Dr Jenny Lee-Morgan (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Te Ahiwaru) is Professor of Māori Research and founding Director of Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Māori and Indigenous Research Centre, Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka, Unitec. Previously, she was a Māori secondary school teacher and has a background in education, te reo and community-based research. She was Head of School of Māori Education, University of Auckland, and Deputy Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato. In 2016, she received Te Tohu Pae Tawhiti Award (NZARE) for her high-quality research and significant contribution to Māori education. As a teacher, author and researcher, she has worked in and published ground-breaking research in the area of education.
Dr Leonie Pihama (Te Ātiawa, Ngā Māhanga ā Tairi, Waikato) is Professor of Māori and Indigenous Research at Ngā Wai ā Te Tūī, Māori and Indigenous Research Centre, Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka, Unitec, and Director of Māori and Indigenous Analysis Limited, and is a leading kaupapa Māori educator and researcher. She received the Hohua Tūtengaehe Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (HRC) and the inaugural Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Senior Māori Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Washington. In 2015, she was awarded Te Tohu Pae Tāwhiti Award (NZARE) for excellence in Māori educational research and as Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute accepted Te Tohu Rapuora Award (HRC) for significant contribution to Māori health excellence and leadership. Leonie has published widely and served on the Māori Health Committee for the HRC and a number of boards.
