Manu Caddie (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Hauā) is a passionate entrepreneur, activist, and academic dedicated to Indigenous rights and sustainable development. Raised in Tauranga Moana, Manu has spent the last 25 years contributing significantly to community development and sustainable industry in Te Tairāwhiti.

Che Wilson is a Poukura (director) of Naia Limited, a Māori consultancy based in Christchurch and Waikato. At Naia, Che is leading research into the Māori New Year for his tribal region and the application of tūpuna wisdom relating to weather and land use practices. He is also a leadership and strategy mentor, facilitator and resource developer.

Ms Mikaere is a leading Māori data and information specialist focused on harnessing information to empower indigenous community development. She is a consultant with over 20 years’ experience advising Ministers, government agencies, tribal, community and private sector organisations with practical statistical analysis and innovative place based data solutions.

Maybelle McLeod is the CEO of Kimihauora Health & Research Clinic, based at Tamapahore Marae in Tauranga Moana. She is a trained nurse and using her knowledge in this space was one of four lead whānau researchers who worked collaboratively with cancer genetic researchers at the University of Otago to discover the cause of so many deaths in the McLeod whānau – a variation in the CDH1 gene.

Indigenous rights and environmental activist Dr Pasang Dolma Sherpa grew up between two villages in Nepal: one high in the mountains, the other in the plains. Her mother led the latter for almost 20 years. As the climate changed, her high-altitude home started suffering from water scarcity and crop failures, driving more and more Indigenous Sherpa people to migrate to the lowlands.

Abigail Echo-Hawk, MA, is citizen of the Kitkehahki band of the Pawnee Nation and a member of the Upper Athabascan people of Mentasta Village, Alaska. She was born in the heart of Alaska where she was raised by her community in the cultural values of giving, respect for all, and love.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) is the founding host of the biennial International Indigenous Research Conference (IIRC). The IIRC has a well established reputation as the premier international Indigenous conference and consistently attracts high numbers of national and international participants. IIRC is a time for reflection, sharing, planning, innovating.