DR hINEMOA eLDER
Dr Hinemoa Elder is of Ngāti Kurī, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi descent. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and has been a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist for more than 15 years. Hinemoa is a board member of the RANZCP Foundation. She currently works at Haumaru Ōrite: Mother-baby and Child and Family Units Starship Children’s Hospital.
In addition to her medical qualifications she has a PhD (Massey University, 2012) that developed theory and a novel recovery approach grounded in Te Ao Māori, for Māori with traumatic brain injury, their whānau, extended families and professionals which is now being used in community rehabilitation services. Dr Elder was a recipient of the Eru Pomare Post-Doctoral Fellow, Health Research Council of New Zealand 2014–2018. She continues to work clinically as a neuropsychiatrist with those who have experienced traumatic brain injury and their whānau.
Hinemoa is a previous Professor of Indigenous Health Research at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi 2015-2018. Hinemoa was also the Māori Strategic Leader for the Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) Rangahau Roro Aotearoa, Brain Research NZ, 2015-2021. In 2017 she was the Visiting Professor to University of Hawai'I, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division and Residency Program. In 2019 Hinemoa was an invited speaker and mentor at the Health Forum for Atlantic Fellows and Rhodes Scholars, Rhodes House, Oxford University, UK.
Dr Elder is an advocate for use of Te Reo Māori and is a graduate of Te Pīnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi, rangapū tuarima (Te Wānanga o Aotearoa).
Since 2007 Dr Elder has worked in the area of Youth Forensic Psychiatry writing reports for the adult, youth and family courts.
Dr Elder has served on several Ministry of Health reference groups. She is a deputy psychiatrist member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal. Dr Elder is also an invited Research Associate of the Person Centred Research Centre, and the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences at AUT.
Her expertise is in working at the interface of Māori communities, and wider, diverse communities across Aotearoa, whānau, students, educational and research institutions, as well as with health providers, and youth justice, child protection services and policy makers.
Hinemoa has strong links with her own iwi and in 2020 became a director and trustee of Te Aupouri Commercial Development Limited and Te Aupouri Fisheries Limited.
Hinemoa is a trustee on The Helen Clark Foundation Board and is the Patron of the “Share my Super” Charity.
Hinemoa published her first book “Aroha, Māori wisdom for a contented life lived in harmony with our planet” in 2020 (Ebury press, Penguin Random House UK), this was chosen for the Oprah Winfrey Book Club and was the top-selling non-fiction in Aotearoa NZ in 2021. Her second book, “Wawata. Daily wisdom, guided by Hina the Māori moon”, was recently published also by Penguin Random House.