Tori currently works as Poutaki Hononga – Commercialisation Development Lead at UniServices where she looks to indigenise the Research and Commercialisation spaces of Aotearoa and has extensive governance experience. An impressionable young Māori leader, Tori holds a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology & Psychology).
Tori is passionate about how young people fit into the innovation ecosystem, with experience bringing rangatahi (young people) to this space. She served on the Ministry for Business and Innovation Canterbury Regional Skills Leadership Group, was the first Wahine Māori Chair/President of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association, Chairs the Canterbury Momentum Investment Committee, and helps to create pathways for youth in STEM as a Trustee of the Science Alive! Board.
Tori has been named on the founding ‘Top Diverse Directors List’ established by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and Superdiversity Institute and was a finalist in the Women of Influence Awards - Young Leader in 2020. Through everything she does, and with her whānau and whakapapa in mind, she aims to serve her vested interest in rangatahi, governance, and how the two spaces merge in the innovation ecosystem intergenerationally.