KOE KOE Ā
FIVE MINUTES WITH...
Alice Andrew NGĀTI KOATA
Te Amonuku, our associate director and manager programme, is an important part of our succession planning for the future of Wakatū. It is a two-year programme where participants gain experience in the governance and management of Wakatū. Associate directors spend the first year on one of the Whenua, Kono, Auora or Manaaki boards, and the second year on the Wakatū Board. Previous associate directors include current Wakatū board members Miriana Stephens, Johnny McGregor and Jeremy Banks, and Manaaki board member Te Pūoho Kātene, as well as Wakatū CEO Kerensa Johnston and Kono CEO Rachel Taulelei. We spent five minutes with Alice Andrew, our latest associate director, and asked her some quick-fire questions.
What’s your connection to Wakatū?
values are: believe in better, act with integrity, and
I connect to Wakatū through my mum, Laura Auld.
thrive together. We now have eight regional offices
Her maternal grandfather was Manunu Pene, son
and over 90 staff. It’s hard work sometimes but it’s
of Patara Pene (Ngāti Koata), and Herani Wineera.
worth it.
Mum was born at Takapūwāhia, Porirua, although she was moved away at an early age.
Aaron and I met in a large multi-disciplinary engineering firm. We saw the impact of engineering-led infrastructure projects that didn’t
Where did you grow up?
consider environmental and cultural matters
I was born in Gisborne in 1977. Mum moved from
from the beginning and so ran into problems
Wellington to be a maths teacher at Gisborne Boys’
with consenting, causing huge costs and delays.
High and Dad came from Auckland to play rugby for
This approach could also create bad relationships
Poverty Bay. After I was born, we moved to London,
between developers, councils, iwi and communities.
and then travelled through Europe in a combi
I have a Bachelor of Technology from Massey
van. I have cool memories of being in England,
University with a major in environmental
France, Spain and Morocco. We initially returned to
engineering, which I see bridges the gap between
Gisborne and then went to Wellington.
science and engineering. I try to help bridge the gap between mātauranga Māori and Western
Where do you live now and what do you do there?
science. I find ways to help people recognise the
I live with my husband, Aaron, and our 17-year-old
importance of our spiritual connection with our
daughter on the North Shore of Tāmaki Makaurau.
natural resources, within the constraints of the
Our son is in his third year at Victoria University of
regulatory environment.
Wellington. I’m a director of 4Sight Consulting, a planning and environmental firm. Aaron and I founded the
I love to get off the grid with my whānau on our
company in 2001 through our shared vision to work
land in Tairāwhiti. I’ve recently got into adventure
on projects that achieve better outcomes for people,
racing. I’m just a beginner with two races so far. I
land and water. We wanted to create a great place
love it but I need to brush up on my orienteering
to work where we would be surrounded by people
skills!
who make us happy to be there. Our company
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What do you do in your spare time?
