I always remember a script writing tutor telling me that a brilliant pitch for a movie was this; “It’s called Twins. One actor is Danny De Vito, the other is Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Bada-bing bada-boom – of course nuts, but draws you in. To sum me up using this format in relation to my whakapapa. “I am the eldest child, of the youngest child of 22 Māori kids.”

I was fortunate to have a father who was very traditional. We regularly ate a Māori diet of fried bread, paua, pipi, muttonbirds and boil up. He worked at Te Māori Exhibition and at 14 I worked there too as a guide.

After University, I was lucky enough to be offered a job at North & South Magazine and a PR job. I chose the latter and embarked on a bit of a rough ride initially with a stint in a Devil’s Wear Prada agency, graduating to two wonderful agencies before launching Village PR 15 years ago.

Whare PR is now a full circle for me, a chance for me to connect my culture with my mahi.

Tenā koutou katoa

Te Ao Māori has always been a big part of my life. I am a graduate of Kohanga Reo and Kura and it was in these environments that my te reo was nurtured. After completing Year 13 at Mount Maunganui College I was lucky to secure a kaiawhina job at my former school Te Kura o Matapihi (a full immersion kura), during that year I also worked part time with Village PR learning the ins and outs of agency life. In 2018 I completed my Diploma in Marketing and Communications and continued working with Village PR. I am excited to be part of the launch of our new branch, Whare PR.

Ko Ngāti Ranginui (Ngāti Hangarau), Ngāi Te Rangi (Tauwhao Te Ngare) me Ngāti Whakaue (Ngāti Tunohopu) ōku hononga whakapapa.

I have always been a prolific consumer of popular culture, the written word and multi-media from a young age, so a career in the communications industry was the natural path for me.

One day is never the same as the next for me. From working with influencers to promote my clients’ products and services to writing and disseminating press releases, managing social media accounts across multiple channels, website content writing and CMS management, strategising and implementing large annual campaigns and more - I work across the full breadth of marketing and communications activities.

In 2018 I studied part-time at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and completed a level 2 certificate in Te Ara Reo Māori.

I cut my teeth in communications as a part-time marketing executive in 1990 working for Gallagher Power Fence Systems in Hamilton while I was studying full time for a Bachelor of International Management Studies degree at the University of Waikato. It was during my four year degree and time working for Gallagher's that I fell in love with marketing and communications, and my career has continued on this path from there.

I've held a number of challenging and fun positions throughout my career from international marketing roles involving working with distributors around the world, to management roles in advertising agencies through to the more specific online communications we participate in today.

Throughout my career my passion for language and other cultures has remained strong. I completed my degree with a major in French and also achieved Bursary level Spanish before doing a one month immersion course in Puebla, Mexico. This year, I am undertaking my second year of Te Reo Māori and am really enjoying the people, environment and culture I am discovering already on this exciting new journey.

I was lucky enough to complete a management degree at the University of Waikato and work at the same time. I was hired as Kaitakawaenga Māori and tasked to promote and lead a team to attract Māori students to study at the University of Waikato. Many of the rangatahi we spoke to thought a University education was out of their reach. It was extremely rewarding talking to these rangatahi and supporting them to further their educational journey.

Immediately after finishing my degree, I travelled for a bit before starting my communications journey at Hearst Communications London, writing for their CosmoGirl! magazine.

Upon returning to New Zealand in 2005, I worked for various financial, IT and food corporations in national and international marketing/sales/strategy roles. This has given me a huge appreciation for the bigger picture in business and assists with clearly articulating key communications tasks and strategies.

Recently I have had the absolute pleasure of working with some innovative Māori and Not for Profit organisations to support their communications objectives. I gain motivation through adding value and helping these customers reach their business goals.

I am extremely excited about Whare PR and being part of this whānau.

I studied graphic design at the Whanganui School of Design and graduated with Honours (high distinction) in 2004. After a stint in Wellington, I was employed at a prominent Bay of Plenty creative agency and also resided at their satellite Auckland studio for a few years. I have worked on an extensive range of graphic design projects – from high-profile corporate collateral such as annual reports to start-up enterprises’ brand identities – Whare PR included, of course!

In 2018, I attended the Design Assembly workshop 'Applying Design Thinking to creating Māori Graphic Design’ to ensure my work has the right consideration for our clients. My passion is to create visual communications that express the individuality of each client’s product or service with as much success as possible.