Kaitohu Mātauranga / Kairangahau Māori | Education Advisor / Māori Researcher (On leave Terms 1 and 2)
Melissa joined NZCER as Kaitohu Mātauranga/Education Advisor in January 2023. Before this, she was a secondary teacher for over 25 years, with 12 years’ experience as a deputy principal in three English-medium secondary schools. Melissa is committed to honouring Te Tiiriti o Waitangi and mana ōrite mo te mātauranga Māori. She has expertise in developing assessment capability and brings considerable knowledge of culturally sustaining equitable practices to this role. Having worked extensively in the pastoral space, she brings her first-hand experience of using data purposefully to review wellbeing in schools. Melissa also joined Te Wāhanga, the kauapapa Māori research team, as a researcher in 2025.
Qualifications: Master of Indigenous Studies, (with Distinction), Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka - University of Otago; DipTchg (Sec), Christchurch College of Education; BA (German and Anthropology), Victoria University of Wellington.