Te Kūmiti
Click on the images below to find out more about the Committee, their backgrounds, their work and their hopes for the work of the Association during their term.
Dr Tina Newport
President
Tina is the President of Te Vairanga Kite Pakari. She has connections to Ngati Tamakeu and Ngati Te Tika (Rarotonga), Aitutaki and Mangaia through her mother. She has past experience in Social Work, and completed a Masters degree before working on the New Zealand Aid Programme in Rarotonga from 2004. Amongst many other things, Tina now runs a small consulting company (Akairo Consulting) and is a postdoctoral fellow in Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland.
Vaine Iriano Wichman
Vice President
Vaine Iriano Wichman (nee Rasmussen) is of Ngati Tamakeu and Ngati Te Tika (Teimurimotia), and kopu tangata Isaia (Tongareva). She has held numerous governance roles in the Cook Islands including President of the Cook Islands National Council of Women, Director of Policy for CIP, and the Director for both Cook Islands Building Supplies Ltd and Arama & Associates Ltd. Vaine is the Vice-President of Te Vairanga Kite Pakari.
James Uri-Puati
Treasurer
James Uri-Puati is a Cook Islander with genealogical links to Ta‘iti and ‘Āmoa. He has over 32 years experience as an educator and has completed numerous consultancy projects in local, regional and international contexts. He is currently a teacher contractor and a facilitator and manager for international volunteers in the Cook Islands. James is our Treasurer.
Hilary Gorman
Hilary is a Canadian citizen and permanent resident of the Cook Islands. She is currently a PhD scholar with the Australian National University. Her research focuses on social inequality relating to gender equality and social inclusion, sexual and reproductive health & social protection
Dr Jim Gosselin
Dr Jim Gosselin was born in Canada and has resided in the Cook Islands for many years having worked in various senior Government positions for every Premier/Prime Minister since Albert Henry. He has also worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat, the UNDP, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Taputu Mariri
Dr Debi Futter-Puati
Dr Debi Futter-Puati is the current Director of the University of South Pacific Cook Islands campus in Rarotonga. Debi spent most of her childhood growing up in Wellington and has lived in the Cook Islands since January 2003 with her Cook Islands family. She completed her PhD in 2017 at RMIT University (Melbourne) where she investigated sex, sexuality and sexuality education in the Cook Islands.
Ana Tiraa
Ana is an experienced local consultant and environmental expert with over 20 years of experience in conservation and environmental management in the Cook Islands & Pacific region. She obtained a Masters of Science in Natural Resource Management from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, and is currently heavily involved in species recovery and rat eradication programs.
Kelvin Passfield
Kelvin was born in Australia and has resided in the Cook Islands for many years, currently working as the Technical Director of the nonprofit Te Ipukarea Society. His areas of expertise include fisheries management, marine and coastal ecosystems and management, and environmental policy. He has extensive experience working with national & international government agencies and NGOs in these areas.