Māori Practitioners Advisory Committee

Chelsey Loader - Chair and Medical Laboratory Scientist

Ko Aoraki toku mauka, ko Waitaki toku awa, ko takitimu te waka, ko Te Mamaru/Anglem toku tipuna, ko Kati Mamoe raua ko Ngai Tahu oku iwi, ko Kati huirapa toku hapu, ko Arowhenua toku marae, no Otautahi ahau, ko Chelsey toku ingoa.

Chelsey Loader is a practising Medical Laboratory Scientist and has been working in transfusion science for the last eight years. She currently works for the New Zealand Blood Service in the Christchurch Hospital Blood Bank.  

Chelsey also serves on Kakapa Manawa for NZBS where she helps with tikanga, providing feedback for research proposals and assessing potential impacts on Māori.  

Chelsey is of Māori, Scottish and Irish descent and connects to Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu iwi. She grew up in a multicultural household with Samoan and Māori parents and has a passion for improving equity within the healthcare system.  

Chelsey is honoured to have been appointed Chair of the Committee and looks forward to representing Māori.   

Aysha Willis - Medical Laboratory Scientist

Aysha has a background working in the Department of Corrections as a correctional officer. The decision was made to change careers and she attended the University of Otago where she achieved a Bachelor of Physiology, a diploma for graduates in Anatomy, and a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science.  

Since graduating Aysha has worked in Cytology and recently achieved her VRPCC. Aysha was part of the COVID-19 response after only being in the job for three months.   

Aysha says she has seen a disproportionate number of Māori in corrections facilities and worse outcomes in health. She is determined to help make changes that will benefit Māori, and all New Zealand citizens.  

Keri Parata - Lay person

Keri’s connections are Te Atiawa on her father’s family side, with direct links to Wi Parata te Kakakura (great-great grandfather). He was a member of parliament in the 1870’s, prominent in litigation in Māori land cases – the most notable being against the bishop of Wellington where Judge Prendegast famously declared that the Treaty of Waitangi was “a simple nullity” that “had been signed between a civilised nation and a group of savages”.    

Keri’s father’s mother’s side is Ngai Tahu. Her great-great grandfather, Huriwhenua Taiaroa, was also a member of parliament. Her grandmother’s father was a prominent rugby player for New Zealand. Keri’s proud of her heritage, although admits there is a lot more she could learn.  

Keri was born and bred in Lower Hutt, follow in her father’s footsteps, started her working career in the New Zealand Police. She still has five close family members as serving officers. Keri has also had roles working in Youth Justice, working with victims of crime, security intelligence and lately in protective security. Keri is the proud mother of two children and says her greatest achievement now is her grandson, where she can have the fun of a parent with none of the responsibility.  

Keri says she feels privileged and honoured to be a part of the Māori Practitioners Advisory Committee and hopes that her lay-person perspective and life experience adds value.   

Shannon Paikea - Anaesthetic Technician

Ko Pukekaroro te maunga  

Ko Kaipara te moana  

Ko Otamatea te marae  

Ko Te Uri o Hau te hapu   

Ko Ngati Whatua te iwi  

Ko Shannon Paikea toku ingoa  

Shannon says she was very fortunate to be appointed as part of the Māori Practitioner Advisory Committee in July 2023. She is an Anaesthetic Technician and started her training at Auckland City Hospital in 2019, completing her training in 2023. 

Before becoming an Anaesthetic Technician, Shannon worked in the social sector for many years. She is married with three children, living in Kaiwaka and currently working in the Northland region.   

Dayna Hoey-Samuel - Pre-Analytical Medical Laboratory Technician

Ko Ngaati Wai, Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Hauaa, Aitanga-a-Mahaki nga iwi. Ko Ngaati Rehua te hapu. Ko Motairehe te Marae. Ko Dayna Hoey-Samuel ahau.  

Dayna was recently appointed as a member of the Māori Practitioners Advisory Committee in July 2023. She is a Pre-Analytical Medical Laboratory Technician in the Waikato.  

Dayna will complete a Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge through Te Wananga o Aotearoa in 2024. Since the beginning of 2023, as part of her Masters, Dayna has been working on designing a bicultural resource for Phlebotomy kaimahi that will be launched at the end-of-year exhibition in November 2025.

Dayna was born in Tamaki-Makaurau and raised in the area between Great Barrier Island and Waharoa. She has worked in both the public and private sectors as a Psychiatric Assistant. Dayna also did spent time working remotely in Alice Springs, Australia in a special needs school as a special education support officer. She currently resides in Kirikiriroa with her husband and daughter.  

Denese Gallagher - Medical Laboratory Scientist

Denese is the Quality, Health and Safety Manager for Te Whatu Ora Waikato Laboratory Services. She has worked in laboratories for 27 years – 14 years in hospital laboratories, 13 years in a petrochemical laboratory.  

Denese grew up in Northland, spending much of her time on the marae, learning tikanga, playing with her cousins, and embedding her roots firmly in Te Ao Māori.  

Denese links to NgaPuhi, Ngati Hine, Te Aupouri and Ngati Whatua iwis, and her passion is to improve on equitable health outcomes for Māori. 

Sara Cunningham - Medical Laboratory Technician

Ko Takitimu me Horouta oku waka.

 Ko te Horohoroinga o ngā ringaringa o

Kahumatamomoe me Titirangi oku maunga.

 Ko Ngati Kahungunu me Ngāti Porou oku iwi.

 Ko Ngāti Rongomaipapa me Te Aitanga a Hauiti oku hapu.

 Ko Pokaitu me Te Uawanui o Ruamatua oku awa.

 Ko Sara Cunningham ahau.

 Tēna koutou e te iwi.

Sara is a proud Māori wāhine registered Medical Laboratory Technician in the Pre-Analytical scope of practice, working at Pathlab Rotorua. She has many goals but her main one is to pave a pathway for young Māori rangatahi to get into the Medical Laboratory Science field. She loves her mahi and is consistent in continuing professional development.

Sara has said she feels proud and honoured to be able to represent Māori as a member of the Māori Practitioners Advisory Committee and hopes her life experiences can have a positive contribution to the committee and its goals.

Above all else Sara is a mum, first and foremost, to her four beautiful children who she raises alongside her handsome husband, in a small paradise called Rotoiti just outside of Rotorua.

Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata, ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina. 

Seek out distant horizons and cherish those you attain.

Mark Tumai - Anaesthetic Techncian

Ko Tainui te waka,
Ko Waikato te awa,
Ko Taupiri te maunga,
Ko Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Pou ngā iwi
Ko Mark Tumai e tu nei.

Mark has dedicated his career to various capacities in the health sector for over two decades.

Mark has worked in both public and private hospitals. He has worked in NGOs and Māori Healthcare providers as a project manager throughout the Waikato region.

His commitment extends beyond the professional sphere, as he sits on various church boards and previously Marae Trusts. He also actively volunteers in the Miramar community.

Currently, Mark is serving as a Locum Anaesthetic Technician at Wellington Hospital, where he continues to bring his expertise and passion for service.