Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi,
Hinemoa is the mother of two adult children. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist. She currently works at Starship Childrens’ Hospital, Mother and Baby/ Child and Family Units.
She is on the Board of The Helen Clark Foundation and is Patron of “Share My Super” a charity aimed at ending child poverty in Aotearoa. Hinemoa received the NZ Order of Merit for services to Māori and Psychiatry in 2019.
She has a PhD (2012) and NZ Health Research Council Eru Pomare Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2014-18) researching traumatic brain injury and has developed Māori specific approaches for the whole whānau (extended families) affected by traumatic brain injuries. These resources are now used in rehabilitation services. She continues to work in TBI research and in the assessment and treatment of whānau affected by TBI.
Hinemoa travelled to Antarctica in late 2019 as part of the Homeward Bound, a global, women in science leadership programme. She is a member of the Busara Circle, who assist the development of members of the Homeward Bound programme.
Hinemoa is a staunch advocate for fostering efforts that bring Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga, the Māori language and cultural lore, to bear in understanding the links between climate emergency, mental distress and ill health and to effective change.
Dr Elder is a deputy psychiatrist member of the NZ Mental Health Review Tribunal. Hinemoa was a member of the round-table who contributed to the recently published NZ Defence Force wellbeing strategy.
Dr Elder is the author of two best-selling books. “Aroha. Māori wisdom for a contented life lived in harmony with our planet” was published in 2020 and is included in the Oprah Winfrey Book club. Her new book “Wawata. Daily Māori wisdom guided by Hina, the Māori moon, was published in October 2022.