Whakamanawa 2025 - Conference Speakers

We’re thrilled to welcome back Michèle A’Court as our Conference MC for Whakamanawa 2025! Michèle truly understands our members, their mahi, and the vital role they play in their communities — we know she’ll help create an inspiring atmosphere in Rotorua this September.

Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua, Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, Cook Islands) is a powerhouse Māori-Pasifika creative, storyteller, and activist who is reshaping narratives and empowering Indigenous voices.

Based in Ihumātao, South Auckland, Qiane is the visionary behind NUKU, a groundbreaking movement that champions Indigenous women and reclaims ancestral knowledge. She’s the acclaimed author of NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous Women and a prolific children's author, with books like Maki the Tuurehu and Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina bringing mātauranga to young minds.

Qiane's unwavering dedication to Indigenous rights, land, culture, and identity (including her leadership in the SOUL Protect Ihumātao campaign) has earned her significant recognition, including a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and being named a New Zealand Women of Influence Arts and Culture.

As a thought-leader, cultural commentator and entrepreneur, Qiane challenges conventional thinking, weaving creativity and culture to guide us toward a thriving future. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from this vibrant, disruptive and change-making wahine, driven by her tūpuna to amplify the voices of marginalised communities to change the narrative for generations to come.

Louise Upston is the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Disability Issues, Minister for Social Development and Employment, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Child Poverty Reduction and Deputy Leader of the House. She has served as the MP for Taupō since the 2008 election.

Louise held a number of Ministerial roles in the Fifth National Government, including the portfolios of Corrections, Education, Land Information, Local Government, Women, and Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. She also served as Government Chief Whip.

Prior to entering Parliament in 2008, Louise was self-employed as a project management consultant. She also held directorships in a number of trusts and companies involved in property, tourism, management, and consulting. Louise holds an MBA from Waikato University.

Louise lives in Karāpiro, south of Cambridge, with her partner Hamish and her children.

Hon Karen Chhour is the Minister for Children and for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence.

Karen grew up interacting with the state care system, and was elected to Parliament as an ACT Party MP in 2020 with the goal of reforming Oranga Tamariki to better the lives of New Zealand’s most vulnerable children.

Before politics, Karen was self-employed in the New Zealand-made clothing industry. She is a mother of four and has lived on Auckland's North Shore for the past 30 years.

Dr Claire Achmad is Te Kaikōmihana mō ngā Tamariki, Aotearoa New Zealand’s Children’s Commissioner, and leads Mana Mokopuna – Children’s Commissioner. She is a visible independent advocate for all children under 18 and all children and young people under 25 who have been in, or who are in, care and/or custody. Claire meets mokopuna in their communities across the motu, listening with care to understand their lives, moemoeā and challenges, and connecting with their whānau, hapū, iwi and villages. She then carries mokopuna experiences, ideas for change and voices to decision-makers across Government and throughout hapori. In her role, Claire has been a vocal advocate championing mokopuna and their rights on a range of issues and leading public discourse. Claire’s core commitment as Chief Children’s Commissioner is to ground all her advocacy in what she hears from mokopuna - their lived experience and voices, and to promote and progress children’s rights.

Claire has previously worked in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally in a wide range of areas relating to children's rights, including from legal, policy and practice perspectives. Immediately prior to her current role, she was Chief Executive Officer of Social Service Providers Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa from March 2021-September 2023, playing key leadership role in New Zealand’s community-based social services, while inclusively developing the organisation’s membership and lifting its profile. Claire holds a doctorate in international children’s rights law from Leiden University, where she maintains a Guest Lectureship in the Child Law Department, and has published internationally on a range of children's rights issues. Claire was born and grew up amongst kauri and kererū in the Waitākere Ranges, went to school in West Auckland, and is of woven heritage (Indonesian, Pākeha). She lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Willow-Jean (Te Kapotai) is Labour’s spokesperson for education and children. She believes that people and community must be at the centre of everything we do, and nowhere more so than when it comes to education and our children. Willow-Jean brings a law, advocacy and Māori and community development background to her work as a member of parliament based in Te Tai Tokerau.

Willow-Jean grew-up in Te Tai Tokerau, and continues to live there today with her husband Dion, and daughters, Hihana and Heeni. Her local community work saw her elected into leadership roles, first as the youngest Far North District Councillor in 2013, elected again in 2016. She then became a Labour list member of parliament in 2017, followed by winning the Northland seat in the 2020 election. In 2023, as a Minister, Willow-Jean championed conservation, youth, women’s health, Māori data sovereignty, and arts, culture and heritage. She re-entered parliament in 2023 as a Labour list MP, on the Front Bench and Co-Chair of the Labour Party’s Māori Caucus.

Sneha Lakhotia is a recognised leader in impact management, learning, and systems change, with over a decade of experience working in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. As the Founder and Director of Social Prism, she helps organisations design impact strategies, strengthen data systems, and build frameworks that bridge evidence with practice and equity.

She is Aotearoa New Zealand’s only Accredited SROI Practitioner, Trainer, and Assurer, supporting leaders and changemakers to build capability, embed values-based decision-making, and communicate the difference they make — transforming data and experience into insight, influence, and impact.

Marama Davidson (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tahinga) was born into a family of young, urban Māori activists, and brings that with her to Parliament.

Marama has been Green Party Coleader since 2018. Passionate about improving outcomes for the many and not just the few, Marama takes her lead from community leaders who do the hard work on the ground every day.

Being Chief Panelist for the Glenn Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Child Abuse at the Human Rights Commission before being an MP put violence at the forefront of Marama’s political radar. It was her privilege to be Aotearoa’s first ever Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence from 2020-2023.

Alongside being Coleader, Marama is currently the Green Party spokesperson for prevention of family violence and sexual violence, child poverty reduction, social investment, and conservation. She lives in Manurewa with her whānau.

Emma Powell leads the team working with the Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence. She joined the Unit in December 2021, having worked at ACC for 11 years, where she held a number of senior leadership roles.

Emma was Chief Customer Officer at ACC, working to co-create solutions and deliver change for people. Emma led ACC’s Injury Prevention Strategy, forming multiple national and local partnerships over 3 years to deliver tangible outcomes and also led Whāia Te Tika, ACC’s Māori Strategy, which resulted in significant new funding, services, partnerships and initiatives spanning prevention to recovery.

Since 2010, Emma has worked closely with the sexual violence and family violence sectors and holds strong relationships with many sector leaders. She is an engaged, positive and outgoing executive leader who is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of New Zealanders by placing communities, tangata whenua and specialist sectors at the centre of design and decision making.

Kaye-Maree Dunn, co-founder of Making Everything Achievable, is a renowned Māori tech entrepreneur. Leading Ahau NZ and Indigital Blockchain, she's involved with North Hokianga Development Trust and Āhau Tātai Hono Trust and is a Sir Edmond Hillary Fellow. Dedicated to Māori and community development for over 24 years, her roles span Child, Youth, and Family, the Department of Labour, Māori Land Court, and NZ Maori Tourism. Active in Te Whare Hukahuka, she uplifts transformative capabilities in New Zealand's economic landscape. Recognised as Māori Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023, her recent pursuits include Social Enterprise Development and Governance Training.

Andrew Coster is the Chief Executive, Social Investment Agency, and Secretary for Social Investment.

Formerly the Commissioner of Police, Andy has considerable frontline experience working in the social sector. Prior to this he held roles as Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Strategy and Partnerships, and Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Resource Management. Other previous roles include Deputy Chief Executive, Ministry for Justice.  

Known for his community-centered and modern approach to policing, Andy joined the New Zealand Police in 1997 and worked in both frontline and investigative roles. As his career progressed, he was appointed to a number of senior roles, including Auckland City Area Commander, Southern District Commander where he saw first-hand the complex and intersecting nature of the social sector. His approach emphasised a focus on preventive, relationship-based policing, which seeks to address the root causes of crime through community engagement and partnerships.

A strong advocate for data-based decision making, Andy is passionate about making a difference for New Zealanders through public service.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington.

Dr Nicola Atwool has an extensive history in social work with children, young people and their families. Half of her career was as a practitioner working in a variety of roles with what is now Oranga Tamariki before moving into an academic role with the Social and Community Work programme at the University of Otago. Nicola took a break from her academic career and had six years working for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner before returning to the University in 2012. She then left the University at the end of 2022 and is now an Independent Contractor providing supervision, training and consultation.

Nicola has professional qualifications in social work and child psychotherapy and completed a PhD in 2008. Throughout her career she has been committed to working for transformative change for whānau and has had opportunities to reflect on the barriers created by the imposition of Eurocentric one-size-fits-all models of practice. The concept of partnership at the heart of Te Tiriti o Waitangi offers an opportunity to develop ways of working that acknowledge our colonial history and the inequity that derives from that.