Co-Aotearoa is a Te Tiriti-led, non-partisan charity dedicated to fostering regenerative climate action.
Rooted in honongā and cross-sector engagement, our intention is for a whole-of-society response that builds unity, hope and long-term positive impact for people and te taiao.
Established in 2024, Co-Aotearoa builds on the Auckland Climate Festival kaupapa which connected 285 organisations and delivered more than 400 events between 2021 and 2023.
The Festival demonstrated the power of collaboration and collective action. Our role as Co-Aotearoa is to sustain that momentum and extend the Festival’s spirit into new, enduring initiatives across Aotearoa.
Our vision.
A future where communities across Aotearoa lead the transition toward a thriving, equitable and climate-resilient society.
Meet the Team
At the heart of Co-Aotearoa is a diverse and passionate team of trustees and leaders who weave together governance expertise, lived experience and professional knowledge from across Aotearoa. Guided by our values of kotahitanga, kaitiakitanga, equity and hope, we ground our kaupapa in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ensuring that many perspectives shape the path toward a more just and regenerative future.
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Founder of Auckland Climate Festival and founding trustee of Co-Aotearoa, Michelle brings extensive international and local experience in urban planning, climate action and city resilience. She is currently Senior Planning & Sustainable Outcomes Project Manager at Auckland Council's Urban Development Office, embedding regenerative and climate- focused thinking across major urban regeneration projects.
Michelle's career spans leadership roles in London Climate Action Week, futures and transport planning across New York, London, Cambridge and Melbourne, and founding the social enterprise Six Generations. She is also a C40 Women4Climate Mentor (2023- 24) and a graduate of the Catapult Sustainability Leadership Programme. Holding a Master of Urban Planning (Hons) and a BA/BCom, Michelle is committed to shaping resilient, vibrant cities that embrace Te Ao Māori and create meaningful pathways for climate action. Raised in Ōrākei, Tāmaki Makaurau, Michelle is passionate about leaving a positive legacy for Aotearoa's future generations.
Michelle was motivated to establish Co-Aotearoa to build on the momentum of the Auckland Climate Festival and create a long-term platform that unites communities, sectors, and generations in meaningful climate action across Aotearoa.
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Cornell is currently Climate Innovation Lead Māori at climate innovation hub, Climate Connect Aotearoa. His mahi spans across Māori innovation in climate change, supporting Māori communities and businesses in their climate impacts. He led the establishment of He Kete Mātauranga a specialist space on the Climate Connect Aotearoa website that looks to mātauranga Māori in climate change discussions.
With experience across many sectors, Cornell has worked internationally and locally in media, sales, education, climate innovation and governance. He recently selected for the Moana NZ Associate Director programme for aspiring governance leaders. He’s also spent time as an elected member on the board of trustees at his children’s kura, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae.
He has whakapapa to Ngāti Hikairo, Waikato, Kāi Tahu and Sāmoa.
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Rikki leads Deloitte new Zealand’s climate risk and resilience service offering. She has over 20 years of operational experience in sustainability, climate change risk and resilience and GHG emissions reduction in the private and public sectors, across Europe and Asia Pacific. She is currently focussed on supporting our clients to undertake climate risk and opportunities assessments, to model financial exposure to climate risk, and to support clients as they prepare their climate-related financial disclosures. She has been instrumental in developing Deloitte’s global climate tools ClimateAdapt, Accelerate2zero and Deloitte’s CRD Checklist tool for NZCS1 mandated climate reporting entities. Rikki holds an MSc in Applied Environmental Economics.
Rikki experience brings:
Design and operationalisation of emissions reduction programmes for large, complex, global entities.
Supported the roll out of the UK’s emissions cap and trade scheme.
Experienced in preparing TCFD and NZCS compliant disclosures for large public and private sector entities.
Leads and facilitates, climate risk and opportunities assessments for mandated and voluntary climate reporting entities which include some of New Zealand’s largest corporate and public entities.
Conceived of and led the development of ClimateAdapt, a tool designed to quantify financial exposure to climate risk; and Accelerate2zero, a tool designed to support emissions management and emissions abatement modelling.
Regularly provides climate governance training for Boardsand Executive Management teams.
Sits on multiple climate working groups including Chapter Zero, Centre for Sustainable Finance – Toitū Tahua, Financial Services Council, Climate Leaders Coalition and Aotearoa Circle.
Join the team
Having completed our foundational phase, Co-Aotearoa is now entering the pivotal launch and growth phase. This shift opens space for fresh energy, deeper expertise, and new leadership on our Board of Trustees and team. Contact us to chat about how you might get involved.
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Tori is an accomplished Professional Director and the Head of Investment Programmes at UniServices. Her career reflects a strong commitment to rangatahi, future generations, and innovation through governance and investment.
Tori has broken new ground as the first wāhine Māori President of the University of Canterbury Students' Association and as Chair of the Canterbury Momentum Investment Committee. She has also served on the Science Alive! Trust and MBIE's Canterbury Regional Skills Leadership Group. Recognised nationally, she has been named to the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and Superdiversity Institute's Top Diverse Directors List and was a finalist in the Women of Influence Awards - Young Leader category. Tori was also a rangatahi member of the Auckland Climate Festival Advisory Board, helping shape the Festival's kaupapa from its earliest years.
Tori brings governance and investment experience, alongside a strong commitment to rangatahi leadership and Māori perspectives in decision-making. She joined Co-Aotearoa to ensure that young voices and indigenous leadership are central in shaping Aotearoa's climate transition, and to support innovative approaches that serve future generations.
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Roschelle is the Founder and Director of Honor Impact, a social enterprise helping organisations deliver positive change through capability building and communications. Her clients include B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, The Ākina Foundation, Foundation North, KiwiHarvest and other environmental charities. With a mission to support 100 Pasifika entrepreneurs by 2030, she is dedicated to enabling economic empowerment for Pacific communities in Aotearoa.
She holds a Bachelor of Business in Marketing and a Master of Change and Organisational Resilience, and is also trained as a Climate Reality Leader and Future Search facilitator. Roschelle has held governance roles at both local and national levels, including Trustee for Women's Centre Waitakere and Co-Chair of the Pacific Strategic Reference Group for Ringa Hora Workforce Development Council. While at The Ākina Foundation, she co-developed the Auckland Climate Festival's Impact Framework in 2023 to measure and communicate its outcomes. Of Samoan, Scottish, and Irish descent, she was raised in South and West Auckland, where she continues to live with her whānau.
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We are proud to have secured Lydia Hascott as Project Director for our 2026 Future Search wānanga. Her work sits at the intersection of systems change, leadership development, and collective healing, supporting individuals, organisations, and networks to transition from patterns of extraction towards systems of interconnection and care.
She brings career experience in systems change strategy, programme design and delivery, and capacity building, alongside lived and learned expertise in relational practice, deep equity, collective trauma, coaching, and facilitation.
Lydia has worked across Aotearoa, Australia, Europe, and North America in contexts including climate justice, wellbeing economics, sustainable finance, impact investment, education, community development, and disability inclusion. She designs and delivers capacity-building programmes for systems change practitioners, coaches and accompanies values-led leaders and organisations through transitions, and builds global practice fields for regenerative change.
Lydia brings to Co-Aotearoa an exceptional capacity to hold cross-sector processes, facilitate deep collaboration, and strengthen the systems practice that will underpin both the wānanga and Climate Month.