Tiana Watkins
" loading="lazy" decoding="async">
Senior Manager Suicide Prevention
I am a mokopuna, daughter, māmā, and nan from Tauranga Moana, where my tūpuna arrived on both the Mataatua and Takitimu waka. I whakapapa to Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, and Ngāti Ranginui, and also to Ngāi Tahu (Kai Tahu).
I am unapologetically Māori, guided by my whakapapa, grounded in my values, and committed to uplifting the wellbeing and wairua of our people. As Senior Manager for LifeKeepers, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national suicide prevention programme, I am honoured to lead kaupapa that centre whānau, connection, and collective strength across the motu.
My journey began in Public Health, where I spent 14 years in the Bay of Plenty before moving to Australia. There, I worked across systems including Victoria Police, Department of Corrections, Child Protection Services, and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Services, helping to establish the first of 18 Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Panels (RAMP) for the Victorian State Government.
When I returned home, I joined Housing First Auckland in the homelessness sector before stepping into the mahi that truly holds my heart, suicide prevention through LifeKeepers with Le Va.
My studies are at postgraduate level in Public Health, Social Policy, and Psychology. This mahi is not just my career, it’s my calling, my responsibility, and my way of honouring those who came before me while protecting those yet to come.
Rangahau · Related projects
Since the arrival of visitors to Aotearoa, Māori have always been quick to assess and adapt language, technology and information. Contemporary society brings new languages, technology and information instantly to our fingertips. New pressures and demands can be a consequence of readily accessible knowledge. For all its advances, there are also…
View projectNgā whenu haumaru hei raranga: Social Wellbeing
Since the arrival of visitors to Aotearoa, Māori have always been quick to assess and adapt language, technology and information. Contemporary society brings new languages, technology and information instantly to our fingertips. New pressures and demands can be a consequence of readily accessible knowledge. For all its advances, there are also disadvantages. For rangatahi, those with addictions and Māori whānau connections and wellbeing can be negatively affected.
This programme of research investigates examples of Māori approaches to social wellbeing. Through a series of research activities undertaken by the research team, a case study will emerge reflective of collaborative interactions with key stakeholder organisations. Utilising qualitative methods such as key informant, wānanga, hui, photo elicitation and go along interviews, the research is primed to capitalise on the collaborative relationships to affect national policy and regional service delivery.
Kairangahau · Researchers
-
Dr Pita King
Dr Pita King
Pita King is a Kaupapa Māori Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University. -
Dr. Moana Rarere
Dr. Moana Rarere
Moana Rarere (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tūhoe, Whakatōhea) is a demographer at Te Ngira Institute for Population Research at the University of Waikato. She studies how and why populations change over time — including births, migration, deaths, and the social, economic, and cultural factors shaping these processes.A key focus of Moana's work is understanding birth trends and patterns (fertility) - both national and Māori - and how social, cultural, and policy influences shape family/whānau formation over time.Her research is grounded in Kaupapa Māori approaches and centres on supporting… -
Dr Rewi Nankivell
Dr Rewi Nankivell
Rewi Nankivell is a lecturer in psychology at the University of Waikato. He contributes to the intersection between lecturing and Kaupapa Māori psychology, Indigenous development, and te reo Māori revitalisation. His contributions are supported by the practical application of his research, aiming to provide tangible benefits for Māori. Currently, Rewi is advancing his scholarship through a doctorate in education, complementing his background in educational leadership and management. His profile highlights a commitment to integrating mātauranga Māori with contemporary psychological research… -
Dr Eleanor Britain
Dr Eleanor Britain
Dr Eleanor (Elle) Brittain is Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa and Ngāti Rakaipaaka. She is a Senior Lecturer in Te Kura Hinengaro Tangata, School of Psychology, based on the Pukeahu, Wellington campus. She is also a Clinical Psychologist.Her research focuses on issues pertinent to Māori, including research projects that have explored Māori psychology and wellbeing. With experience in implementing methodologies grounded in the values of Kaupapa Māori research theory, her research practice is predominantly qualitative. Ultimately she sees her work as in service of communities in order to… -
Hans Tiakiwai
Hans Tiakiwai
Ko Hāmua, ko Ngāti Mura, ko Te Mahurehure ngā hapū. Ko Waikirikiri, ko Te Putere o Potaka, ko Te Rewarewa ngā marae. Ko Tūhoe te iwi. I have spent more than 30 years in Māori education as a teacher, Deputy Principal, and for over a decade as Tumuaki of Te Wharekura o Rūātoki, building a kura where tamariki, whānau, and staff felt safe, valued, and connected to who they are. Grounded in te reo Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori, my leadership has always centred on one belief: when people feel seen, and their strengths are recognised, they are capable of extraordinary things. Along the way, I… -
Megan Fitzpatrick
Megan Fitzpatrick
Megan Fitzpatrick specialises in trade policy, with a strong focus on the agricultural sector. This comes from over 10 years of public sector experience working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry for Primary Industries and at Capital & Coast District Health Board. She enjoys translating complex data into advice with real-world implications for New Zealanders. She brings a robust set of quantitative skills to NZIER, including Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling, Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) analysis, and cost-benefit evaluation. -
Professor Darrin Hodgetts
Professor Darrin Hodgetts
Darrin Hodgetts is a societal and community psychologist with interests in addressing issues of health, urban poverty, precarity, and homelessness. Darrin supervises masters and PHD candidates on a range of topics from experiences of traumatic occupations, to intermit partner violence, everyday cultural reproduction, pro-social behavior, migration and intergroup relations. He also has interests in theoretical and methodological concerns. Darrin is a societal and community psychologist with interests in addressing issues of health, urban poverty, precarity, and homelessness. Darrin supervises… -
Tiana Watkins
Tiana Watkins
I am a mokopuna, daughter, māmā, and nan from Tauranga Moana, where my tūpuna arrived on both the Mataatua and Takitimu waka. I whakapapa to Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, and Ngāti Ranginui, and also to Ngāi Tahu (Kai Tahu).I am unapologetically Māori, guided by my whakapapa, grounded in my values, and committed to uplifting the wellbeing and wairua of our people. As Senior Manager for LifeKeepers, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national suicide prevention programme, I am honoured to lead kaupapa that centre whānau, connection, and collective strength across the motu.My journey began in Public…
Ētahi atu · Other people
Associate Professor Esther Willing
Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata , Ngā Ruahine
University of Otago
Dr Esther Willing (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Ruahine) is an Associate Professor in Hauora Māori and the…