Tapuwae Roa welcomes new additions to its board of directors.

Tapuwae Roa announced today the appointment of Bernie O’Donnell and Naomi Manu (MNZM) as Alternate Directors to its board.

The appointments are to bring an insightful breadth of experience and skills to Tapuwae Roa’s newly launched strategic plan and growing work in pursuing tikanga-led, targeted social change for Māori communities.

Aligning with the Trust’s commitment to elevating mātauranga and pūtaiao Māori, Manu (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) brings a wealth of knowledge to the Trust as Founder of Pūhoro STEM Academy, leading Aotearoa’s efforts to encourage Māori students to pursue STEM careers. In addition to this, Manu was recently named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and appointed as an Obama Foundation Leader for the Asia-Pacific region in 2023.

Joining Manu as Alternate Director, O’Donnell (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngā Ruahinerangi, Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāi Tahu) brings a wealth of governance experience to the Trust with a long history serving the urban Māori sector. O’Donnell is a Director of Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, and National Urban Māori Authority, co-chair of Te Mātāwai, and chair of Manukau Urban Māori Authority.

“Nō Tapuwae Roa te whiwhi. We are very fortunate to have Naomi and Bernie joining our Board. Both are accomplished and talented directors, each boasting a long history of staunch advocacy, support and delivery for Māori – their expertise will be invaluable to us,” says Te Pūoho Kātene, Kaihautū of Tapuwae Roa.

Naomi and Bernie are welcomed by Tapuwae Roa’s existing board members; Kate Cherrington (Chair), Awerangi Tamihere (Director), Maria Ngawati (Director), and Tatiana Greening (Alternate Director).

To learn more about Tapuwae Roa, visit: https://www.tapuwaeroa.org/about/our-board/