Yvonne (Ngāpuhi) is a mentor and trustee with Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust. She supports the community with garden plots, gardening courses and supplying kai to food banks. We recorded this interview in her garden in Māngere, surrounded by manu and the local community tending to their plots. In this episode she talks to us about her upbringing and how society has changed over her lifetime. She shares the importance of growing a garden, not only for sustainability and kai purposes, but also for learning some of life’s greatest lessons.

Xiuh, as she likes to go by is of Mexican heritage (Mestiza, Nahua (Mexico)). For years she has worked to revitalise ancient Indigenous practices. Here in Aotearoa she shares temazcal, kinam and tezcatlipoca practices of old central Mexico. She is also a wisdom keeper of ancient Toltec traditions. ⁠In this episode Xiuh talks to us about the colonisation of Mexico and she shares how connecting with wāhine Māori challenged and inspired her to refocus her mahi on strengthening Indigenous cultural knowledge and practice.

Matariki, as she prefers to go by (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe) is the Co-Lead for RIVER (Revitalising Indigenous Values for Earth’s Regeneration) and Co-Manager for the New Zealand Alternative. She is also Project Manager for Te Kaunoti Hikahika (or E Hika!), a constitutional reformation project rolling out across Aotearoa. Based in Tāneatua this phenomenal wahine spends her time supporting both people, and planet, to thrive. In this episode we talk about connecting the global Indigenous community, the whakaaro behind constitutional reformation and why each of her sisters carry the name of our most popular star cluster.

Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Toa) is the CEO of What Ever It Takes, an organisation using Māori models of clinical practice for whānau affected by complex disability and trauma, as a result of an acquired serious injury. She came into this mahi through her own experience in finding support for her husband who, following a boxing injury, became affected by disability and trauma. In this episode Charmeyne talks to us about that pivotal time in her life, she shares kōrero about working with whānau hauā, and celebrates her twin girls and their sporting success.

NUKU 089 is Irihapeti Edwards (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara, Te Arawa). This incredible young woman works across financial services and global youth leadership. Among a number of  accolades, she has been a Prime Minister’s Scholar and UN Youth New Zealand delegate. In this episode she talks about financial literacy and the power it has to transform our communities. She shares her journey into leadership and tells us some of her ambitions in the financial sector.

Tania Page (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāi Tahu) is a journalist currently working with TVNZ’s flagship current affairs show, Sunday. Earlier in her career, she was on the team that launched the 24 hour news channel Al Jazeera English. In this episode she shares her career journey, working in news media around the world, and talks to us about some of the heart-wrenching stories she has had to cover in her time as a journalist.

NUKU 087 is Puawai Cairns of Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga whakapapa. Puawai has held a number of roles across her time at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, including as curator. She is currently Te Papa’s Director of Audience and Insight. In this episode she talks to us about the power of museums and the importance of telling the right stories. She shares some of her favourite exhibitions and how they have impacted both her, and the community she serves, and, she shares her journey as a single māmā and the realities of co-parenting, today.

Julia Arnott-Neenee (Sāmoan, Chinese, British) is the co-founder and director of PeopleForPeople, a youth-led social enterprise on a mission for digital equity. She’s also a strategy and insights specialist with a personal goal to change the statistics around the lack of diversity in the information and communications technology sector. In this episode she tells us about her experience working with industry leaders across the world, the realities of the digital divide and why it was important for her to come home and help create change for her people.

NUKU 085 is Mary Brown (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whātua). Mary is a full-time, stay-at-home māmā of 10 tamariki, all under 15 years old. She is also a champion for financial literacy. In this episode we talk about motherhood and the stereotypes that come with raising a large family. Mary shares her whakaaro on raising the leaders of tomorrow and she tells us how being a māmā has helped her find herself.

We’ve got a double episode for your today with Melony Paikea-Tautalanoa (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) and Manawawharepu Udy (Te Arawa, Mātaatua, Tainui) Mel and Manawa are the founders of Ngahere Communities, a social enterprise championing the potential of South Auckland entrepreneurs, innovators and creators through collaborative spaces, common values and co-designed responsive programmes. In this episode we talk about social impact, business growth and the pair share personal stories about their youth.