5 minute read
Te Āti Hau Trust associate trustee - TUKARIRI DRYDEN
Tukariri Dryden is giving back to an organisation that gave to him. The 28-year-old, who has just graduated with a Bachelor degree in Business, Management and Marketing from Waikato University, received education grants from Te Āti Hau Trust to help with studies.
“Those grants helped me through university and so I wanted to take the opportunity to give back to the Trust,” he says.
In November 2021, he was appointed as the Trust’s first associate trustee.
The role is all about succession.
“They wanted to add a position where one of the younger rangatahi could come along to these board meetings and offer their input wherever they can and people like me, who have received grants, could use this opportunity to give back to the Trust.”
Tukariri says he applied to be an Independent Trustee, but wasn’t successful, so the Trust, then led by Shar Amner, created the associate role as a steppingstone and learning position for alumni to support the Trust.
As an associate trustee, Tukariri is treated the same way as any other Trustee. He receives all the information, attends all the meetings and is encouraged to think about projects he may want to spearhead.
The only thing he can’t do is vote, but he can contribute to discussions about matters on the table.
Tukariri has found it interesting to find out, first-hand, how his own incorporation works, the process of grant-making and how a big organisation functions well.
On his father’s side, he’s from Ngāti Rangi and Whanganui iwi and has connections to Raketapauma Marae and Rānana Marae. His mother, from Matakana Island, Tauranga Moana, is of Ngāi Te Rangi and Tainui ā Whiro, Waikato descent.
Tukariri was born in Hamilton, and the family moved to Whanganui when he was about to start high school. He went to Whanganui Collegiate and returned to Hamilton to attend Waikato University in 2013.
That same year, Tukariri was one of four rangatahi chosen to represent Aotearoa at a model United Nations conference in Beijing, China.
Overseas beckoned again, so Tukariri had time off his studies and moved to London, where he worked to save funds to travel. “But Covid put a stop to that. I still managed to tick off 30-plus countries in the space of two years, which was awesome.”
Back in Aotearoa, he finished his studies and, for the past two years, has worked at Te Tumu Paeroa –Office of the Māori Trustee. As a Kaitohutohu Tuarā Taonga (Trust Advisor), Tukariri worked with about 90 different Trusts in Whanganui, Manawatū and Taranaki.
He now has a new job as the Mouri Tūroa contracts manager with Ngā Tāngati Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement entity for the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River) settlement.
The role is a Jobs for Nature initiative aiming to enhance, protect, and preserve water quality and biodiversity of the awa and its tributaries. “I’ll be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships between landowners and contractors delivering fencing, planting and pest control.”
This fits with his aspirations, which are grounded in the whenua, tāngata and whānau.
“My father, Kemp Dryden, is the chair of the Raketapauma Marae Trust and has also been involved with Ngāti Rangi iwi – he also used to be the CEO,” he says.
“We would always go back to the marae over holidays or weekends to help out and I suppose that’s where it all started.”
The eldest of three brothers, Tukariri says he naturally wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and work for the iwi and for the people. “But I decided I wanted to go to university first to get the tools and experience needed to do that,” he says.
“I do see myself working with Māori land in some way, and I would like to be able to work for my iwi and iwi interests… just figuring out new ways our iwi can thrive and improve financially but also socially, spiritually, physically and bringing a new generation of thinking behind it.”
“I do see myself working with Māori land in some way, and I would like to be able to work for my iwi and iwi interests… just figuring out new ways our iwi can thrive and improve financially but also socially, spiritually, physically and bringing a new generation of thinking behind it.”
Te Āti Hau Trust chair Dr Rāwiri Tinirau says succession planning is hugely important, which is why an associate trustee position was created.
“It’s about building our capacity to prepare our people for governance roles. I think the way that we are trying to grow our leadership, grow experiences for our people and make sure they get a taste of what it’s like to sit at a governance table, I think that’s really important,” says Rāwiri.
There are also two independent trustees – Claire Cilliers and Jonelle Hiroti-Kinane.
An independent trustee is someone who is not already a director of Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporation and submits an expression of interest with a CV and cover letter outlining their skills and why they want to serve on the committee.
“We’re really lucky that we’ve got two fantastic women who hold those roles at the moment.”
Jonelle was a previous employee of the Incorporation, in a role where she focused on shareholder engagement and worked directly on Te Āti Hau Trust priorities and workstreams. She is now working for a government agency.
Claire, who works in the health sector, moved to Aotearoa a few years ago. “She has learnt a lot about our people and te ao Māori through her involvement with the Trust.”
