Curriculum vitae
I am legally trained in Western law and I am currently completing my Masters in Māori law and philosophy. An investments and grant process designer, facilitator, and wellness practitioner. I design and run funding processes that communities can actually use, from first conversation to signed agreement, inside government, philanthropy and international programmes.
At a glance
Numbers from the public record and my own CV. References for each are available on request.
Expertise
End to end: fund design principles, engagement strategy, application support, panel selection, assessment and moderation, contracting, and a proper close. Implementation is adapted to each fund’s objectives rather than running one template.
Te Urungi panel (MCH, 2021–22) · Enabling Māori Framework (MBIE, 2022) · He Aka Ka Toro and He Tipu Ka Hua (MBIE, 2023) · Current AI Pacific round (2026)
Led and implemented Iwi and community engagement. Processes designed from a te ao Māori worldview informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments. Advised by industry experts.
Iwi and community engagement strategy · Māori design, engagement and translation partnerships
Admitted Barrister and Solicitor. Currently on the path to completing the Masters of Māori Laws and Philosophy at Te Wānanga o Raukawa.
IP protection for SMEs at a Māori commercial law firm · Contract drafting
for public funds while leading investments processes.
Dean’s Award for Litigation, Mediation and ADR
Co-founder, Māori and Pacific Law Association
Facilitator for global fellows focused on creating impact through the Global Impact Visa in NZ. Edmund Hillary Fellowship
Facilitator for Tīwaiwaka – Conservation Gathering led by Rob McGowan.
Hosted Envirotech Gathering for AI and tech developers from Asia. A collaboration with Pagoda.
MC for Climate Change Symposium 2025. Hosted by Te Kotahi a Tāmaki Marae Collective which is 35 marae based in Taamaki Makaurau.
Breathwork facilitator for Rangatahi (Youth) Leadership in Taamaki Makaurau, Auckland.
ASIA
Co-hosted the 2024 Envirotech Gathering, bringing Web3 builders and traditional knowledge holders together on nature-led public-good funding and impact measurement designed from a traditional knowledge lens.
PACIFIC
Now raising funds for ĀIO, the first gathering of the Pacific Region’s Indigenous AI builders: Nine island nations, Hosted by Mara.Earth with Current AI.
Experience
Paid roles and commissioned projects. Voluntary work sits below.
Scouting and preparing Pacific organisations for the Cultural Preservation AI grant €400M. An international funding round delivered entirely remotely across time zones.
Led two complex funding processes that sought to invest NZ$51 million into Māori-led research. I was asked to apply a te ao Māori worldview, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori throughout.
Led the design and implementation of the Enabling Māori Framework investment process and its contract administration. Invested in numerous Māori-owned SMEs, and built relationships across the sector and government.
One of three panel experts for a NZ$60 million cultural sector innovation fund. Travelled nationwide for in-person pitch immersive, prepared individual rationale for every decision, and made investment recommendations to the Ministry, including on the preservation, transmission and commercialisation of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge).
An international circle on indigenous approaches to regenerative development of land, water and life. Preparation work with national and international leaders; collaborative input into drafting documents for initial investment proposals. The project was funded.
One of a team of four women researching and designing an integrated response to problem debt for Māori and Pasifika households. Full concept document delivered in three months, with subject-matter relationships built and managed along the way.
Intellectual property protection for small and medium enterprises. Co-founded the Māori and Pacific Law Association while studying.
Voluntary and pro bono
Range
The same process has now held across all of these. That is the evidence it transfers.
HAUORA (Wellness) practitioner
I am a trained wellness practitioner. Movement, conscious connected breathing, nervous-system support, voice and performance are an ongoing discipline for me, and they show up in all of the work that I do.
She completely avoided the traditional “prosecutorial” manner of calling people out with an accusing finger. Instead, she showed a sublime communication style where she was able to evoke conscience, empathy and respect in the “offender”, protecting their dignity, and instilling in them an authentic desire to make amends. Course director, Human Evolution Specialists, on the 150-hour practitioner training
Credentials
Legal, academic and professional.
| 2026 – | Masters in Te Ahunga Tikanga, Te Wānanga o Raukawa | Tikanga as law: a complete legal system with its own foundation and its own means of accountability. Current study. |
| 2025 | Spinal Flow Academy | Nervous-system support, twelve months |
| 2022 | Evolution Breathwork Practitioner Training | Conscious connected breathing and mindfulness, twelve months, 150 hours |
| 2020 | Regenerative Practitioner Series, Regenesis Institute | Scholarship recipient. Whole-systems, place-based development practice. |
| 2014 | Admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand | Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Auckland, 2013–14 |
| 2013 | Bachelor of Laws (LLB), AUT University | Dean’s Award for Litigation, Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Co-founder, Māori and Pacific Law Association. |
| 2009 | Diploma of Personal Fitness Training; Certificate of Pacific Island Nutrition, AUT | |
| 2000 | Diploma of Performing Arts, Excel School of Performing Arts |
In their words
From written references. Full letters and contact details on request.
Savannah’s dedication to the kaupapa Māori framework within He Aka Ka Toro has not only ensured its success but also set a benchmark for how Māori-led research, science and innovation investments can be effectively managed and utilised. Dr Fiona McGrath, JP, Moko Kauri Ltd
Savannah brings to her role a deep understanding of Western law, the machinery of government, and investment. She also brings exceptional experience in te ao Māori and engagement with communities. Sada Charlie, Principal Advisor, MBIE
She possesses a rare combination of strategic vision and attention to detail that allows her to develop and implement robust processes that ensure the successful execution of initiatives. … The calibre of names and status that she is able to call upon to assess these funds is a testament to her reputation and the high regard in which she is held within the academic and professional community. Maikio McGrath, Managing Director, Moko Kauri Ltd
Working together
I have delivered a full international funding round remotely from the Pacific for a Paris-based organisation, and I run most of my relationships across the Pacific online between in-person visits. A working day in Rarotonga overlaps with the Americas, and early mornings overlap with Europe. I keep both open.
I am most useful when a grant or investment process needs to be designed, or fixed, so that communities can actually use it. I also help when Indigenous and Pacific partners need to be engaged well, as a guest rather than an authority. I am able to support leaders to draft well, to make sound decisions and to lead an end to end process. When a contract, licence or policy needs a close legal reading of what it actually allows. When a team needs an away day so that they can reflect, relate and plan forward.
Savannah Petero-Solomona · Rarotonga, Kūki ʻĀirani Cook Islands · Mara.Earth is her body of work. References available on request.