Rachel Taulelei (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Koata) is the CEO of Kono, a whānau-owned food and beverage company that boasts horticulture, seafood and of course, award-winning wine. Guided by Te Pae Tawhiti, a 500 year plan for success, Rachel is at the helm of a unique business model with kaitiakitanga at its core.

With a career that has spanned law, international trade and enterprise, business and, governance, you can understand why she is highly sought after in roles like the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council.

In this episode we talk with Rachel about what it means to build an innovative international brand. We talk about wāhine in leadership, appropriation and the realities of working for your people.

Hiria Cameron and Kat Poi are sisters. Of Tainui, Te Arawa and Tongan whakapapa, the pair both work in racial equity education, building people’s skill, capacity and knowledge to engage, sustain and deepen conversation about race.

Their mahi contributes to humanity achieving liberation and equity, while also empowering people to be healthy and, to thrive in their identities. They do this through one courageous conversation at a time.

In this episode we talk about black lives and white skin. We try and talk about their youth as world trampoline champions but the discussion quickly returns to decolonisation and indigenisation, about shaping racial consciousness and about what it means to be “Māori enough”.

Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta) is a tohunga of Rongoā Māori, although she doesn’t describe herself as that. The humble practitioner, tutor and advocate is passionate about Indigenous practices that focus on healing and restoring our people and, our whenua.

Rongoā is a practice she learnt from childhood, growing up in a whānau that would seek their medicine from the bush, and from each other.

In this episode we talk about orangatanga and all that entails. We discuss the Tohunga Suppression Act and today’s laws that still limit our traditional practices. Donna shares some of her top tips for wellness and, tells us the tale of how her second form school teacher, Mrs Kingi, changed her life.

Kristin Ross (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Tara) is an entrepreneur, a producer and a creative.

If you have tamariki, you will likely know her best as the co-founder and co-creator (with her husband Hōhepa) of the first Māori speaking dolls, and associated cartoon, Pipi Mā.

In this episode we talk about being unapologetically Māori. Kristin’s passion for our language, our culture and her drive to create a fully Indigenous world for our tamariki and Mokopuna so te reo me ona tikanga can be a daily reality for our future generations.

Kiriwaitingi Rei (Te Arawa, Ngāti Ama ki Rangitaiki, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) has worked in governance for almost 10 years. Her mahi has seen her practice as a solicitor and working for a post settlement iwi investment company before becoming the Chief Executive of Maori Investments.

She recently became the an independent director for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, the first wahine to be appointed to the board in its 108 year history.

In this episode we talk about smashing stereotypes on the roles of women, the need for diversity of thought as well as gender balance and age representation on our governance boards and, what it takes to be a woman in leadership today.

Angela Swann-Cronin (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata) is the first, and still the only, wahine Māori to become a pilot in the Royal NZ Airforce. A title she has held since 1999.

Her career has gone from working in the military, to becoming a pilot with a regional commercial carrier, celebrating a few seaplane and skydive flying experiences in between.

The māmā of two who has whakapapa to the East Coast, was born and raised in Rotorua, and although she spent much of her life travelling the world, she is happy to now be settled back there in a unique whare, made from straw, yes, straw.

In this episode we talk about being a wahine in a male dominated industry, about the highlights, and challenges she faced in 13 years of military service and, Angela tells us all about that straw house.

Terangi Roimata Kutia-Tataurangi (Ngāti Konohi, Te Aitanga a Hauiti) is the only nail technician in the world that specialises in Māori nail art. She has coined the term Toimaikuku for her unique style that blends new beauty techniques with Indigenous design, offering both a nail salon experience and retail nail wraps.

Born and raised in Te Tairāwhiti, the māmā of two is a graduate of Toihoukura, and is challenging the norms of Indigenous art practice.

In this episode we talk about business, beauty and being a boss.

Dr Diana Kopua (Ngāti Porou) is a psychiatrist that is changing the system by preferencing Indigenous approaches to orangatanga.

As the developer of Mahi a Atua, she uses Māori creation stories and pūrākau to transform mental health frameworks, providing an affirmation of our amazing genealogy and validation for our resilience.

Dr Di is teaching communities of practice an alternative to the Western model, using a culturally sensitive new therapy to address mental distress and suffering amongst Māori.

In this episode we talk about her upbringing, her career journey, and how her approach to health is smashing white supremacy.

Tina Ngata (Ngāti Porou) has spent her life showing up for justice.

Working in advocacy for Indigenous peoples and Papatūānuku, her passion for justice led her to become an active researcher, mahi that works in research while also committing to being an active part of the solution.

She believes that in order to achieve lasting social and environmental justice, we must first start with decolonisation and dismantling the doctrine of discovery.

In this episode we talk about imperialism in Aotearoa, her passion for te taiao and, that time she worked for the Royal Family.

Honey (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Haua, Waikato-Tainui) is a sporting icon.

The current captain of the Kiwi Ferns is a dual-code sportswoman with a career that has spanned 18 years and counting. The semi-professional athlete is also a disability sports adviser and sports commentator, smashing stereotypes across the sector.

Born and raised in Putāruru, Honey invites us back to her whānau homestead to share her story.

From her childhood days playing every sport the rural town had on offer, to raising her own teenage boys, and, her passion for equality in sports. She also talks about caring for her terminally ill māmā, and the realities of dealing with grief.