Merata Kawharu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) is an academic, researcher and writer who is currently Research Professor at the Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago, Dunedin. After completing a doctorate in anthropology at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, she has taught at Auckland and Otago universities, and published widely in the areas of indigenous leadership and resource management. Merata Kawharu has been a consultant to the UN and UNESCO and is a member of the New Zealand Geographic Board. Her books include Whariki, with Paul Tapsell, Whenua: Managing our Resources, Tahuhu Kōrero: The Sayings of Taitokerau and Maranga Mai! Te Reo and Marae in Crisis? In 2012 she was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to Māori education.