A passionate advocate for young people, Marion has focused her career on creating positive change for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau. Alongside senior leadership roles for organisations including Child Youth and Family and Presbyterian Support Northern, she has worked in the DHB and finance sectors, and is a member of the Institute of Directors. Marion is married to Paul, and they have two awesome sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law, and three amazing grandchildren (so far!)

An experienced te reo Māori teacher, trainer and facilitator – with a particular focus on working with young offenders and mentoring young Māori – Pita is integral to our bicultural journey. As the national Kaumātua of Kia Puāwai, he hosts many noho marae throughout the year across different programmes and services, with staff groups around the motu.

A strong senior leader dedicated to helping our communities and the people in them, Neil has a background in counselling and 15 years' experience in the social services sector. His previous role was Chief Executive at not-for-profit Man Alive | Tāne Ora, which offers support services for men. Neil is also currently the Board chair at WAVES Trust. A father of two, Neil lives in beautiful Whangaparāoa, where he enjoys getting out on the ocean sailing, surfing and kiteboarding.

Louisa spent many years as a forensic psychologist in both practitioner and leadership roles within the UK Prison Service and Ara Poutama Aotearoa. Having specialised in offending risk assessment and rehabilitation, she has a keen focus on helping to create positive long-term outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi. Louisa passionately champions a client-focused approach to delivering best practice through evidence-based approaches that are grounded in strong indigenous knowledge and understanding.

Russell has extensive commercial and leadership experience in operations and finance. Before joining Kia Puāwai, Russell was the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for a large non-profit in New Zealand. Russell’s passion is to make people’s mahi easier by collaborating with teams to improve processes and the outcomes for the people they serve. Away from Kia Puāwai, Russell has two teenage daughters who keep him busy, and he can usually be found seeking out new and amazing beaches to explore.

Natalie brings over 18 years of comprehensive HR generalist experience across diverse corporate and professional service sectors. Her professional career has been focused on enhancing organisational performance through strategic HR initiatives and influencing senior management and board-level decisions, demonstrating a strategic mindset coupled with commercial acumen. Natalie is wearing a taonga her koko gifted her, it is a korowai designed and made entirely by hand.

Grounded in He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Dee-Ann brings over 20 years of experience in the sector across New Zealand and Australia, as a seasoned leader of high-performing teams and a driver of evidence-based leadership and decision-making. She is deeply committed to achieving outcomes for Māori, upholding mana motuhake, strengthening cultural identity, and addressing intergenerational trauma to support the oranga of whānau and mokopuna. A proud girl mum of three daughters and nanny to her two (soon to be three) mokopuna, Dee-Ann draws inspiration from her whānau, hapū and iwi to create transformative, intergenerational change.