Te Rina Ruru-Pelasio
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Māori Development Leader & Co-Founder, Unseen Heroes; Māori Development Manager, ABI Rehabilitation, NZ
Te Rina Ruru-Pelasio is a dedicated Māori development leader and co-founder of Unseen Heroes, a charitable trust that uplifts and advocates for young carers who are often overlooked. She currently serves as the Māori Development Manager at ABI Rehabilitation and as a Project Lead with the National Trauma Network for The Path of Making Things Right - Te Ara Whakatika. Across these roles, Te Rina is deeply committed to embedding mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) and Te Tiriti-based practice into organisational change, ensuring that whānau voice, lived experience, and cultural safety remain central to system design and service delivery.
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Te Rina brings a unique blend of professional expertise and lived experience, shaped by her journey supporting her older brother following a severe traumatic brain injury in 2007. Navigating 24-hour care, rehabilitation services, and the complexities of recovery has profoundly informed her passion for equitable, culturally grounded, and whānau-led approaches to care.
Her work is anchored in creating authentic and sustainable pathways that uphold mana, strengthen cultural capability, and transform how systems respond to Māori. She continues to advocate for environments where whānau are seen, heard, and empowered throughout their healing and wellbeing journeys.
Her work is anchored in creating authentic and sustainable pathways that uphold mana, strengthen cultural capability, and transform how systems respond to Māori. She continues to advocate for environments where whānau are seen, heard, and empowered throughout their healing and wellbeing journeys.
