ILSP Alumni

Mr. Corey Ruha comes to Berkeley from a graduate position as a Measurement Technician at Contact Energy, where he was responsible for collecting data to manage the environmental impact of operations across three geothermal power stations and their respective steam fields. Being raised on the Gold Coast, Australia, Corey completed his Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering with Honours at Griffith University in 2017. His thesis focused on exploring various recycling initiatives with WindAid, an NGO in Peru, to help reduce waste. This included building a plastic extruder to recycle plastic waste into filament for a 3D printer. As a volunteer at the NGO, he also manufactured, installed and maintained micro wind turbines for rural communities off-grid. Corey has a strong focus on communication and teamwork, both of which have been fundamental elements in all his projects. He is excited to build relationships with innovative, bright minds with new perspectives at UC Berkeley.   

Mr. Taepounamu Ruha is an indigenous Māori brought up in Rotorua, New Zealand. Upon completing school he attended the University of Waikato where he completed his Bachelor of Business Analysis degree with a major in Accounting (Financial Analysis). During his time at university, Taepounamu completed an internship programme with Contact Energy with a focus on carbon emission and preparing carbon credit databases to include in their annual report. In his last year at university, Taepounamu was fortunate enough to secure a position at Deloitte Limited as a graduate consultant for the following year. He is currently working at Deloitte and remains a consultant predominantly working with Māori and private clientele. On a day to day basis, Taepounamu is preparing performance and annual reports for clients as well as administering tax matters on behalf of clients. 

Mr. Eli Te Aati Toekeis currently studying for his Master of Arts endorsed in Indigenous Development at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Alongside his current studies, Mr. Toeke also serves as the Support and Communications Advisor for Rino Tirikatene, a Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga since April 2018. Before that he served as Support Staff (Kaiawhina) for the University of Otago’s Te Huka Matauraka (Maori Centre) from 2015 –2016. Mr. Toeke has a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), a Bachelor of Laws, and a Master of Bioethtics and Health Law, all from the University of Otago.

Mr. Tahana Tippett currently works on Select Wealth Management/JMIS Investments Investment Team as a Financial Advisor and Director Assistant. Before his current posting, Mr. Tippett served in various positions at ASB Bank (North Wharf), including: Client Service Officer (Securities & Aegis); Customs Service Officer, Branch Host, and Personal Banker (Retail & Business Banking); and Commercial Banker and Maori Intern (Commercial, Corporate, and Rural). His government experience includes work with Statistics New Zealand, a public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of the country, where he worked as a Business Analyst. Mr. Tippett has a Bachelors in Business from AUT University and is an accredited Financial Adviser (Strategi Institute).

Ms. Mereaira Jones is a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. She has worked for McCaw Lewis Lawyers, a Māori commercial and property law firm in Hamilton, New Zealand.  She focuses on dispute resolution and indigenous legal issues.  Her core areas of work include Treaty Settlement, Māori land law, Waitangi Tribunal and Resource Management.  Mereaira gained a Bachelor’s degree in Law with a minor in Te Reo and Tikanga Māori at the University of Waikato, New Zealand.  She also completed her professional legal studies at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, New Zealand.

Ms. Peta Ruha has been a Registered Nurse for 25 years and specializes in Maori Mental Health. She has worked in 25 different mental health sectors and recently returned to Kawerau, the community where she was brought up. She currently manages an NGO in Kawerau as the clinical manager. She is driven by a desire to give back to the whanau, namely her six nephews who are battling methamphetamine addiction. Through the whanau ora hikoi she and community have managed to address a range of inter-generational cycles of abuse. As a mother of five children she has raised her children through home-schooling teachings and the Kura Kaupapa Movement ensuring her children are fluent first language speakers of Te Reo Maori. Her writings focus on capturing the past six years of her work in Kawerau in suicide prevention and post-vention, with a specific focus on the role whanau play in suicide, titled “whanau champion transformative praxis”. She is currently a Awanuiarangi Student, completing her third year of her PhD writings in philosophy of Indigenous studies.

Mr. Nukutaura Jones interned as an Engineering Assistant and Draughts Person with Mighty River Power in 2015, where his responsibilities included assisting engineers with commissioning, conducting maintenance checks and site inspections and a number of other specific engineering tasks. Previously, he worked as an Engineering Assistant and Document Controller with Aquaheat New Zealand Limited, which is New Zealand’s leading building services contractor. He was awarded the Tuaropaki Tertiary Scholarship Grant, Te Arawa 500 Scholarship, and Runanga A Iwi O Ngapuhi Scholarship. He recently graduated with Bachelor's of Engineering (honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Auckland in 2016. 

Mr. Sha Siting is a junior in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Tsinghua University. He also majors in management. He assisted Professor Lei Jiasu, from the Tsinghua University School of Economic and Management, to publish the article "Research for Catching-up Pattern among Countries in Science-Based Industries: a Case Study on Pharmaceutical Industry". Sha loves dancing very much and is the captain of the Tsinghua University Dance Troupe of Student Art, where he is responsible for managing the team and coordinating performances and competitions.

Ms. Mahani Hamdan is a full-time lecturer at the School of Business and Economics at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD SBE). Ms. Hamdan began her career as a tutor in 2003 and has been the recipient of Brunei Government Scholarships throughout her education. She received her first degree in Accounting and Financial Management from Sheffield University in 2002 and graduated with a Master’s degree - with distinction - from Leeds University, United Kingdom, in 2004. Ms. Hamdan earned her PhD from Queensland University of Technology in 2011 and was named best research student at the School of Management. Prior to joining UBD, she worked for the Ministry of Finance as a finance officer at Employees Trust Fund. Along with teaching and research, Ms. Hamdan has a strong commitment to university, government and community-wide development.  She is a member of the Brunei Darussalam Accounting Standards Council, chairperson of the UBD SBE marketing committee, member of graduate admission and research committees, and facilitator for UBD Strategic Planning (2007-2012). Academic and administrative mentors and engagement inside and outside the university have been instrumental in her success.  
 

Ms. Puawai Wereta’s education and career have taken unexpected pathways over the last 18 years.  With over 13 years of experience in the government and education sectors in Wellington and Auckland New Zealand, Puawai moved to Taupo to focus on Indigenous (Maori) farming governance and administration.  Whilst her undergraduate and post graduate studies and qualifications place her squarely in the public policy domain, she has found that the knowledge, skills and ways of thinking she acquired over the period equip her very well for work in the agribusiness arena.  Puawai holds a number of trusteeships on both philanthropic and corporate boards and has collaborated and participated in a number of land and farming projects in New Zealand and abroad.  More recently she has been contracted to a large multi-sector Maori Trust to project manage the development of a long term strategy for its food portfolio.  Puawai was instrumental in the Trust’s establishment of a relationship with UC Berkeley and was chosen to be their first independent scholar.  She is a firm believer in strong and meaningful relationships and attributes these relationships to the opportunities and pathways that have been laid before her.
 

Ms. Shruti Deorah is a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, India where she conducts research and analysis on renewable energy policy in India, with a specific focus on Solar Photo-Voltaic (and hybrid) applications.  At ORF, she published the policy report “Solar Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification:  A Roadmap to 100% Energy Access for India@75” in July 2013.   Prior to this role, she was Director for International Business Development at SMS GupShup, the largest social SMS platform of India.  She was also a Program Coordinator for the Clinton Climate Initiative in Mumbai, leading the transport and energy-efficient lighting programs for India. She is passionate about creating sustainable business and implementation models for clean energy technologies.  Ms. Deorah holds a Bachelor’s in Technology Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Communications and Signal Processing from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Ms. Jianping Liu is Vice Dean of the department of Chinese Literature, Minjiang University.  Her research centers on the “culture industry” and she teaches on introduction to culture and advertisement.  In recent years her research has focused on the contrast of the “culture industry” in China and the United States.  Professor Liu received her PhD from Fujian Normal University in 2010.  In 2013 she served as chief editor for the award winning book “The Introduction of Advertisement Creativity.”
 

Mr. Ravi Suri currently serves as Managing Director & Regional Head: Project & Export Finance, Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, for Standard Chartered Back.  Mr. Suri has significant global advisory and financing experience in cross-border multi-billion dollar financings. He is associated with virtually all of the major financings at a lead level in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions in the Power, Aluminium, Refining, Petrochemical and Infrastructure sectors. He also has significant experience in renewable energy and has worked on a number of wind, solar, geothermal and waste-to-energy projects across the region.  Mr. Suri has a BSc in Chemistry, Physics and Biology from Elphinstone College, Bombay University; a BSc (Tech) in Plastic Technology from Bombay University Dept. of Chemical Technology; and an MS in Chemical Engineering – with courses in Finance from Kellogg – from Northwestern University.