Te Tira
The Team
Angie Tangaere
Kaitohu Tangata Whenua
Angie Tangaere was born in Papakura and raised in South Auckland with a whakapapa to Ngāti Porou on her father’s side and Pākehā with a connection to Taranaki on her mother’s side.
Graduating with a law degree, Angie was keen to work at a community level and took up a role at Te Puni Kōkiri working with iwi and Māori organisations in South Auckland. Angie then worked with the Ministry of Social Development in South Auckland communities looking for ways to develop better services and engagement with communities and whānau, as well as with Māori health NGO, the National Hauora coalition.
She has a Masters in Māori and Indigenous Leadership at University of Canterbury Aotearoa New Zealand and is currently Kaitohu Tangata Whenua, at The Auckland Co-Design Lab. Here she combines her experience with government agencies, community and whānau to develop and co-design whānau-led innovation initiatives, disrupting ineffective ‘business as usual’ systems.
Dr Penny Hagen
Director Tangata Tiriti
Penny assists organisations, teams and communities to take a systems-orientated approach to wellbeing.
Working across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Penny has supported cross-sector teams and communities to respond to complex social issues by connecting policy and evidence to the lived realities and aspirations of communities.
Penny has a PhD in participatory design and her work integrates approaches from wellbeing, health, design, youth development, systems, and evaluation disciplines.
In addition to co-leading the Lab mahi on design for equity and intergenerational wellbeing, Penny is the design representative on the Ministry for Social Development Ethics committee, on the Understanding Police Delivery Independent Panel, and Ngā Aho Kaupapa Whānau.
She is a strong advocate of social design and ethics practices that are of Aotearoa, supporting events and forums that develop and strengthen local practice and networks.
Jessica Trask
Systems Innovation Lead
Jessica was raised in Tauranga Moana on the whenua of Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga with ancestry to Ireland, Germany and England. She loves learning and is experienced at working in highly complex environments to build social capital to create more equitable systems.
She joins the team with a strong design skillset with particular experience in designing for equity, systems thinking and intervention, and domestic violence and child abuse. Jessica has worked across central and local government in a variety of capacities and has the experience, enthusiasm and the resilience required to work in shifting complex (Crown) systems.
She is passionate about decolonisation and the role of Tangata Tiriti in working for racial equity and works at both individual and collective levels towards a Te Tiriti centric Aotearoa.
Eruini Hawke
Mātauranga Māori Capability Lead
Tirohia atu te Pane-o-Horoiwi
Whakapukepuke whakatikitiki ki waho rā.
He Tikitiki he Kawau, he Kawau he Tikitiki
Ka heke ki Tahuna Torea
He Tikitiki he Kawau he Tikitiki
Ka eke, ka eke ki te Waitematā
Tihei Mauri Ora!
Eruini was raised on his ancestral lands in Tāmaki Makaurau – on a little slice of heaven known as Takaparawhau, Bastion Point. He spent his childhood years under the watchful eyes of his grandparents Rene and Joseph Hawke. As a mokopuna of Māori land activists, Eruini inherited the profound role of being a kaitiaki (cultural guardian) of his whenua, moana, and taiao. With over twenty years of experience in environmental spaces – his career reflects his personal commitment to protecting te mauri o te taiao. His expertise is in native forestry, ecological restoration, and conservation, rongoā Māori, resource management, para kore, ecotourism, and biodiversity care.
He has a strong foundation in Te Ao Māori – inclusive of te reo me ōna tikanga, kōrero tuku iho and mātauranga ā-iwi. His inherent connection to the taiao is what drives him, and he ensures that his work is always guided and informed by the teachings of his tūpuna. He is also deeply committed to the service of his people and has worked closely with his own iwi and communities. A true child of Tāne Mahuta, he is happiest when his hands are in the soil. Eruini is a proud father of two and has iwi affiliations to Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Maniapoto.
Kelly Maung
Programme Advisor
I te taha o tōku matua, no Maiama ahau. I te taha o tōku whaea, no Ingarangi ahau. I tipu ake au ki Titirangi ki nga waewae o Te Wao nui o Tiriwa, i te rohe o Te Kawerau a Māki. Ko Ngā Puhi rāua ko Ngāti Kahu nga iwi o āku tamariki.
Kelly has worked for over ten years in family, whānau and sexual violence prevention, supporting a number of innovative projects including Wellbeing in Waitematā, which explored how to increase community-led primary prevention of family and sexual violence, and the Auckland/ Aotearoa Humanity Project, a primary prevention storytelling campaign.
In recent years, much of Kelly’s work has focused on supporting organisations to understand their role and responsibilities as Tangata Tiriti and using models such as Te Tokotoru and concepts such as “duty to care” to explore systems, organisation, practice and service delivery change.
Riki-Lee Saua
Systems Learning Lead
Mauri ora ki a tātou!
Mā ngā tapuwae o ōku tīpuna ahau e mōhio ai.
He uri tēnei o Ngāpuhi, Te Roroa me Tainui.
Raised in the vibrant community of South Auckland, Riki-Lee has an extensive background in librarianship, learning support, cultural capability and research. Her career spans roles such as Kaiwhakarato Parongo Rangahau Māori, Senior Learning Specialist—Kaupapa Māori, Kaiako Reo Māori and Team Leader, Learning and Teaching Development.
Riki-Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts (Māori and Sociology) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Information Studies from Victoria University of Wellington.
In her role as Systems Learning Lead, Riki-Lee is dedicated to empowering learning through the Niho Taniwha framework, using it as a tool to influence systems change and foster a more equitable future for whānau.
Whaowhia te kete mātauranga!