Atarangi was raised in the small coastal village of Ahipara and is affiliated to Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri, and Te Rarawa tribes. Her drive in the healing work is the growth and support of people using specific tools for self-healing. Atarangi’s passion for the healing arts was ignited by her elders, her many Kuia (Elder women) and Koroua (Elder men), where her training in traditional methods began at an early age. Today she passes these healing arts to her children, grandchildren, and extended family – biological and spiritual.

Tohe Ashby is a Rongoā Māori practitioner in Northland hailing from Ngāti Te Tarawa, a hapū of Ngāti Hine. Over four decades he has shared his Rongoā Māori knowledge with his community and students, including song, massage, and plant-based medicines to help reconnect and restore wellbeing. He believes that Rongoā is a path to reconnection and a way to reclaim what was lost. As an important political figure, Tohe is working toward normalizing access to Rongoā Māori and is involved in bringing traditional healing to clinics outside of rural areas. For the past few years, he has used his knowledge of the interconnectedness between people and the land and is treating the dying Kauri trees with ancient medicine. These treatments have been successful and earned the recognition and support of the New Zealand government.

Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta) is a Rongoā Māori practitioner from Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand. She is an advocate, healer, and leader, passionate about Indigenous practices that focus on healing and restoring traditional wisdom. One of Donna’s gifts is the ability to bridge Western approaches with Indigenous Māori approaches to bring a collective and harmonious way forward. She is an advisor for the New Zealand Ministry of Health and educates people of all ages in Rongoā. Deeply anchored in mātauranga Māori and in her intuition, Donna is a powerful facilitator, helping groups discover their own wisdom, their indigeneity and learn from each other in service of our Earth and future generations.

Tenga Rangitauira (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea) is a teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata on the shores of Lake Rotorua. In addition to his job as a teacher at Ruamata, Tenga is also a tutor and composer for Te Kura o Ruamata Kura Tuatahi, Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Puku and Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue. He and his Kapa Haka team placed second at the national championship, Te Matatini in 2023 with special recognition for their composition of Mōteatea. Tenga and his family spent 12 years researching and translating over 100 mōteatea of Ngāti Whakaue and published a collection of them in a book, He Kohinga Mōteatea o Ngāti Whakaue.

Awhitia (Ngāti Kahungunu) is an Indigenous Master Practitioner of Rongoā Māori and a traditional birther. Born in Tokoroa she was guided into te ao Mārama by her grandmother. Today she is a mother, grandmother, healer, Tohunga Ruahine of Haputanga’ Rongoā, Kaiako of Rongoā, and a facilitator of Ho’oponopono. Awhitia has traveled internationally and brought Rongoā Maori into many places to uplift, energize, and heal. She is supported by Mana whenua Ngati Paoa , Ngai Tai, Marutuahu,and Ngati Whaatua ki Kaipara.

Dr. Diana is the Director at Te Kurahuna LTD and is of Ngāti Porou descent raised in Porirua under the umbrella of Ngāti Toa. Diana began her journey in the health industry, training first as a nurse and then as a psychiatrist and is a Fellow of the Royal Australia New Zealand College of Psychiatry. Mahi a Atua became the philosophy behind Diana’s ground-breaking work. She and her husband, Mark Kopua, continue to grow a collective of Mataora (change agents who are trained in Mahi a Atua) to indigenise their respective communities.

Mark was raised in Mangatuna, by his old people and is considered a historian by his East Coast tribes of the North Island in New Zealand; Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Ira, and Ngāti Porou. He was the master carver for several meeting houses both on the East Coast as well as in the lower North Island. He and a small group of moko artists are responsible for the reinstatement of moko into New Zealand society. He has trained several moko artists and continues to work as a moko artist and design consultant. Mark is a co-director for Te Kurahuna where he uses his skills as a storyteller and keeper of ancient Māori knowledge and whakapapa.