Role

Lisa is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer while she completes her PhD in Education.

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Education Background

Lisa grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and completed Primary Teacher training in 1995. She has taught in both Aotearoa New Zealand as well as the United Kingdom (Primary) and began teaching in ECE, in 2010. Lisa has worked in Adult Education and Training with Spark and NZEI – Te Riu Roa, and began teaching in the Tertiary sector upon joining Te Rito Maioha, in 2018.

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Research Background

Lisa’s research focus is kaupapa Māori. Lisa has a strong social justice lens; her research is concerned with disrupting the dominant discourse of colonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand and resisting oppressive systems that disadvantage tangata whenua. Lisa’s MEd research centered on supporting holistic wellbeing for teenage Māori mothers while her PhD focuses on highlighting wairua in Western education settings.

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Teaching Interests

Lisa’s teaching inspiration comes from her father who was a PolyTech tutor in te reo Māori and taught in Kohanga reo upon leaving the Military. Lisa chose to teach to make a difference in the lives of the tamariki and whānau, and as a Lecturer in the Tertiary sector, now encourages the next generation of kaiako to do the same.