Kim Eriksen-Downs – Kaituruki Ora | Indigenous Social Services Practitioner | Whānau Engagement Specialist
Kim Eriksen‑Downs (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamatea, Mōkai Pātea, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Whatuiapiti) is a deeply respected and experienced frontline practitioner with over 30 years in the social services sector. She has dedicated her life to supporting rangatahi, wāhine, tāne Māori and broader communities to heal from family and sexual violence—always through culturally grounded, tikanga‑based practices.
As the founder and Kaituruki Ora (Well‑being Guardian) of Te Hāpori Ora – The Village of Well‑being, Kim leads a transformational kaupapa that mobilises communities and co‑designs pathways away from violation toward inter‑generational healing.
She holds a Master of Applied Indigenous Studies (He Waka Hiringa) and is also qualified in social work and counselling. Her work as a national trainer has focused on building practitioners’ capacity to work safely, effectively, and respectfully within Indigenous frameworks—through workshops, forums, and wānanga for practitioners across Aotearoa.
Kim is widely recognised for bringing “knew knowledge” into practice—reinvigorating ancestral knowledge and embedding it into modern healing spaces, where people are invited to speak, connect, and transform within a tikanga-rich environment.
In late 2023, she featured prominently at COP28 in Dubai, invited to speak on an international panel at the ‘One World, One Family’ exhibition. There, she shared Māori healing models and the importance of Indigenous worldviews in global wellbeing frameworks.
Kim’s leadership is also recognised nationally: she is a member of the Tangata Whenua Ministerial Advisory Group on Family and Sexual Violence Prevention, providing key guidance to the government on policy grounded in te ao Māori perspectives.
