Key People

Kia ora ko John Oetzel toku ingoa. No Amerika toku whānau. I am originally from New Mexico in the United States and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand 8 years ago with my family—my wife Keri and sons Spencer and Ethan. I am of European descent although fourth generation US American. I am a professor in the Waikato Management School in Hamilton New Zealand. In my work, I use community-engagement strategies to collaboratively work with communities, and primarily Indigenous communities, to address various health issues to improve health equity. I started with the He Pikinga Waiora team from the beginning of the project in 2015. I was invited to join the team based on my experience studying more than 300 community-academic partnerships in the U.S.A. that identified promising practices for capacity building, improved health and improved health equity. I’m passionate about the importance of having Indigenous-led and participatory research approaches for developing health interventions.