Matt Oakley

Matt, who is originally from England, moved to Aotearoa in 2000 seeking new opportunities in his chosen profession of Information Technology. He has since lived and worked in Australia and Hong Kong,  moving home to Aotearoa in 2017 with his wife Melka and daughter (Te Whanau-a-Apanui) who are from the small settlement of Raukokore on the East Coast.

When Matt first came across Mates of Tairāwhiti, he realised the power that can come from having a community based response in place for when people find their kete empty of tools to help them face the challenges of everyday life, and jumped on board our steering committee, he was previously our lead presenter.