Diana Kopua

Mark Kopua (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Porou) is cofounder and co director of Te Kurahuna, which provides training and ongoing development for those working with Mahi a Atua. Mark is a historian, master carver and tā moko exponent. He has been on the board of Toi Māori and involved in determining the provenance of artefacts. Along with a small number of other moko artists, he has spearheaded the resurgence of tā moko. Diana Kopua (Ngāti Porou) is co-founder and co-director of Te Kurahuna. She originally trained as a nurse and then a psychiatrist. The Mahi a Atua approach underpinned Te Kūwatawata and Te Hiringa Matua services, for which Diana was the clinical lead during their development and implementation. Now, she uses Mahi a Atua to help people transform and indigenise their own practices and spaces. Lisa Cherrington (Ngāpuhi) trained as a clinical psychologist and began working with Mahi a Atua while at Te Whare Marie. She joined Te Kurahuna in 2022 and uses the power of stories of the atua in her work. Lisa is also a novelist and scriptwriter.