Dr Jeanette Wikaira
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Group Manager Community
Jeanette Wikaira serves as the Thames-Coromandel District Council’s Group Manager Community after five years as part of the executive leadership team at Dunedin City Council.
Wikaira, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi, served in Dunedin as General Manager for Arts, Culture and Recreation, plus General Manager of Community Services, and General Manager of Partnerships, Policy and Governance before deciding to return to the Coromandel.
Prior to Wikaira’s local government background, she held senior roles at the University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology and is currently chair of the Hone Tuwhare Charitable Trust, co-chair of the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival, and a trustee of Manaia Marae. Her academic career spans more than 30 years.
Rangahau · Related projects
Reimagining our cities through Indigenous knowledge, identity, and environmental care. Today, over 85% of Māori live in urban environments across Aotearoa. These modern kāinga (settlements) are more than places to live—they’re reflections of identity, connection to whenua, and intergenerational ingenuity. Yet, many Māori have been relegated to the margins…
View projectToitū he Kāinga: Healthy Environmental Relationships in Urban Settings
Reimagining our cities through Indigenous knowledge, identity, and environmental care.
Today, over 85% of Māori live in urban environments across Aotearoa. These modern kāinga (settlements) are more than places to live—they’re reflections of identity, connection to whenua, and intergenerational ingenuity. Yet, many Māori have been relegated to the margins of city spaces, facing spatial injustices that continue to impact wellbeing.
Toitū he Kāinga explores how Māori are reclaiming, revitalising, and reshaping urban landscapes—building sustainable futures through mahi toitū (Māori-led environmental care), identity, and rangatiratanga.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin is an architectural and urban researcher, designer, leader and educator whose work explores city-making in relation to identity and belonging, justice and care, resilience and the empowerment potential of urbanity. She has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2012 and holds dual US–NZ citizenship. Crystal's recent research has centred on placemaking in public and community housing, with a focus on community infrastructure, urban design, and the complexities of measuring placemaking impact. This work has been undertaken as part of Public Housing & Urban Regeneration… -
Dr James Berghan
Dr James Berghan
Dr James Berghan (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies and Co-Director at Spatial Justice Aotearoa, a kaupapa Māori research and design firm based in Pōneke and Ōtautahi. With a background in urban planning and design, James leads several research projects about how housing, transport and cities can better reflect Māori aspirations and belonging.James holds a Tāwhia Te Mana Future Leader Fellowship from the Royal Society Te Apārangi. His four-year research programme examines how urban change in Aotearoa is framed and… -
Dr Robin Quill
Dr Robin Quill
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Dr Louise Marsh
Dr Louise Marsh
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Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship—Awarded by Royal Society Te Apārangi through the Tāwhia te Mana programme, recognising her contribution as leading scholar in respective field.Dr Rebecca Kiddle’s (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi) work focuses on spatial justice, the fair distribution of resources and opportunities irrespective of where people live. Working within a settler colonial context, her research maps spatial injustice across the motu, examining inequities in access to kai, healthcare, employment, and climate resilience. This work considers how the planning, design, and structures of our… -
Kiri Waldergrave
Kiri Waldergrave
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Wendy Moore
Wendy Moore
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Dr Jeanette Wikaira
Dr Jeanette Wikaira
Jeanette Wikaira serves as the Thames-Coromandel District Council’s Group Manager Community after five years as part of the executive leadership team at Dunedin City Council.Wikaira, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi, served in Dunedin as General Manager for Arts, Culture and Recreation, plus General Manager of Community Services, and General Manager of Partnerships, Policy and Governance before deciding to return to the Coromandel.Prior to Wikaira’s local government background, she held senior roles at the University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology and is currently chair…
Ētahi atu · Other people
Associate Professor Esther Willing
Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata , Ngā Ruahine
University of Otago
Dr Esther Willing (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Ruahine) is an Associate Professor in Hauora Māori and the…