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Our Board
The kaitiaki of our Settlement journey and beyond
Leith Comer - Chairman
Iwi/hapū: Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Pahuwera, Te Arawa
Dr. Cathy Dewes - Deputy Chair
Iwi/hapū: Ngāti Rangitihi,Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou
Graham Pryor
Iwi/hapū: Ngāti Rangitihi
Leith has a comprehensive knowledge of the workings of Government as well as leadership experience in the military, private and community sectors. He led Te Puni Kōkiri from 2001 to 2012 and was previously the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development. Leith’s current responsibilities include being a member of the New Zealand Parole Board, Chairman of the Excel Rotorua Education Trust and Chairman of the Rotorua District Council Contracting Company.
Cathy has been actively involved in Māori language revitalisation initiatives for more than 35 years, and was instrumental in the establishment of kura kaupapa Māori schools throughout Aotearoa. Her awards and qualifications include a national award for Māori language leadership, the Officer of the Order for Services to Māori, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waikato for her work on te reo Māori. She is currently the Principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata in Rotorua.
Graham is also a director and chair of Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Ltd, the corporate trustee for Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trading Trust, which is responsible for managing the investment assets of Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust. Graham is an accountant by profession with a background in managing media businesses, business consulting, investment management and Treaty negotiation. He was one of a three-person negotiation team that successfully negotiated settlement of New Zealand’s’s largest Treaty claim with the Crown, settling all historical claims of eight Central North Island Iwi to 176,000 hectares of CNI forests land.
Taichi Playle
Toma Mason
Iwi/hapū: Ngāti Rangitihi
Toma is a public servant based in Wellington with experience in providing policy advice, project management, and Māori capability training to a range of government organisations. He has governance experience in the areas of iwi and sports. He places high priority on maintaining a close connection to the haukāinga and shares a deep commitment to supporting the future development aspirations of Ngāti Rangitihi whānau at home and abroad. Having been raised in Matatā alongside many of his cousins, Toma attributes his drive and passion for the Iwi to the many examples of leadership he became accustomed to growing up at the Pā and within many whānau of Matatā.
Tiipene Marr
Iwi/hapū: Ngāti Rangitihi, Te Atiawa
Ko Tiipene Marr tāku ingoa No Ngāti Rangitihi i Matatā rāua ko Te Atiawa i Waitara ōku Iwi. Ko Ruawahia rāua ko Taranaki ōku maunga. Ko Te Arawa rāua ko Aotea ōku waka. Tihei mauri ora. An environmentalist at heart, for Tiipene it’s all about protecting our taiao. Born and bred in Matatā, around our Marae, listening to stories of our Iwi and other iwi around us has been a life long journey for him which is now accumulating in experience that he says goes with old age. Tiipene’s hope is that we have started that new direction of change and sustainability for Papatūānuku and all our Atua, while thinking outside the square to achieve environmental sustainability for our current and future generations. He aha te mea nui i tenei ao Māku e kii atu He taiao, he taiao, he taiao.
