Our Whānau
Our Whānau
Miriama
Hammond
Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani, Ngā Uri Taniwha a Hine Kōrako
Kui Miriama is a founding pou of AATEA. Alongside the late Ray (Karoro Moetahuna) Edwards and Amster Reedy, Kui Miriama has long supported AATEA as a founding pakeke advisor and within her numerous communty and whānau roles. Her passion for her people and tikanga and sharp mind continue to guide AATEA’s growing team.
Rehurehu mai rā a Whakapunake
Te uri taniwha a Hinekōrako kua tukuna atu rā ki Te Reinga
I tīraha i Pūtahi
I tauawhitia ki Te Poho o Hinepehinga
Ka pūmautia ki te whatumanawa
Ko ngā roimata ka waipuketia te ara ki Kōpinga
ka kōrerohia koe ki ngā papa rauora o ngā karāpuna
Me rongo…
Ō reo tūpuna
Ka paorooro rā i te kokō mai o Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōngenengene Matangirau
Tō tātou pou whirinaki
E wairurutu noa nei te whānau kua mahue nei i a koe
E Kui e
Ka rākeitia te puna maumahara ki te tuhi māreikura e kore nei e ngaro e…
Our AATEA whānau mourn the passing of our pou kuia, Miriama Teokiekie Hammond (née Cooper) on March 12th 2022. E auē ana te ngākau o tēnā, o tēnā o mātou.
Kui Miriama was an integral member of our multi-generational team. Indeed, she was the surviving pou whirinaki of the pākeke who guided AATEA from its inception, the others being the late New Amsterdam Reedy and the late Ray Edwards.
Well into her 80s, Whaea maintained a formidable sharpness of intellect and interest in the goings-on of work, community and whānau life. Kui was a pillar of support; a wellspring of lived experience, wisdom, motherliness, and ‘nanny-ness’. We are so blessed and grateful; Nanny Menemene attended almost every AATEA Team hui (Zui), including during Covid-19 lockdown 2020 – a hugely trying and busy time.
Whaea Miriama was a guiding and reassuring presence when we were going through work and personal challenges, always there to celebrate breakthroughs and milestones. In true matriarchal style, she would tell us off if we were not taking good care of ourselves and overdoing the work hours.
Kui had us vying for the best putiputi (flower) background or wallpaper on our Zooms. Flowers of diverse origin and hues (preferably from our own gardens) would be presented in the hope they would prompt an anecdote, an opinion, the nod.
In our team hui, before closing karakia, Kui always had the last word. She maintained this until her last hui a fortnight before she passed… and even in her last week, Kui sent a message from the hospital telling us how proud she was of all of us, to keep on with the mahi and look after one another.
Kui Miriama – Nanny Menemene – Mum, does not journey alone. Whanaunga, friends and mentors, including revered and treasured elders from both coasts and beyond have been lost to us during and since her passing. We at AATEA send aroha and condolences to whānau and friends who, like us, gather in whatever way we can—whether in person or virtually—to grieve, to bear witness, to celebrate and, ultimately, farewell.
Okioki atu rā koe, e Kui, koutou ko ō hoa haere ki te kāpunipuni o te iwi nui i te Pō.
Kiwa Hammond
Director & CofounderNgāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani, Rongowhakaata, Moriori, English, Irish, Scottish
Kiwa’s life work has been centred in the retention and revival of te ao, tikanga Māori and tikane Moriori. Kiwa is an accomplished researcher and author of publications that have been used as educational resources in schools across Aotearoa. Kiwa is a registered translator through Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Māori, the Māori language commission, recognised as the highest qualification for Māori language translation and interpreting.
Hinerangi Edwards
Director & CofounderNgāruahine, Taranaki, Tāngahoe, Te Pakakohi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Arawa, Hāmoa, Tonga
Hinerangi specialises in incorporating kaupapa Māori frameworks with other tools to help teams develop and articulate their authentic voice and strategy. She is also highly experienced in Treaty of Waitangi and tikanga Māori education and its implementation at an organisational level. Hinerangi also has years of experience within governance roles and currently serves as Chair of the Ringa Hora Workforce Development Council, as well as being a member the Māori Economic Development Advisory Board across government (MEDAB), Te Kura Pounamu board, and Poutama Trust. Additionally, she is a director of Korou Digital Agency Ltd, which seeks to create equitable outcomes for access to digital futures in rural areas.
Fleur Whaanga
Ngāti Rangi, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Muaūpoko, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pāhauwera
Office Manager and administrator based out of our Te Wairoa office, Fleur holds a fundamental role within the AATEA team as kaitiaki mouri, ensuring the mouri of the whānau of AATEA is maintained and that everything we do as a business and team are conducted in a mana and mouri enhancing way. Fleur’s background in customer service in her former roles in organisations such as Kiwibank, the Ministry of Social Development, as well as her active roles and engagement within various communities around Aotearoa provide Fleur with expertise on communication and engagement, which she brings to the AATEA team. As a parent and grandparent, Fleur’s drive to create a better world and environment for our current and future generations is a sentiment we share deeply within AATEA.
Greg Ford
Ngāti Raukawa
Greg is a kaiako in Aho Matua kura, a registered translator of Te Reo Māori, a software developer and digital creator. Greg holds a Masters of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice for Digital and Collaborative Learning, a Graduate Diploma of Teaching, and a Diploma of Digital Film. These qualifications have informed his positions as a skilful consultant/programmer working on all aspects of software development, and as a teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, and Pou Reo Matihiko, Digital Specialist operating in AATEA. In addition to this, Greg also has been the head te reo māori translator for multiple digital educational resources (including Scratch, PhET and others) creating accessible, digital pathways for mātauranga-based learning in schools.
Maakere Edwards
Ngāruahine, Taranaki, Tāngahoe, Te Pakakohi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Arawa, Hāmoa, Tonga
Maakere has qualifications in Taranaki reo and is a licensed translator and interpreter, registered with Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori. She has a heart for tribal dialects and their expression, particularly through karanga, waiata and poi in Taranaki. Maakere has researched in community, private and public sectors, aided by work in and out of the akomanga/classroom; in public and academic libraries; the heritage sector; and adult training, education, and employment. She facilitated taiao-loving kaupapa like Enviroschools (Toimata) and Te Aho Tū Roa with young generations, growing awareness of, and aspiration toward sustainable living. Maakere is an accomplished writer and proofreader, a longstanding member of the AATEA team; has degrees in Arts (Victoria University) and Law (Auckland University) and qualified as a barrister and solicitor.
Rotohiko Ainsley
Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki, Whānau Tauwhao, Piri Rākau, Ngāti Tamaterā
Ropata has experience in evaluation, management and administrative roles. He has had valuable involvement in the ‘Te Uepū ā-Motu’ the Māori medium section of the Education Review Office, and has worked as a statutory manager for the Ministry of Education, a longstanding kaitiaki for Te Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, and is also a team member of Te Aho Matua curriculum development. He has been involved in ’Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa’, as a project manager, and he has also been a project coordinator for Te Tairāwhiti for Tuia 250 as an active and sought-after cultural consultant.
Rāhiri Mākuini Edwards-Hammond
Ngā iwi huhua o Taranaki whānui, Te Arawa, Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani, Rongowhakaata, Moriori
Rāhiri holds a Master of Indigenous Studies (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington) and a Bachelor of Health Promotion, Sport and Exercise Science from Te Wānanga o Raukawa, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Art, majoring in Māori studies from the University of Auckland. A raukura of kura kaupapa and whare wānanga, Rahiri is driven by her passion for people and brings to AATEA her experiences in these spaces and in her own business, Project Rangatahi. Since joining AATEA as an intern and rangatahi advisor in 2018, Rahiri has expanded her experience in translation, writing, design, and project management and continues to work with AATEA on various projects.
Ana Paewai
Ngāruahine, Taranaki, Tāngahoe, Te Pakakohi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Arawa, Hāmoa, Tonga
Ana brings 30 years of experience in Māori language immersion education to the AATEA whanau. Ana is a founding member of Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori programs in Taranaki. After establishing, with the whānau, Te Kōpae Tamariki Kia Ū Te Reo (Kōhanga Reo) and Te Pi’ipi’inga Kākano mai i Rangiātea (Kura Kaupapa Māori) in New Plymouth, Ana then moved to Dannevirke to play a vital role in Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tamaki Nui A Rua. Ana’s focus curricula areas are; primary teaching in all curriculum areas, Toi at all levels, in particular, NCEA 1,2,3, Matea Motuhake (Special Education) learning programs, particularly supporting students with hearing and visual loss, and all aspects of Māori immersion education.
Whare Kupenga-Keefe
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aowera, Ngāti Pahauwera, Rongomaiwahine, Rakai Paaka
Whare is a graduate of Te Kura Tākiura o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau with a Kura Kaupapa Māori Dip. Teaching and of Te Wānanga ō Raukawa with a Postgraduate and Master of Education degree. She has taught in a range of kaupapa, supporting Māori models of education, and has provided advisory services of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga to educate whānau, hapū, marae, iwi and the wider community. Whare is a proactive observer, programmer and initiator of direction, creating pathways ensuring positive and safe outcomes. Competent in karanga, mōteatea, whaikōrero, haka and karakia, Whare is grounded in te ao Māori and her core knowledge lies in whakapapa and philosophy.
Sophie Clement
Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa
Sophie has a background in business strategy and development, with over fifteen years of diverse experience. Her skills include strategic and big-picture thinking, critical problem-solving and calming the waters of any kaupapa she is involved in. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies from the University of Canterbury, and is currently undertaking study in te reo Māori, supported by the wider AATEA whānau. Equity and kaitiakitanga are high on her value list and is always looking to connect with like-minded individuals who are advocating for good in Aotearoa.
Patina Edwards
Ngāruahine, Taranaki, Tāngahoe, Te Pakakohi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Arawa, Hāmoa, Tonga
Patina holds a Master of Arts (Hons) and is a graduate of Te Aupikitanga ki te Kairangi. She is a kaupapa Māori researcher with experience in taiao, education, and Māori-Crown relationship spaces. Patina has worked in policy making roles in Crown (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Te Puni Kōkiri) and iwi (Ngāti Ruanui Tahua) settings. She spent several years developing global humanitarian projects when based overseas in the 2000’s.
Patina is passionate about whānau and papakāinga development, wider community building, and kai resilience. She contributes to these kaupapa in AATEA projects and in her roles as chair of R&R Edwards Whānau Trust and Taranaki Timebank.
Daniel Harrison
Taranaki, Te Pakakohe, Ngāti Ruanui, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika
Dan Harrison is an initiator of strategic relationships, an experienced governor and a skilled project manager who is comfortable in both te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā. His experience spans the business, Iwi Māori, and Crown-Māori context, all of which influences his approach as facilitator and strategic leader at AATEA. He has worked with both pre and post-settlement governance entities, as well as local and central governments. Dan is currently on the board of Te Kāhui o Taranaki Trust – Taranaki Iwi and the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust – Taranaki Whanui.
Zach Wylde
British, American
Zach grew up in recording studios and post-production facilities around the world, learning alongside technicians and creatives which led him to a career in video production and technology. Whether it’s big data delivery, security, storage for films and tv, or it’s getting on the tools and participating in the increased adoption of open-source solutions, Zach loves every minute of it! Additionally, Zach is a Director at Korou Digital, an organisation that provides pathways into the technology industry for rangatahi in Te Wairoa.
Te Moana Nui a Kiwa Rehu Ryan
Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi, Tūwharetoa, Scottish, Irish
Te Moana has a Bachelor of Anthropology, minoring in Indigenous Development (University of Otago, Ōtepoti) and is a graduate of Te Wānanga o Raukawa where he completed Heke Reo Māori, Diploma in Te Reo Māori and Heke Kaitiakitanga Pūtaiao, diploma in Environmental Management. Te Moana’s work is centred around culture, art, the environment, hauora and whānau wellbeing. Te Moana works mainly in the field of digital design and is known for his skill in creating visual assets that highlight mātauranga Māori concepts and frameworks in an accessible way.
Mana Keefe
Ngāti Porou, Te Awe Māpara, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pahauwera, Rongomaiwahine, Rakaipaaka
Mana is an Artist, Teacher, Social Worker, Writer and a consultant with AATEA Solutions. Mana has followed in her parents footsteps and has a Diploma of Teaching from Auckland Teachers’ Training College, a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from Auckland University and a Masters in the Arts from EIT – Tairāwhiti.
Mana, along with her whānau are resolute advocates and supporters of their Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou branches, participating whenever they are able or are called upon.