Leonie Pihama is a mother of six and a grandmother of six. She is Professor of Māori and Indigenous Research and is working as Research Director at Tū Tamawahine o Taranaki and is Director of Māori and Indigenous Analysis Ltd, a Kaupapa Māori research company. Leonie is a leading kaupapa Māori educator and researcher. She was a recipient of the Hohua Tūtengaehe Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (Health Research Council) and the inaugural Ngā Pae o Te Maramatanga Senior Māori Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Washington.

In 2015, Leonie was awarded the ‘Te Tohu Pae Tawhiti Award’ (NZARE) for excellence in Māori Educatonal Research and  the ‘Te Tohu Rapuora Award (Health Research Council) to recognise significant contributon to Māori health excellence and leadership with the whānau at Te Kotahi Research Institute. Leonie has directed a number of Research Institutes including The International Research Institute for Māori and Indigenous Education (IRI, University of Auckland) and Te Matapunenga o Te Kotahi (Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato).

She served on the Māori Health Commitee for the Health Research council and on a number of key boards including Māori Television, Te Mangai Pāho,and Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga. Leonie was recently made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.