29/09/2026
This month we're reflecting back on six years of Linnae Pohatu with us at Te Uru Amokura | Springboard Trust.
Linnae's journey with us started almost by chance. Having just left Auckland Museum, she ran into Dale at the Auckland Art Gallery, who told her the organisation needed some work on what its Māori priorities should be.
She joined initially as a contractor to develop a Māori strategy, and out of conversations with the wider team came Te Takarangi, designed to be interconnected and central, something that would continue to grow rather than sit as a static document. The board approved it, and a couple of years later Linnae came on board to help implement it.
Getting Te Takarangi over the line, she says, came from the leadership of Dale, Ellie and the board together. She's proud of how far the board itself has moved, growing from one Māori member to two, including two current practising principals who are Māori: "That's really good, and it has strengthened them."
She's equally clear that Dale's stance, backed fully by Ellie, that there's no such thing as being neutral on Māori priorities, has proven to be the right call, even through politically challenging times.
Asked what's kept her here for six years, Linnae doesn't hesitate: "I want to be in an organisation that is values-based and purpose-driven... I don't have the bandwidth to work with people or organisations that say it but don't mean it. So that's what's kept me here, is that when people say it, they mean it."
Linnae brings more than two decades of executive experience in Māori and Pacific development, including roles at Auckland Museum, Te Papa, the Office of Treaty Settlements and Parliament. "My roles really have been about making sure I remove barriers for Māori and Pacific to participate in organisations like ours," she says.
She has real admiration for the people she works alongside, saying that school leaders deserve far more recognition than they often get for an incredibly complex role as tumuaki.
She's equally proud of the clarity the whole team now holds on Māori priorities, both individually and collectively. "Our values and our behaviours are very much Māori-led in terms of the concepts, the ideas, and how we've tried to articulate them. Now we're trying to implement that in the behaviours we apply to ourselves as a team."
Linnae grew up on the East Coast among her father's people, with her mother's side from the Deep South, giving her whakapapa links to Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu, Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-ā-Mahaki. She lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with her partner and son, who they've raised in Māori medium education, which has had its ups and downs at times.
Her own hauora has become a priority after years of ignoring it. In fact, Linnae now considers herself a "gym bro" at her local Mangere gym. She also loves her weekly twerk dance class and Pilates.
She's a die-hard sports fan, especially of the Silver Ferns, Central Pulse (and Stars Netball since she moved to South Auckland almost 20 years ago), Hurricanes Rugby (men and women), along with the Black Ferns and, of course, the Warriors (both the men's and women's sides).
We love having you in our Te Uru Amokura | Springboard Trust whānau, Linnae. Thank you for the mahi you do and the direction you've helped bring for us all.
P.S. We love this photo of Linnae. It was taken at the 2026 ANZ Netball Premiereship and appeared on their socials. Her Stars team wasn't in the final, but she still showed her true colours and rocked up in Stars colours.
