Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Evidence and Insights Forum 2025
13 November 2025 | Tūranganui a Kiwa, Gisborne
Nau mai, haere mai!
It is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf of Manaaki Tairāwhiti, as we prepare to host our second Evidence and Insights Forum. This forum is another opportunity to come together, share knowledge, and strengthen the relationships that support social investment in our region.
The programme also includes a connected session led by the Violence-Free Tairāwhiti Network, focusing on community-led prevention and local leadership.
Please register via the link below to confirm your attendance.
We look forward to a day of insights, collaboration, and kōrero that will help shape the direction of social investment in Tairāwhiti. Nau mai, piki mai ano.
Ronald Nepe
Chair, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
CE Te Rūnanganui o Tūranagnui a Kiwa
Videos
Community Commissioning – The Tairāwhiti Bid
Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence & Insights Forum 2025
Evidence & Insights – Enabling Whānau to Flourish
Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence & Insights Forum 2025
Iwi-led Kaupapa – Manaaki
Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence & Insights Forum 2025
Interactive Q&A and Discussion
Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence & Insights Forum 2025
Tairāwhiti Abuse Intervention Network 30 Years
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum 2025
National Strategy – Te Aorerekura
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum 2025
Taiora Iwi Hub Update
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum 2025
Where to Next? VFTN Strategy & Key Activities
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum 2025
Where to Next? VFTN Strategy & Key Activities
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum 2025
Purpose
This half-day forum is a chance for us to come together to:
• Share practical insights, tools, and learning that strengthen practice and make our collective efforts more effective
• Strengthen workforce capability and explore new ways to drive change across our social services system.
• Explore the role of social investment and regional commissioning, and showcase Manaaki Tairāwhiti initiatives.
Time and Place
- Event: Manaaki Tairāwhiti Evidence and Insights Forum 2025
- Date: Thursday , 13 November, 2025 8:30am – 4:15pm
- Place: Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club, 280e Grey Street, Gisborne
No cost to attend. Venue opens at 8:30 for a cup of tea, karakia at 9:30am
The event will also be live streamed on this page. See below▼
Event Contact Person
Josie McClutchie
Additional Session:
Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum
A separate but connected event focused specifically on initiatives connected with Prevention of Family Violence will be held in conjunction with the Evidence and Insights Forum.
Attendees are welcome to attend both or only one part of the day.
Programme
Register Now
This is a free event
There is no cost to attend, but spaces are limited, so please register by Thursday 06 November to save a seat and for catering purposes.
The event will be live streamed on this page. Recordings of the event will be posted at a later date.
Speakers
The full list of speakers will be announced soon – please check back here for updates.
Other speakers include representatives from NGOs and iwi perspectives.
Evidence & Insights Forum 2025 – Speakers
Leslynne Jackson
Programme Lead, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Leslynne Jackson Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki is Programme Lead for Manaaki Tairāwhiti. Leslynne’s work experience includes working for government agencies, community organisations and in the private sector. She has held a number of volunteer roles with various local charitable groups.
In 2020, Leslynne was awarded a Fellowship with the NEXT Foundation. With more than 35 years’ experience working in social services, Leslynne is a strong advocate for both community led action and systemic change to improve the lives of whanau.
Judy Campbell
Strategic Advisor, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Judy Campbell is a senior manager who has worked in the public and not for profit sector for the past 30 years. She has been a Chief Executive in a number of organisations, including the Gisborne District Council, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic and the Sport, Fitness and Recreation ITO (SFRITO). Her career has a focus on organisations with a strong emphasis on Te Tiriti partnerships.
Judy is currently a consultant helping organisations address issues of strategic change and financial sustainability, this includes a diverse range of organisations such as: Manaaki Tairāwhiti, Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou, Auckland Council, Tāmanuhiri Tutu Poroporo Trust, NorthTec Polytechnic and Maraetaha Inc. Judy is an independent Board member on Surf Life Saving New Zealand and has just completed a term as a Ministerially appointed lay member of the Medical Sciences Council.
Moera Brown
Systems Improvement, Manaaki Tairāwhiti
Moera Brown is the Systems and Sector Improvement Programme Lead for Manaaki Tairāwhiti.
She is a former police officer and currently serves as a senior restorative justice facilitator, working with whānau in the court system. Moera is the former Deputy Chair of the Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust and former Chair of Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. governance experience, Moera has held positions as both a Board member and Chair.
Since 2011, she has guided the iwi through significant milestones, including the Treaty of Waitangi settlement, Tuia 250, and the response to Covid-19. Her diverse experiences and background bring invaluable skills and insights to her role at Manaaki Tairawhiti
Violence-Free Tairāwhiti Network Forum – Speakers
Chris Semmens
Service Manager, Barnardos Aotearoa
Ko Taumutu te maunga
Ko Mangapoike te awa
Ko Mangatahi te moana
Ko Takitimu te waka
Ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa te iwi
Ko Ngāi Tahu Matawhaiti te hapū
Ko Iwitea te marae
Born and raised in Gisborne, with deep roots in Iwitea, Wairoa, where my wairua will one day rest, I am the youngest of nine siblings and proudly married to Kim Semmens (née Rua) of Ngāi Tūhoe. Together we’ve raised four children, including two whāngai sons, and are blessed with fifteen mokopuna who continue to ground and inspire us every day.
I serve as Service Manager for Barnardos Aotearoa in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, supporting tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau with aroha, integrity, and purpose. My mahi is guided by whanaungatanga, kotahitanga, and the vision of safe, thriving whānau across Te Tairāwhiti and beyond. I am honoured to stand alongside others committed to ending violence and strengthening the wellbeing of our whānau – shifting the narrative from harm to healing, from silence to safety, from trauma to transformation.
Tim Marshall
Lead, Tauawhi Men’s Centre
Tim has worked alongside men for more than 20 years, in both paid and voluntary roles. He currently leads Tauawhi Men’s Centre — a locally founded initiative that responds to a long-standing gap in services for men in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne. Tauawhi provides support for men through non-violence programmes, counselling, addiction services, and parenting support, and also hosts Te Hōkai: Male Survivors Tairāwhiti.
The centre partners with Taiki E! on the Hikitia! Tāne Ora local prevention project and the national Changemakers campaign. Nationally, Tim is a White Ribbon Ambassador and serves as Chairperson for SafeMan, SafeFamily Aotearoa
Te Pare Meihana
Director, Elimination of Family & Sexual Violence
Te Pare Meihana (Ngāti Konohi, Ngāti Te Paki) currently serves as Kaihautū / Director Māori and Community Partnerships, at the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention, where she champions system transformation grounded in te ao Māori.
Te Pare’s career spans over two decades across government, health, and social sectors both locally and nationally. Te Pare is committed to driving system change and unwavering advocacy for whānau, hapū, and iwi aspirations.
Prof Elizabeth Kerekere
Lead Investigator Manaaki Tairāwhiti Research
Prof Elizabeth Kerekere (she/her/ia) is Lead Investigator for the Manaaki Tairāwhiti research project alongside Programme Leader, Leslynne Jackson
Whānau a Kai, Ngāti Oneone, Te Āitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Co. Clare, Co. Tipperary
Elizabeth is a takatāpui/LGBTIQ+ activist and scholar of national and international renown. Active within Māori (40y+), Rainbow and youth development (35y+) sectors, she has mentored over 60 youth leaders. Elizabeth is Founder/Chair of Tīwhanawhana Trust which advocates for takatāpui to “tell our stories, build our communities and leave a legacy.” Elizabeth’s PhD on takatāpui identity and well-being is required reading in universities here and overseas. Her suicide prevention resources are used in health and school settings across the country and Elizabeth has contributed to research projects on assisted reproductive health and family formation; LGBTIQ youth; trans and non-binary health and well-being; and intersex human rights. As a Member of Parliament, Elizabeth’s record-breaking petition led to banning conversion practices. She contributed to new gender markers on birth certificates and introduced the term ‘takatāpui’ into legislation for the first time in the reform of the health system. Elizabeth’s framework for takatāpui health and well-being Te Whare Takatāpui is currently being applied to the health system and she was appointed Adjunct Professor in Public Health at Victoria University of Wellington in 2024.
Wendy Miller
Coordinator, Violence Free Tairāwhiti
Wendy Miller has been the Violence Free Tairāwhiti Network Coordinator for the past 12 years.
Originally based at the Gisborne Police Station as the Tairāwhiti Abuse Intervention Network, the role focused on supporting whānau referred through Police Family Harm reports. The Network later became Violence Free Tairāwhiti, with Barnardos as fundholder, shifting its focus toward prevention initiatives and strengthening service connections across the region.
Born and raised in Tairāwhiti, Wendy has children and mokopuna in Gisborne who are a big part of her life. She lives by the belief that it takes a village to raise a child, a value that guides her mahi and daily life. Community and connection remain at the heart of everything she does.
