Sunny Collings
Professor Sunny Collings is a leading psychiatrist and researcher. She specialises in mental health and suicide prevention. Since 2019, Prof. Collings has been CEO of The Health Research Council. Prior to this she was Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Wellington. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and directs the Suicide and Mental Health Research Group in Wellington.
Lisa Te Morenga
Professor Lisa Te Morenga (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Uri o Hua, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) is a nutrition and Māori health researcher. Her research interests relate to supporting individuals, whānau and communities to achieve good health through being able to access healthy, affordable food.
Erica Challis
Erica is a writer, journalist, and previously an orchestral horn player. She writes for Radio New Zealand Concert, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Wellington. Erica recently completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka.
Kahu Kutia
Kahu is a writer, storyteller, artist and all-round professional haututū from Te Urewera/Ngāi Tūhoe. She lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and recently completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka.
Alex Walker
Alex is a passionate fiction author and has recently submitted his PhD in the School of Health at Te Herenga Waka. As a peer supporter, his work explores how peer support integrates into the Aotearoa healthcare model.
Ciaran Doolin
Ciaran is a PhD candidate in the School of Science in Society at Te Herenga Waka where he is exploring the history of meteorology in Aotearoa. He is also a meteorologist at Te Ratonga Tirorangi – Meteorological Service of New Zealand and has taught meteorology to graduate students at Victoria University of Wellington.
Dylan Horrocks
Dylan has worked as a cartoonist, writer and illustrator for over 30 years. His work includes comic books, graphic novels, political cartoons, poem comics, prose fiction, children’s books, and essays. His graphic novel Hicksville has been translated into numerous languages and was named a Book of the Year by The Comics Journal and one of the best graphic novels of all time by Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with novelists, scientists, poets, film-makers and artists. In 2016, he was named an Arts Laureate by the New Zealand Arts Foundation.
Tuakana Metuarau
Tuakana is a filmmaker, animator and game developer. He studied, and now lectures, at the School of Design at Te Herenga Waka. His research interests are film, animation and retro video games or, more specifically, how these mediums, through accessible software and hardware tools, can be used to tell Māori and Pasifika stories.
Gina Butson
Gina is a former lawyer who completed her MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka in 2023. Her short fiction has been published in Newsroom, Salient and Turbine. Gina won the Salient Creative Writing competition and was Highly Commended in the Sargeson Prize in 2024.
Sally Merry
Professor Sally Merry is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and researcher. During her career she has led brilliant research focusing on improving the mental health of young people as well as pioneering ways of providing therapy digitally and through games.
Geraldine Brophy
Geraldine is a playwright, producer, director, actress and writer. She has been appearing on New Zealand screens for over 20 years. Geraldine recently completed an MA in Scriptwriting at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka.
Lyra Caughley
Lyra is a writer and voice actor, currently studying at Te Herenga Waka.
Maggie Shippam
Maggie has worked within the youth-work sector since 2011 and is passionate about improving the wellbeing and outcomes of rainbow and neurodivergent/disabled young people in their community. More recently, Maggie turned their attention towards advisory work, as well as conducting research in those areas. They are currently a PhD candidate in the School of Health at Te Herenga Waka where they are exploring the health and wellbeing of young adults living with ADHD in Aotearoa, as Maggie was diagnosed when they were a young adult.
Paula Maddigan
Paula is a data scientist and AI researcher living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She is currently a PhD candidate in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Te Herenga Waka.
Josh Allen
Josh is an early childhood educator and a PhD student at Te Herenga Waka. His doctorate is focused on the ECE concept of whakamana or empowerment, a topic prompted by his experience of school.
Zac Hing
Zac is a writer based in Pōneke, Aotearoa. He enjoys meeting cats on the street, and cloudwatching. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka.
April Boland
April is a PhD candidate in the School of Science in Society at Te Herenga Waka. She comes from a background of Theatre and Religious Studies. Her work explores Flat Earth adherence in Aotearoa.
Emily Morris
Emily is a PhD candidate in the School of Design Innovation at Te Herenga Waka. Emily’s research interests involve the intersections of (game) design, identity, play, queer theory, fan studies, and transformative works. She has worked at Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington as a teaching fellow, tutor, and graphic designer, alongside freelance graphic-design work. She is also a member of the VUW Rainbow Research Network.
Katja Mokha
Katja is a Pōneke-based creative who recently completed the MA fiction programme at Te Herenga Waka.
Fiona Grattan
Fiona recently completed her PhD at Te Herenga Waka where she explored how sex and body-positive social media constructs sex, sexualities, and the body, how young women and gender-diverse people make sense of this content and, in turn, the ways these understandings play out in their own lives.
Amie Mills
Amie is a Pōneke creative who has worked in the media industry in Aotearoa and internationally. She is the Head of Funding at New Zealand On Air, and previously a commissioner at TVNZ as well as a creative at Saatchi & Saatchi London, where she led the delivery of a BAFTA-winning game to advance medical research.
Ash Horrocks
Ash is a creative person living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, a skilled dungeon master, and a student at Te Herenga Waka.
Teddy O’Neill
Teddy is the digital editor and host of the Salient podcast. They studied theatre at Te Herenga Waka and never left. Teddy likes to wear black.