Kiri Reihana
Speaker Biography
Kiri Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tūhoe) is a kairangahau – Māori scientist who is a currently doing her PhD bringing Te Ao Māori and Eurocentric sciences together in the marine arena. Kiri is a Taiao ora specialist, environmental health specialist who applies her research to mobilising mātauranga (Māori knowledge) with iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) throughout New Zealand. Her work on cockles’ forms part of the Sustainable seas National Science Challenge, a program that aims to protect and enhance the marine environment.
Using digital platforms to create innovative Māori science solutions. Kiri is the designer of the ‘WAIOra’ (Ngati Tahu Ngati Whaoa, Tapuika) and ‘NGAHEREOra’ (Ngāti Rangi) customised, iwi specific, mobile applications which are mātauranga-based assessment and monitoring tools, as well as other mātauranga based digital resources such ‘Eko’ the ecology game www.eko.nz (National), ‘Karanga a Tanemahuta’ the VR experience and ‘Kaitiakitanga i te Au Warawara’ graphic novel (Te Rarawa).
Kiri was the first Māori PhD to win the coveted L’oreal UNESCO mentoring fellowship for women in science in New Zealand in 2022.
Kiri sits on the Tīwaiwaka trust board, a Te Ao Māori conservation movement led by Pā, Rob McGowan, one of New Zealand’s foremost rongoā experts https://www.tiwaiwaka.nz, in championing the vision of ‘Ka ora te whenua, Ka ora te tangata’ (when the land is well, the people are well).
