Hiria McRae is the programme facilitator for Whakapiki i te Reo ki Ako Pai for the Ministry of Education. Her current research includes being project director for “Evaluation Research on the Development of Marautanga ā kura with Whānau, Iwi and Kura” for the Ministry of Education and "Māori student success – A Te Arawa Case Study”, for the Te Arawa Researchers group, ‘Te Ara a Ihenga’.

Professor Michael Walker (Whakatōhea) is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Royal Institute of Navigation in London. He is best known for his research on the existence, capacities and use of the magnetic sense in navigation over long distances. Recently, he has developed research investigating the mechanisms of the lunar and tidal rhythms in marine organisms.

Professor Margaret Mutu is of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Whātua and Scottish descent. She has three adult children, five grandchildren, and heaps of nieces, nephews and other mokopuna.