Kaa Williams

Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Ngāti Maniapoto

Kaa Williams has four decades of experience in te reo Māori teaching, assessment, teacher training, policy advice, and advocacy; she is an award-winning televison presenter, and in 2009 she received the Queen’s Service Order for services to Māori. Kaa Williams has contributed to Māori locally and nationally in many capacities for more than 40 years. She has taught te reo for all of this time and was involved in the establishment of the first bilingual school in New Zealand, the precursor to kōhanga reo and Māori-medium immersion schools. Mrs Williams translated the NCEA Mathematics curriculum into Māori. Mrs Williams has designed the assessment tools for literacy and education, early numeracy programs and worked in an advisory capacity for the Tūhoe Education Authority. She has also held positions with Poari Manaaki Early Childhood Education, Te Roopu Māori Āwhina in the Tertiary Education Commission and on advisory groups for the International Research Institute for Māori and Indigenous Education and Genetic Engineering and Modification. Mrs Williams is a Māori language examiner for the Māori Language Commission, and is a consultant for Māori language television programmes, including the children's television series Manu Rere. Mrs Williams is a founding member of the Tūhoe Education Authority. Mrs Williams received the Insignia of a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for services to Māori.

Mrs Williams was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2011.

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