Awerangi Tamihere

Ngāti Kauwhata, Rangitāne, Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Kai Tahu

Awerangi is the Chief Operating Officer for Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency.

Prior to taking on her current role, Awerangi for the last five years was the Director of Wai-Atamai with Te Whānau o Waipareira. The first for Māori By Māori social innovation hub in the country. A hub based in the community that facilitates embedding the impact that matters for whānau and their communities.

Awerangi’s career spans the public sector – working in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Social Reform and other government agencies through to the private sector – establishing and leading the KPMG Māori Consulting Team. Her initial career was as a speech language therapist before moving into management roles and focusing on broader social reform. Working with her own iwi has taken many roles including implementing on the ground for Māori by Māori mechanisms for delivery – a catalyst for her continued focus on supporting aspirational change amongst our people. Awerangi has also held other various government and third sector governance roles prior to becoming a Director for Tapuwae Roa.