Dr Charlotte Severne
Māori Trustee and Chief Executive of Te Tumu Paeroa

Biography

Dr Charlotte Severne (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe) is the Māori Trustee. She heads up Te Tumu Paeroa, managing over 90,000 hectares of Māori land on behalf of nearly 100,000 owners by providing professional trustee, property management, and land development services to over 1,800 Māori land trusts.

Charlotte holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Auckland. In 2016 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. This recognises her role as an advocate and mentor for Māori students in science. It also recognises her work assisting Māori entities to understand and better utilise science and research to sustainably manage and develop their assets.

Charlotte also has a wealth of experience in working with Māori business as a science advisor and in governance roles in energy, fisheries and farming entities. This includes her role as chair of the Lake Rotoaira Trusts (Forest and Lake) and deputy chair of Opepe Farm Trust.

The Future of Maori in Horticulture