2023 Kea World Class New Zealand Award winners

The 2023 Kea World Class New Zealand Awards saw us celebrate the theme of ‘Togetherness’. A theme reminding us during challenging times, we can unify ideas through inspiration and courage from our global Kiwi community alongside those at home, to harness the collective power for a greater impact for Aotearoa. This theme was a common thread between our winners which proved that during challenging times we are able to unify ideas through inspiration and courage from our global Kiwi community alongside those at home.

Kea World Class New Zealand Supreme Award winner Maia Nuku

^{Award presented by}

SUPREME AWARD WINNER

Dr Maia Nuku, Ngāi Tai

Maia was born in the UK, to English and Māori parents and is now based in New York where she holds the position of Curator of Oceanic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first indigenous Pacific person to ever hold a curatorial position there. She is recognised globally as one of the leaders in her field and regularly connects with other museums to offer advice and inspiration. A lifetime of advocating for Māori and Pacific people has seen her significantly increase global understanding of Māori and Pacific art.

Kea World Class New Zealand Friend of New Zealand Award winners Eric and Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom

_{Award presented by}

FRIEND OF NEW ZEALAND AWARD WINNERS

Eric and Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom

Eric and Emeline moved to New Zealand in 2017 and launched Spacebase, a consultancy focused on creating sustainable and fair access to space and focused on building a valid space industry in New Zealand. They are also the co-founders of International Space Consultants, which sees them working with partners around the world to develop space systems to satisfy humanity’s needs on Earth while opening the solar system for exploration and development for all.

Kea World Class New Zealand Award winner Dr. Natasha Anu Anandaraja

_{Award presented by}

_{Kea charity partner}

WORLD CLASS AWARD WINNER

Dr Natasha Anu Anandaraja

Anu is an educator, paediatrician, and public health practitioner. She is the founder of Equity Now, a platform for women to speak about discrimination in the healthcare system, and the founder of Covid Courage, a not-for-profit organisation created to provide PPE to frontline healthcare workers and address inequities during the Covid-19 response in New York. Most recently she launched her NGO Women Together Global, which connects women across boundaries of geography and culture, to transfer knowledge and skills.

Kea World Class New Zealand Award winner Joanne McEachan

_{Award presented by}

WORLD CLASS AWARD WINNER

Joanne McEachan, Ngāi Tahu Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha

Jo is an author, speaker and entrepreneur with more than 35 years of experience in the education sector. In 2012 she moved to the US, where she launched her company ‘The Learner First’ which champions a systemic approach to merging academic, social and emotional learning in schools. She also co-founded the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global initiative and established the Kia Kotahi Ako Charitable Trust, dedicated to addressing the most critical challenges facing our planet, from education to climate change and beyond.

Kea World Class New Zealand Award winner Mark Inglis

_{Award presented by}

WORLD CLASS AWARD WINNER

Mark Inglis, ONZM

Mark is a mountaineer, researcher, winemaker and motivational speaker. He is the first Paralympian to bring home a cycling medal, winning Silver at the Sydney games in 2000. In addition to being a goodwill ambassador for the Everest Rescue Trust, he is also the founder of Limbs 4 All. He splits his time between New Zealand India and Cambodia where he advocates for the rights of people living with a disability and consults with top business leaders and executives on business changes and challenges and the role attitude plays in a company.

Kea World Class New Zealand Award winner Brianne West

_{Award presented by}

WORLD CLASS AWARD WINNER

Brianne West

Brianne is an Environmentalist and Social Entrepreneur and the founder of Ethique – a regenerative beauty brand she started in her kitchen. To date, Ethique has prevented more than 6 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfill. She has travelled the globe working with companies in the US, UK, Australia and Canada to help them develop sustainability strategies and bring more sustainable products to their range. She is a strong believer that business is an important instrument when it comes to global change and that Kiwi businesses have a unique role to play.

Kea World Class New Zealand Award winner Cristin Print

_{Award presented by}

WORLD CLASS AWARD WINNER

Prof. Cristin Print

After studying genomics at the University of Auckland Cris worked in both Australia and the UK, he also co-founded a bioinformatics company which was one of the first to be listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. In 2005 he returned to the University of Auckland where he leads a cross-disciplinary research team of clinicians, biologists and data scientists. He is a global expert in his field and frequently collaborates with his international peers. Cristin also sits across numerous boards and is a champion for data sovereignty for indigenous people.