Dr Rachael Ka‘ai-Mahuta is Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu), Hawaiian, and Cook Island Māori. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) where she is based in Te Ipukarea Research Institute as an Associate Director. Rachael completed her doctorate in 2010 and commenced work at AUT in 2011. Since then, Rachael has been awarded a Te Wheke-a-Toi Post-Doctoral Fellowship, completed a certificate on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Policy at Columbia University, graduated from Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo – the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language, and completed a term as a Commissioner to the Library and Information Advisory Commission.