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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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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As an academic, spiritual leader and te reo Māori champion, Rev Dr Hone Te Rire is playing an important role in strengthening culture and resilience within his community. Born in Kawerau in the 1960s, he is the second eldest of nine siblings. His whakapapa is firmly rooted in the whenua and communities of Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe, and he is proud of the strong connections that flow through both his mother and father. “I’m a product of their union, and I am proud of my whakapapa. I also have very strong blood relationships through my father’s mother, which are special to me.”
Rev Dr Te Rire’s early life was shaped not only by his whānau but also by the spiritual leadership of his father, who served as an Amorangi (Spiritual Leader) of Te Aka Puahou, Māori Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. Ordained as an Amorangi in 2009, Rev Dr Te Rire has since served his community as a spiritual leader, weaving together scripture and tikanga Māori to guide and support those around him.
At the 2025 graduation ceremony of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, he not only completed his PhD but was also honoured with the Award for Excellence in Te Reo Māori. “Receiving the Excellence in Te Reo Māori award was very special. Te reo Māori is the voice of our tīpuna, and this recognition affirms its value in our lives today.” His academic journey now continues with a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship, building on his doctoral research and extending his contribution to Māori communities. His research focuses on the interrelationship between te reo, cultural identity, and scripture as a foundation for community resilience in the face of environmental risk. A climate Change Natural Hazards Resilience research titled: ‘Whakaora Taiao, Whakaora Whenua – Nurture the environment, you will nurture the land that provides you with sustenance.’
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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.
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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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Lizzie Shupak Mandeno is a transformation leader and strategist dedicated to redesigning how systems work for people and the planet.
As the co-founder of London-based consultancy Curve, Lizzie cultivated a practice of facilitating change for global institutions, including the United Nations University and the NHS. Her work is built on the belief that for organisations to be truly effective, they must move beyond transactional ways of working, to create the organisational conditions where collective potential is unlocked, at scale.
Lizzie brings a rigorous academic lens to her work Trustee role with Co-Aotearoa. She is currently completing an MA in Regenerative Design at Central Saint Martins and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Regenerative Economics from Schumacher College. This expertise allows her to bridge the gap between high-level policy and strategic intention and the practical application of regenerative principles.
An award-winning strategist and designer and co-author of the best-selling book "Closer Apart", Lizzie’s focus as a Trustee is on ensuring Co-Aotearoa creates the generative, collaborative environments necessary to meet the urgency of the climate crisis.
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Anna Tuson is a communications strategist, narrative architect, and founder of The Story Communications & Creative, a boutique consultancy shaping transformational narratives for systemic change. Her work focuses on climate, nature, oceans, and impact investing, with a particular emphasis on Asia-Pacific and global multilateral agendas.
With two decades of experience across sustainable finance, international development, and strategic communications, Anna has partnered with organisations including the World Economic Forum, IFRC, IUCN, and leading foundations and alliances. She specialises in translating complex systems challenges into compelling narratives that mobilise capital, influence policy, and inspire collective action.
She joined Co-Aotearoa to support the role of storytelling in accelerating Aotearoa’s transition — bringing a global perspective on climate and nature narratives, while helping elevate locally grounded voices, values, and solutions that can shape a more regenerative and inclusive future.
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Michelle is an experienced Trustee with a strong background in governance across many local and national boards. Her work reflects a deep commitment to community wellbeing and values-led leadership, shaped by both professional experience and personal connection.
Michelle brings a thoughtful and empathetic approach to governance, with a clear focus on ensuring organisations remain aligned to their kaupapa and deliver meaningful impact. She is dedicated to supporting compassionate, community-centered outcomes and strengthening the systems that enable them.
She joined the Co-Aotearoa Board to contribute her governance expertise to a cause she strongly believes in, supporting work that fosters care, connection, and understanding. Michelle offers a grounded perspective and is committed to enabling strong, sustainable governance that serves communities well.
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Growing up in Aotearoa, Shyla has always felt a deep connection to the natural environment. That attachment led her to study our native plants and animals and eventually, to exploring that same natural world through a microscope. Since then, Shyla has been driven by a simple but powerful question: how do we take incredible science and turn it into solutions that actually reach the world? That curiosity is now at the heart of her Master's research exploring the cleantech innovation landscape here in Aotearoa. She firmly believes that Kiwis have something special when it comes to innovating with te taiao in mind.
Shyla joined Co-Aotearoa because she wanted her energy and knowledge to count towards change she genuinely cares about, alongside a community of diverse individuals bound by a shared vision. That, to her, is also how Aotearoa should approach climate action: not from a single playbook, but with every kind of person showing up, as they are, and contributing whatthey uniquely can.
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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.
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.