Auckland City Mission - Te Tāpui Atawhai leadership

LLB (Hons)
Joanna is a lawyer, one of the founding partners of Pidgeon Judd, a boutique property and commercial law firm and a past President of the Auckland District Law Society (ADLS). She has a particular interest in property matters, sitting on the New Zealand Law Society Land Titles Committee, Chair of the ADLS Documents and Precedents Committee and sits on the ADLS Property Law Committee.

Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa

To call Atawhai a storyteller is too simple. But it's true.

He once explained the power of manaakitanga through the simple act of bringing biscuits to a meeting. The following week, a staff member pulled out a packet of Chocolate Maroons at an iwi engagement. The kuia almost cried. Nobody does that anymore. But my Nanny always taught me to bring kai.

That is Atawhai's gift — translating deep cultural wisdom into moments people carry with them.

He is currently Kaihautū at Barnardos Aotearoa, building cultural confidence across 700+ staff. Before that, he spent years in central government advising The Treasury, Stats NZ, and MSD, where his influence approach found its shape. His 5 Wai's of Māori Engagement reached over 5,000 readers and was cited by numerous agencies — it was a LinkedIn article. He founded Tūhono, a network of 900 Māori public sector professionals, and served on the board of Wellington City Mission, where he travelled to Australia to bring learnings home to inform the development of Whakamaru.

Atawhai's other superpower is relationships. He will admit, with a laugh, that he is increasingly likely to know someone's parents than the person themselves. His network, he says, is ageing like fine wine.

He lives in Wellington with his wife Salli.

Ngāti Maru ki Taranaki, Te Ātiawa

Bronwyn recognises and acknowledges the history of Te Tāpui Atawhai - Auckland City Mission, having seen the need of services rise in Auckland region.

She currently resides in the Waikato, having moved from Tāmaki Makaurau, with strong community (Iwi/hapu) connections still in place.

Her governance experience spans several sectors, such as commercial property, Crown Entities, not-for-profit, health, education (PTE) and Iwi organization.

She has extensive Executive Senior Management expertise, having held Chief Financial Officer roles, in large complex organisations. This is underpinned by a 30-year career as a Chartered Accountant (CAANZ).

As a professional Director, Darryl provides support to entrepreneurial organisations through sound governance, with a focus on New Zealand business. With a strong background as a CFO for some of the largest and fastest growing New Zealand companies, Darryl adds value to the financial oversight of businesses wishing to grow through thorough sound financial management. Darryl brings an entrepreneurial but risk-based approach to the board table, as well as a commitment to working together for the benefit of both staff and the wider stakeholder group. Darryl is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and holds a Masters in Management Studies.

Evan is Chief Executive Officer of Todd Capital, a portfolio of businesses and investments including: Todd Property, Integria Healthcare, Todd Minerals and PartsTrader. Prior to joining Todd, Evan was Managing Director of SkyCity Entertainment Group, growing the company from a single site to having business operations throughout New Zealand, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Evan was named the Deloitte/Management Magazine Chief Executive of the Year in 2001.
Evan holds a Bachelor of Town Planning from the University of Auckland, a Master of Science in Tourism Management from the University of Surrey and a Master of Philosophy in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Birmingham. Evan has business interests in farming and viticulture and is involved in a range of charitable organisations.

Graeme has more than 30 years’ experience in the building sector. He is a Director of Graeme Birkhead Consulting and has considerable governance experience. He is National President of the New Zealand Institute of Building, a board member of the Property Council of New Zealand’s Auckland Branch and an advisory board member of the Auckland Council Urban Design panel. During his career Graeme has led major projects including large-scale housing developments, business parks, manufacturing facilities, infrastructure works and public sector facilities.

Paul has significant experience in organisational change management, business development, service delivery and communications as well as in governance. He is the Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa, a nationwide peak body for Community Housing Providers. Prior to this he was the General Manager of the social enterprise, Community Finance, which provides low-cost finance to New Zealand’s Community Housing Providers. He spent 10 years with the Meningitis Foundation as founding Director and Board Member. Paul has been a consultant to, and member of, the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia and advised various tikanga Māori and pakeha Boards of Anglican entities. He is a previous General Manager – Strategy and Development of the New Zealand Housing Foundation and was the Development Manager for the University of Auckland Business School.

Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Kahungunu

Riana Manuel's life and leadership are rooted in a simple conviction: when Māori and the most disadvantaged communities thrive, all of Aotearoa thrives.

A registered nurse by training — she still holds her practising certificate to stay connected to frontline realities — Riana has spent more than 30 years working across the health sector in national, regional, and kaupapa Māori NGO roles. She is currently Chief Executive of Te Pou and Blueprint for Learning under the Wisegroup Charitable Trust.

Her executive career includes serving as inaugural Chief Executive of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, Chief Executive of Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki, and Chief Executive of Te Puna Hauora Matua o Hauraki (Hauraki PHO). She is also a director of Phoenix House Resthome and Hospital.

Riana's focus is on the social determinants of health — the belief that shifting those levers, generation by generation, is how you change the course of wellbeing for whānau and communities. She brings that same systems-level thinking to governance.

Raised in a village she remains deeply connected to, Riana is guided by a sense of service and a responsibility to those who come after us — our mokopuna.

Te Rarawa ki Hokianga, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Awa

Prior to retiring in September 2025, Rose worked for Auckland City Mission Te Tāpui Atawhai for almost nine years. She began at the Mission as a weekend Team Leader in ‘Drop-In’, a service which was the forerunner of today’s Haeata. Subsequently Rose has worked in various teams, and filled various roles at the Mission, culminating in the role of Kaumatua just prior to her retirement. Rose was one of the original members of Manurau, the senior Māori caucus.

A Social Worker by profession, Rose sat on the Competency Board and the Registration Board for the ANZASW (Aotearoa NZ Association of Social Work) as well as the Māori caucus. She led social work teams in tertiary health including Trauma Services, Oncology, Renal, General Medicine and was the first SWer appointed to the NZ Liver Transplant Unit at its inception. Rose developed and led the first Māori Social Work Team at Auckland Hospital. A commitment to professional SW practice led to a stint as Program Leader/Lecturer Social Work, at MIT. 

As a Service Manager in Community Probation, Rose led the teams in four service centres across Tāmaki and managed the portfolios of Health & Safety Northern Region, and Cultural Reintegration. Other roles included Service Manager/Team Leader, at Lifewise, Te Atea Marino (Kaupapa Māori AOD), Life Without Barriers (Brisbane), and Community and Older People’s Health.

Rose is deeply committed to Te Tiriti O Waitangi because she believes it is the means by which equity and justice will prevail not only for Māori, but for all people in Aotearoa. 

Rose has been married for 43 years and has two adult sons and a daughter. Her three granddaughters are the ‘why’ of everything she aspires to do, and she ‘calls into being’ a better future for Māori by making mokopuna decisions today.