Dr Elana Curtis – Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Pikiao
Taikura Consultants Ltd was started in 2019 by Dr Elana Curtis and her husband Wiremu Mato (Ngāti Porou) initially to cover contracting work Elana would undertake. She was also working as an academic at the time and Wiremu was offering Te Reo Māori courses at the time.
Although Elana grew up in Massey, West Auckland, she was fortunate to have strong connections home to Rotoiti throughout her childhood. She decided when she was 10 years old that she wanted to become a Māori doctor and that has been her passion all her life.
Dr Elana Curtis is a public health physician with a long teaching and research background in Indigenous Health Inequities and Indigenous Health Workforce Development. She is now consulting as a Māori public health expert offering a range of services under Taikura Consultants Ltd.
In 2022, Elana left her academic role at the University of Auckland and Taikura Consultants pivoted to be primarily focused on the new suite of services now on offer. Their range of services include an on-line course “Introduction to Māori Health”, individual coaching/mentoring and group workshops on Māori health, and expert Māori public health advice to health entities and regulatory bodies.
The business primarily operates from their home in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and online via zoom hui and the platform Kajabi for on-line course delivery. In-person workshops often require travel across Tāmaki Makaurau with some travel to Pōneke (Wellington) and Ahitereiria (Australia).
Taikura Consutants is a Māori business focused entirely on Māori kaupapa (which includes training non-Māori to be Treaty compliant, pro-equity, culturally-safe and anti-racist). Being Māori is at the core of the business in terms of services on offer and the potential for positive Māori development overall.
Recent funding from Poutama was used to support the development of additional on-line courses being undertaken in collaboration with other Indigenous health professionals from nursing and dentistry. Elana says, “We are extremely thankful for the funding received from Poutama Trust.”
“Coming from a health academic background, it has been a new journey for me to identify myself primarily as a business woman. However, my journey with Taikura Consultants Ltd over the last two years has reinforced the importance of valuing my expertise whilst also being able to support others to develop and grow their own expertise in Māori health.”
“I believe in the importance of understanding your own worth in business and that if you value your expertise appropriately, then others will too.”
