Professor Leonie Pihama

Te Ātiawa, Ngā Māhanga a Tairi, Ngāti Māhanga

Leonie Pihama is a mother of six and a grandmother of three. Leonie is Professor of Māori Research at Ngā Wai A Te Tūī Research Institute, Unitec and the Director of Māori and Indigenous Analysis Ltd, a Kaupapa
Māori research company. Leonie is also on placement with Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki as part of the MBIE Vision Matauranga Capability Fund Scheme.
Leonie has worked as a senior lecturer in Education at the University of Auckland teaching in the fields of policy analysis, Māori women’s issues, and the politics of representation of indigenous peoples. She was a
recipient of the Hohua Tūtengaehe Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (Health Research Council) and the inaugural Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga Senior Māori Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Washington.
In 2015, Leonie was awarded the ‘Te Tohu Pae Tāwhiti Award’ (NZARE) for excellence in Māori Educational Research and as Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute accepted the ‘Te Tohu Rapuora Award (Health
Research Council) to recognise significant contribution to Māori health excellence and leadership. Leonie hasserved on the Māori Health Committee for the Health Research council and on a number of key boards
including Māori Television, Te Māngai Pāho, and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. She has extensive expertise connecting her to a wide-range of communities and iwi, which enables her to relate to people throughout
Aotearoa.