Who we are.
Mel Rice – Tumuaki
Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngā Puhi
Secretary for Te Aronga Toi Whenua, Tauranga Peka, Māori Women’s Welfare League
Mel is an experienced lead in whānau life and the community sector. Skilled in strategy, activation, stakeholder relationships and analysis. With over 18 years of experience in the community sector across all facets of community health business Mel has been instrumental in leading the transformation of services. Mel led one of Aotearoa’s leading community health providers to weave Te Ao Māori throughout the business firmly believing that if you get it right for Māori you get it right for everyone. Mel also led the same organisation in their transformation of services with a focus on tāngata whaikaha through whakamana tāngata. Taking the taonga of visions and reimaginings of hauora from what she says are smarter people than herself, and engaging hāpori in implementation. A natural evaluator of possibilities and realities and a huge fan of disrupting the system for the good of the people, lived experience, alternative routes and seeing a way where others assume there is none, Mel is excited to lead Oko Āio into a future that is waiting to be designed.