Who we are Ko wai mātou

Born in the Whanganui town of Raetihi, Larry Parr is of Ngāti Raukawa and Muaūpoko descent. After attending St. Stephen’s School (Tīpene), Bombay, South Auckland he went to the University of Auckland, graduating with a law degree in 1975. He has an extensive background in film and television production and played a role in several of New Zealand’s early film successes. He has dedicated a significant amount of his career to developing Māori involvement in the film industry. Before joining Te Māngai Pāho, Larry was General Manager of Programming at Māori Television. In October 2008, Larry left Māori Television to become Manager of Television Funding at Te Māngai Pāho. He was appointed Kaihautū of Te Māngai Pāho in 2016.

Cherie is the Executive Assistant and Board Secretary for Te Māngai Pāho. She is a Raukura of TKKM o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou and graduate from The University of Auckland. Cherie is a recipient of the University of Auckland Vice Chancellor’s scholarship for top Māori and Pacific scholars (now The Māori Academic Excellence Scholarship), the Ngarimu VC & 28th Māori Battalion scholarship, Hauora Māori scholarship and Māori Education Trust scholarship. Cherie is a graduate of Te Pīnakitanga ki te reo kairangi and is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori, English and Spanish.

Soha is a Data Scientist and a Researcher at Te Māngai Pāho, where she helps the team leverage the power of data science and machine learning to maximize the impact and value of Te Māngai Pāho. She supports leadership and funding teams with insights gained from analysing the organisation’s data. Soha is passionate about using data for social good. Soha holds a Doctorate degree in Computer Science from Victoria University in Wellington specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics and has over 10 years’ experience in data science and research.

Jess is the Kaitohuohu Whakapā and manages the communications for Te Māngai Pāho. She has a background in communications and has managed several social media channels and websites in her previous roles. Growing up in kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa, Jess is passionate about te reo Māori. She has a keen interest in using her communications skills to increase and encourage te reo Māori being spoken, heard and seen every day in Aotearoa.

As Corporate Service Manager, Thomas has responsibility for oversight of the financial and planning processes of Te Māngai Pāho, including financial controls, financial reporting and performance reporting. This also involves managing the legal, legislative and business risk issues likely to impact on the Organisation. Thomas is a Chartered Accountant and prior to joining Te Māngai Pāho, he worked in various accounting and audit roles in both the public and private sector. This includes two and a half years spent working in London. He is married to Brenda and they have two children.

Ruiha is responsible for managing and overseeing our online funding and contract management system. As a senior member of corporate services Ruiha supports all back-of-house functions and works closely with the funding team in the implementation of the organisation’s funding strategy. Ruiha is passionate about te reo Māori, technology and innovation, and the role that media plays in the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

While at Auckland University, in the early 1970s, Lynne assisted Hana Te Hemara Jackson in gathering signatures for the Te reo Māori petition 1972 and joined in several Ngā Tamatoa protests. Lynne has a BA (1st Class Honours Degree) in Film and English Literature. After leaving university, Lynne worked in the Financial sector and became the first female Senior Executive. On leaving the bank, Lynne and Larry ran a farm in Paparimu, and then helped run the Raetihi Hotel. Lynne has been married to Larry for 47 years and they have 3 sons, 14 moko and 4 moko tuarua. Lynne has been involved in and around the film and television industry for over 30 years and worked at Te Māngai Pāho for 16 years in the Television and now Content Team.

Ruth is of Taranaki descent and affiliates to Ngā Rauru and Ngāti Ruanui iwi. She is a specialist advisor for screen funding (television and digital) and assists with funding rounds, contracts and project compliance. Ruth has a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University (Māori Studies and History) and graduate IT diploma in Systems Technology.

Rochelle began her journey at Te Māngai Pāho in 2004, bringing a strong background in administration and contract management that has assisted her in various roles throughout the organisation. Now a member of the content team, her role is an integral part of helping the needs of Māori content creators to support the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture.​

Moana joined the Funding Team in May 2022 and supports successful funding recipients with contracting processes and project compliance within the diverse content and music portfolios. Moana has a strong administration background with previous roles in Māori health, tertiary education, and telecommunications (to name a few). After spending five years in Australia, Moana has returned home, recognising the value and importance of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga as part of our country’s identity. Moana hopes to support te reo to be spoken, heard, seen, and valued in all areas of the media industry in Aotearoa.

Blake is the Head of Content at Te Māngai Pāho. Having extensive experience within the Māori broadcasting sector, her commitment has always solely focused on telling stories from a Māori perspective, with a critical lens. Her credits include producing Aotearoa’s longest standing Māori Current Affairs show, ‘Marae’, ‘Te Matatini’ live broadcasts, ‘Aotearoa 250’ live broadcast, Māori lifestyle show – Easy Eats, and fluent te reo Māori children’s show – ‘Te Nūtube’. Outside of broadcasting, she is a mother of two Māori speaking daughters, National Kapa Haka performer and tutor of Puangarua Kapa Haka, she also sits on the Waitangi Cultural Committee in Te Tai Tokerau.

She knows the important role media plays in shaping our future generations, and her combined experiences guide her commitment to indigenising Aotearoa’s media landscape ensuring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is upheld while strengthening the strategic impact Te Māngai Pāho has promoting te reo Māori across all platforms.

Carl has been with Te Māngai Pāho since 2001. He has keenly watched the development and changing nature of Māori content during that time. Of particular note is the evolution of Māori radio - the early beginnings as a terrestrial broadcaster to becoming the “community’s voice by choice” on-air, on-site, and on-line for all audiences worldwide. Carl is proud to have been part of the Te Māngai Pāho team through many notable moments including the launch of the Punga network distribution service, the birth of the Māori Television Service and reaching 500,000 hours of Māori radio programming.

Nadia is the lead for music kaupapa at Te Māngai Pāho. While her career background is in commercial radio, Nadia’s affinity for music and sound goes back to childhood. An accomplished recorder player and kapa haka guitarist by age 12, her instinct for correctly selecting future singles from teenage album favourites ‘CMB’ by Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men’s ‘CooleyHighHarmony’ is what set her up in the 90’s for success as a programmer for popular Auckland radio station, Mai FM. 25 years later, and after stints in broadcast tech and content production, Nadia is now back in the music world, and highly motivated about making waiata reo Māori a part of everyday life for all New Zealanders.

Sonny is responsible for engaging with content creators, managing our social media accounts, and working with our Mahi Karauna partners on delivering innovative new initiatives. Sonny worked in productions as a presenter, editor, animator, and director for digital and linear shows before joining our team. He brings his experience as a digital native, understanding of social trends and experience as a content creator to Te Māngai Pāho.

Tia has joined our team as the Music Intern. Tia graduated with a Bachelor of Commercial Music from Massey University Wellington in 2022.

Growing up around music, Tia has always wanted to become a pop artist and is inspired every day by the strong wāhine Māori around her. During her final year at Uni, Tia released her first waiata Māori with the hope to inspire whānau to start their reo journey.