Meet our facilitators
Dr Taku Parai
Pou Tikanga | Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira
Born and raised in Takapūwāhia and have never left for one minute. Raised in a big whānau, in a house of 18 people (siblings, parents & grandparents).
I believe I had the most incredible upbringing one could ask for - the bush was my adventure park, the harbour was my buffet table, the streams were my science labs. Takapūwāhia Marae was/is who I am. I loved every minute growing up on Ngati Toa street, attending Ngāti Toa School and Mana College, then on to Victoria University. At a very young age I was taught by my kaumātua the customs and traditions of Ngāti Toa.
I am most passionate about serving our people, and ensuring our kōrero tukuiho are carried through the generations to come.
Bianca Elkington
GM Education & Employment Services |
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira
Bianca's qualifications, expertise, passion and commitment to Māori education success provide the drive needed to challenge the status quo. Uri of Ngāti Toa, Bianca is passionate about the innovation of education and how indigenous ways of doing can be used to create models and methods of teaching and learning. Bianca began her career with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira in 2015 where she was brought on to support tauira to achieve success in education. The earliest stages of her mahi with the Rūnanga gave her the opportunity to test her thinking and ideas that were initially developed during her study in the masters programme at Victoria University. Te Puna Mātauranga provides the fruits of that thinking. Bianca now leads the Education and Employment Group at Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira as General Manager, supporting the ongoing development of iwi and the community.
Jennie Smeaton
Chief Operating Officer |
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira
Jennie has held executive leadership positions in the public and iwi sectors specialising in Māori Development. She has a background in communications and environmental management and has held local and regional positions on governance boards and committees focussed in the environmental, fisheries and local government space.
He uri a Jennie no Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama. I tipu mai ia ki te pā harakeke o Takapūwāhia ki Porirua.
Nirvana Wi-Neera
Nirvana Wi-Neera, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāpuhi, is passionate about Te Ao Māori and Tikanga Māori having spent most of her adult life in advisory roles at local schools throughout Porirua as well as mentorship using Kapa haka as the vehicle for long-term engagement. Nirvana has a Bachelor of Art majoring in Te Reo Māori & Psychology, a Bachelor of Applied Performing Arts- majoring in dance, a Bachelor of Māori Medium Teaching (He tohu Whakaakoranga), and a Master's in Education with Honours.
Nirvana developed and facilitated an iwi led total immersion te reo Māori program, Pā Wānanga for 5-13yr olds at Puna Mātuaranga (Iwi education support hub) based on Ngāti Toatanga re-connecting tamariki with place and space and re-affirming cultural identity through the delivery of iwi specific kōrero around Ngāti Toa pūrakau (stories handed down), whakapapa (genealogy), hītori (history) and hononga taiao (relationship to our environment).
Pairama Wright
Pairama Wright, Taranaki Whānui, Ngā Ruahine, Te Ati Awa, Kāti Māmoe, has dedicated a large portion of his adult life to the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori. He has completed a Bachelor of Arts Māori with first class honours, and a Masters of Professional Practice with distinction, of which his thesis was dedicated to his understanding of whaikōrero on a social scale. Pairama sat on the national executive committee of Musical Theatre NZ for 4 years as the cultural advisor, has performed and taught competitively in kapa haka and composed many waiata reo Māori.
He has assisted in the programme development and moderation of many courses within the offerings of Te Ūranga Waka – The Māori language department of Eastern Institute of Technology. There, he was a senior staff member, who taught, developed, and supported many of the courses within the school.
Calisa Hippolite
Calisa began her career at Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira in 2015, after completing her studies in Education at Massey University.
She supported the establishment of Te Puna Mātauranga o Toa Rangatira, an iwi-lead learning support centre. She currently works across Te Puna Mātauranga and Ūpane as Education and Development Lead. Her key focus is developing and facilitating learning support programs for ākonga across the education sector, to support better outcomes for our whānau.
He uri a Calisa nō Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Koata me te iwi o Tahiti hoki.
We are passionate about
our people, our stories and
our culture.
Upcoming Events
Our upcoming workshops are specifically curated to equip whānau, kaimahi, individuals and organisations with the knowledge and tools required to navigate diverse cultural landscapes with confidence.