Maria Maniapoto, DipMaori/Tohu Maori, BA, MEd (VUW) of is Maori descent, she is Ngai Tuhoe and Ngati Paretekawa. She graduated from Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) with a Masters in Education, Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Maori Studies. She is also a recipient of the Wiremu Parker Award for academic excellence.

Maria has been recently working in social policy research, and community development work at the Family Centre in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. Maria’s passion in the education of indigenous peoples at tertiary level has brought her to the Cape York Institute to work on the Higher Expectations Program - Tertiary (HEPT).