Heather Gifford
Dr Heather Gifford (Ngāti Hauiti, Te Atihaunui a Paparangi)
Heather is the Senior Advisor Business and Research and Founder of Whakauae Research. Her research activities are focused on Māori public health with a speciality in tobacco control research. She has a background as a registered nurse and in management of health services and is actively involved in tribal development holding a number of governance roles on behalf of Ngāti Hauiti. She also holds an Adjunct Research role in the Department of Public Health at Otago University and is a member of the College of Experts with the Health Research Council of NZ. Heather is passionate about the role research can play in tribal development and the achievement of wellbeing goals for Māori.
Dr Tanya Allport (Te Ati Awa, German)
As Director of Research at Te Whānau O Waipareira, a large multi-sectoral Māori provider based in West Auckland, Tanya guides the strategic direction of the Wai-Research Unit, evaluation of funding, project development and oversees the impact of research on the Waipareira community. Tanya’s role coordinates the implementation of high quality, responsive and timely research activities that support the vision of Te Whānau o Waipareira to create spaces where whānau hopes and opportunities can flourish. With a background in various social research initiatives, Tanya’s primary interest is in contributing to research which is translational by nature – meaning research that is able to impact the Māori community in real, tangible positive ways, rather than research for the sake of research.
Dr Amohia Boulton (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Mutunga)
Amohia is the Director of Whakauae Research: an iwi (tribal) research centre located in Whanganui, New Zealand. She has a public policy background and, as a health services researcher, her interests span Māori health leadership and governance, service-level evaluation, and the interface between health policy and service implementation. Specifically her research focuses on the relationship between national policy intent, planning practices and funding strategies for indigenous health services and the desires of local, indigenous community for improving the health outcomes of their people. In addition to being the Director of Whakauae, she has roles at Victoria University of Wellington as an Adjunct Research Associate in the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, and as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Health Services Research Centre.
Professor Denise Wilson
Denise Wilson is of Ngāti Tahinga (Tainui) descent. She is the Professor of Māori Health and the Director of Taupua Waiora Centre for Māori Health Research. Her research activities are focused on Māori/indigenous health and health service use, family violence, cultural responsiveness and cultural safety, and health workforce development. She has a background as a registered nurse and nursing education. Denise has been involved in family violence research, and at a national level in the development of the Ministry of Health’s Violence Intervention Programme. She is currently a member of the Health Quality and Safety Commission’s Family Violence Death Review Committee and Roopū Māori, and Chairs of the Mortality Review Committee’s Māori Caucus.
Abstracts this author is presenting: