Tū mai rā maunga Hikurangi
E rere atu rā ki te awa o Waiapu
Nei rā a Porou e mihi atu nei.
Hei Whakapiki Mauri Kaiwhakahaere Ruth Jones has a long history as a leader in Aotearoa’s disability sector.
Her and her husband Gary Williams started Hei Whakapiki Mauri with the aim of bringing Māori with disabilities and their whānau together to build confidence, knowledge, and a sense of belonging. Being Māori first and lifting the mauri of others is important to Ruth across all of her mahi.
Born in Christchurch, Ruth is proud to serve her community in a variety of leadership roles across the health, disability, not-for-profit, education and community sectors. Initially as a social worker, then a manager, and now as a consultant, Ruth’s mahi focuses on empowering leaders within whānau, teams and communities to create change.
Ruth brings both her professional experience, and her perspective as a disabled Māori woman to her mahi and has been awarded a QSM for her ongoing leadership and transformation work in the disability sector.
Alongside leading Hei Whakapiki Mauri, Ruth is a co-founder of the Earthquake Disability Leadership Group, set up to advocate for accessibility in post-earthquake Christchurch. She is on the Bishopdale Community Trust, is Chair of the Marralomeda Trust and has previously held governance and advisory roles with Workbridge, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. She also continues to advise on the transformation of New Zealand’s disability support system using her whānau ora knowledge.