Ngā Kaiwhakahaere
Te Mātāwai has a team of experienced staff who are passionate about the revitalisation of the Māori language and committed to support the achievement of the strategic direction set by the Board.
Karl Smith
Tumu Whakarae Kairīwhi
Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Rākaipaaka, Rongowhakaata.
Basil Keane
Kaitohutohu Matua Kairīwhi
Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Rangitāne
basil.keane@tematawai.maori.nz
Nate Brabender
Kaiwhakahaere Haumitanga
He uri nō Ngāti Porou, nō Ngāti Kahungunu, nō Ngāti Ruapani hoki.
He tangata ūpoko pakaru a Nate. Ko ngā mātāpono o te manaakitanga me te tauutuutu ōna kaha.
Nā tōna kuia, kaumātua ia i poipoi, i whakatipu hoki. Nā, ka eke ki tōna taiohitanga ka tuku mā tōna māmā ia e whakatipu, takitahi nei. Nō tōna tamarikitanga ia i āta mātakitaki, i ako hoki ki ngā āhuatanga o te manawanui me te tauutuutu hoki.
“He kai kei aku ringa” – Ko te waiaro tēnei a Nate. Ahakoa kei te tūranga Kaiwhakahaere Haumitanga ia i tēnei wā, he kōingo nui hoki tōna ki te hāpai i te tangata ahakoa te aha.
He pukenga ōna ki ngā mahi whakahaere me te whakawhanake tīma. Hei tāpiri atu ko ōna tohu mātauranga kei roto i ngā mahi Haumitanga Toitū ki Harvard Business School. Arā noa atu ōna pukenga hei whakaniko i tōna tūranga mahi, ka mutu hei whakaniko i ōna mahi mō Te Mātāwai. Ko tētahi o ngā kaupapa nui whakaharahara kua riwha i a Nate he whakangungu i ngā kaiarataki, i ngā kaiurungi o tēnei ao kikokiko ki ngā pukenga hautūtanga mā te whakatinatina i te rautaki whakawhanake tīma. Kia tipu ai te nui o ngā tāngata kei tētahi tīma Whakahaere Tūhake mai i te 230 ki te 750 ngā tāngata. Nā wai rā ka whakapiki i te raukaha, i te māpua hoki mā te $2 miriona ia tau.
I piri atu a Nate ki Te Mātāwai i te tau 2020. I noho ki tētahi kirimana i raro i te marumaru o Te Amokura Consultants. Kāore e roa ka rongo a Nate i te ngākau nui ki te tāhūhū o Te Mātāwai mā roto i te reka o ngā kaupapa whakarauora reo a ngā kāinga, ngā hapori Māori me ngā iwi e hāpai ana e Te Mātāwai.
Mea rawa ake, ka pūmau te noho a Nate ki Te Mātāwai ki te whakapakari i te hōtoka haumitanga, ka tahi. Ka rua, he whakawhanake i te tīma o Te Mātāuru me a rātou pukenga. Mā ōna pukenga whakahaere me te whakawhanake tīma e whakatutuki ai i tēnei kawenga. He pūmanawa tō Nate mō te whakarauoratanga o tōna reo me te reo o tōna whānau. Nā, e kaha whakatinanana ana i tōna mahere reo e taea ai e rāua ko tana ipo, ā tōna wā, ki te whakatipu i ā rāua tamariki ki roto i te reo Māori hei pupuru i te ahurea Māori.
“Anei tātou nā ko te pō: anā tātou nā he rā ki tua” – here affliction grips us, yonder is relief. Kei konei tātou e whirikōkā tonu nei, ā, haere ake nei. Ahakoa he wā rukiruki tēnei, e manako nui ana ahau e ūkaipō haere ana tō tātou reo. Mā ngā whānau, mā ngā hapori Māori me ngā iwi hoki tō tātou reo e kawe ki te karamatamata o te rākau taumatua. Mā tātou anō te reo e whakatō ki ōna whenua haumako”.
neihana.brabender@tematawai.maori.nz
Braden Te Hiwi
Kaiwhakahaere Rangahau
Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Tūkorehe
Nō te tau 2024 i tatū mai a Braden ki waenganui i te whānau o Te Mātāwai. Ko te rangahau tāna tino mahi, ā, i riro i a ia te Tohu Kairangi. He mea tuku e te University of Western Ontario (Kānata). Nāna i tuhi ngā pūrongo rangahau me te pukapuka rangahau e iri ana i ngā pakitara o ngā wānanga Pākehā. Nō mua atu, he kaimahi ia nō Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. Waihoki, he pūkenga ia nō te Akoranga mō ngā Iwi Taketake o te University of British Columbia (Kānata).
I a ia e tamariki ana ko te reo Pākehā anake te reo rere. Engari hei tāna i tēnei wā, kāore i kō atu i tuku atu i te reo o whakapata mā ki āna tamariki. Hoki whakamuri, kia anga whakamua.
braden.tehiwi@tematawai.maori.nz
Mish Rikihana-Vieira
Communications Manager
Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai
Mish is passionate about kaupapa Māori and communications. She joined Te Mātāwai permanently in January 2024 from Te Amokura Consultants after being drawn to the reo revitalisation cause and the whānau atmosphere. Mish has over 20 years’ experience working in public relations and as a journalist in Aotearoa and the UK. Her roles have primarily spanned central and local government including in Indigenous Rights, education, and health.
Raised in Ōtaki, Mish has three daughters with her Brazilian husband. She’s the co-chair of her hapū Ngāti Korokī and a member of the Te Hono ki Raukawa Council.