Tū ake ki te tihi o tōku Maunga Piko, he tirohanga whānui ki ngā tai e ngunguru ana. Rere atu ai ngā whakaaro, ngā roimata o te aroha ki a rātou kua wehe ki tua. Hoki mai ki ā tātou me ngā moemoeā ki waenganui ki tēnā, ki tēnā. Kawea ake ki runga i ngā au moana, ki te wahapū o te Pārengarenga, ki Te Kokotā, mihi mai! He uri ahau nō te whānau Rata, nō te whānau Rāmeka, ko Whakakōhatu te hapū, kō Ngāti Kuri te iwi, nō ngā marae e rua o Te Hiku o te Ika, rāua tahi ko Te Waiora. Ko Waitai Rata rāua ko Moengaroa Rāmeka ōku mātua tūpuna, ko Awhina Rata tōku karani māmā. Toko toru ōku tamariki, ko Aramoana, rātou ko Rongonui, ko Maieke. I mārena ahau i a Hema Tauroa tōku hoa Rangātira, nō Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. Ko Tammy Tauroa ahau.

My hopes and dream for our whānau and tribe is to live within thriving kāinga settings with access to meaningful resources and opportunities that are directly driven by our community and our aspirations. This includes elevating the voice of our rangatahi and the next generation into the strategic framework of our tribe and reflect and normalise our reo and tikanga across all platforms including commercial and cultural domains. I believe we can reach the heights of
our potential as a collective if we foster real and connected opportunities from a grassroots level.
For the past 13 years I have worked across various roles at The University of Waikato until recently where I left to establish and direct my own company Mīere Limited. I lead a range of Māori research programmers that are environmental, science and mātauranga focussed on behalf of iwi, government agencies, Māori Organisations and Research Institutes. I am the current Research Leader for two Ngāti Kuri projects; Ngā rākau taketake, and our 5-year MBIE Endeavour fund for Rangitāhua. I further oversee a research project with Ngā Wai ā te Tūī (Unitec) and Te Matapihi (National Māori Housing Network) to establish the first National Māori Housing Leadership Programme to be launched later this year in 2021.
Along with my research work, I have created and developed a large number of projects for iwi and hapū that uplift the potential of whenua Māori, and created alternative land-use programmes including employment opportunities. Alongside increasing the potential of our whenua, I am proud of my role in leading the establishment of a new first of its kind home-ownership model for papakāinga in the Waikato for Ngāti Korokī Kahukura. I currently sit as specialist Māori
Housing Advisor to Te Matapihi (The National Māori Housing Network) where I advocate for Māori-led housing solutions across the housing continuum, but specifically with a passion for papakāinga initiatives. At the heart of my mahi, is always my tamariki, my whānau and my people, and to serve our Ngāti Kuri constituency would be my greatest honor.

Bachelor of Arts (Double Major, Māori and Anthropology)
Post Graduate Dip (Development Studies)
Master of Arts (First Class Hons)
PhD (Enrolled Awanuiaarangi)