Alison Thom

Advisory Board Member

Deputy Secretary
Relationships and Information
Manahautu Tuarua,
Honohononga me nga Parongo

Alison joined the Board in May 2008.

Alison left her role as inaugural Chief Executive of Te Runanga A Iwi O Ngapuhi to take up her appointment as Deputy Secretary Relationships & Information, TPK, in June 2004.

As a school-leaver Alison jointed the Ministry of Maori Affairs as a Community Services Trainee under the Tu Tangata Scheme. In 1986 she joined the Department of Social Welfare where she worked for a total of 12 years. During that time she gained her Diploma in Social Work and an MBA, while working in roles of front-line social work, trainer, expert practitioner, senior policy advisor and manager. Since leaving CYF she also worked on government committees developing the Children's Agenda and the Care and Protection Blue Print.

In 1999 while working as the Director of SAFE Network, a community-based treatment programme for sex offenders, Alison was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to study sex offender legislation in England and on her return contributed recommendations to law reform resulting in legislation which sees sex offenders in New Zealand managed more closely and for extended periods post prison release.

Alison (Ngapuhi) says her new beginning at Te Puni Kokiri was a natural progression from social work intervention at a whanau level through to iwi development with Ngapuhi and now contributing to Maori success from a national level.