Professor Bridgette Masters-Awatere

Bridgette Masters-Awatere (Te Rarawa, Ngāi te Rangi, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau) is a Professor in Te Kura Whatu Oho Mauri - School of Psychology - in the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences at the University of Waikato. In addition to her role as Director of the Community Psychology postgraduate programme for registration as a psychologist, she is the Director of the Māori & Psychology Research Unit. Both Directorships are situated within the School of Psychology. Bridgette trained as a psychologist, with a special interest in community and Indigenous wellbeing. Before joining the academy she managed a successful private practice that refined her evaluation research skills within Indigenous contexts. She teaches some of these skills to postgraduate students at Waikato.

Projects that are Bridgette is currently involved with are: 'Rapua te Ara Rangatira' and 'He Waka Eke Noa', which are two projects situated within the Whakaue Research led Kia Puawai Programme grant that is funded by the Health Research Council of NZ; Bridgette leads the Waikato team who contribute to 'The expression, experience and transcendence of low skills in Aotearoa New Zealand' project led by Auckland University of Technology and funded as an MBIE Endeavour grant. Recently completed projects were funded within different National Science Challenges; 'Haumanu Hauora' within the Deep South challenge, ‘He Pikinga Waiora’ within the Healthier Lives challenge, 'He Taonga ke te Ngahere' within the Biological Heritage challenge. Other projects were: 'Tangata kāpō Māori and health service (non)delivery' and ‘Harti Hauora Tamariki’, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, ‘Hospital Transfers’ and 'Kāpō COVID' funded by the Māori Centre of Research Excellence (Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga).

Bridgette did all her formal tertiary training at Waikato University. Since 2000 she has been registered and practicing as a Community Psychologist. In 2015 she completed her PhD in Psychology focused on indigenous evaluation. Her research tends to focus on generating information that is useful and is targeted towards making change in the context of existing inequality. Her research is always values-based and driven, which often includes consideration of a collective experience that engages multiple voices - eg whānau, hapū, iwi, agency, community - in the context of individual descriptions of experiences. She likes to take an ecological approach, which often includes systems and multilevel analysis, narrative inquiry and kaupapa Māori research.