a combination which makes him an excellent fit for the role of co-chair of the Tihei Tākitimu Board. Lewis is thrilled by the “opportunity to create change for health and disability services in the region”. Lewis believes that “hauora is really that whole concept of individual and whānau wellbeing, hapū wellbeing, iwi wellbeing”, and acknowledges that connection to “your whenua, having a strong cultural identity, being connected, knowing your whakapapa, being confident & comfortable with your turangawaewae”, all contribute positively to your hauora. Lewis’ aspirations for health in our rohe is that “people who need help actually are listened to by the people that are there to provide help”.
Darryn Russell | Board Member
Ngāi Tahu
Darryn Russell brings a wealth of experience to Tihei Tākitimu from a long career working in Māori Equity and Development spaces. Darryn is excited to work with Tihei Takitimu to “disrupt the current models” within the Health Sector, “which have failed to recognise and reflect mana whenua”. Darryn believes that health services should be “accessible, according to the needs of individual and whānau”. He is looking forward to empowering individuals and whānau to determine their plan for care, support and development within our rohe. He hauora te taonga – health is wealth!
Beverly Te Huia Ellison | Board Member
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Tahu
Beverly Te Huia Ellison brings her experiences and qualifications in midwifery, health science, health research, public health and a variety of regional health groups to Tihei Tākitimu. Beverly is passionate about Hauora and is interested in looking at the wide variety of factors that contribute to health and wellbeing. Beverly explains that, “Hauora is medical, Hauora is holistic, Hauora is spiritual, Hauora is Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā. It’s all of that – and more”. If Beverly could create one change for whānau in our health system, it would be to nurture and support our wāhine, “when you can look after a wahine, whose natural instinct is to be caring for her whānau – it overflows into the whānau. We have to bring the partners along, they have to be able to support our wāhine, too”.
Heather Te Au-Skipworth | Board Member
Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu, Ngati Ruanui, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Heather Te Au-Skipworth is the creator, visionary and former CEO of Iron Māori, an iconic community-led Hauora kaupapa that she started in 2009. Heather’s strive for equity isn’t just in the health space, she is well-known within our community and across the motu as a fierce advocate for Māori. She brings her expertise to a number of boards, as well as a Councillor for Hastings District Council. We are very fortunate to have someone who has built grassroots connections within our rohe, as well as a wealth of experience and networks from her impressive career. Heather aspires to create health services “that acknowledge the individual”. She explains that health services must acknowledge “the persons whakapapa first and foremost”, and nurture relationships that are built on whanaungatanga and recognise “the strengths that come from that whakapapa”. Heather explains “it is our whakapapa that gives us hope to know we come from strong and healthy rangatira”, that we can aspire to be like.
Henry Heke | Board Member
Tainui
Henry Heke is driven to create equitable outcomes for Māori within the health care system. Henry has been instrumental in healthcare leadership from the grassroots, iwi-led urgent COVID and Cyclone responses, his time in the Primary Health Sector, working in Māori Development and even as a District Counsellor. Henry wears several pōtae for our rohe, and instead of slowing him down, it drives him to want to improve outcomes for our people. This changemaker wants to see those improvements as soon as possible, saying “I’m not interested in waiting 10 years, I want to get something done now”. Henry explains that Hauora is more that meeting health indicators in a Pākehā system, and that whilst it is important to address the physical symptoms of mauiuitanga, it’s also important that our people are holistically very well across the board, “mentally, spiritually, physically”.