Sammy Hughes

2021 Cohort

Pronouns: he/him

Sammy is building sustainable communities through growing the socio-economic outcomes of rural Māori, as well as contributing to wider issues through climate change work in the Pacific.

Sammy is a leader in policy, procurement, and social change. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nōna Te Ao Charitable Trust, a national charity dedicated to equitable educational and employment outcomes for rural Indigenous peoples. Sammy is a member of the University of Auckland 40 Under 40, a former Chief Adviser of New Zealand's Curriculum, and Senior Manager - Business Transformation at Ernst & Young (NZ/Oceania).

Sammy is dedicated to empowering his people to make informed choices about their futures and using education to change their situation.

“Our work is guided by the proverb: ‘It is your job to dream and our job to remove any barriers.’”

Social change work

Sammy is currently working on multiple projects in rural communities across Aotearoa where he leads work in the whānau resilience/suicide prevention space through empowerment programs designed with the community. He is also project manager for the Mana Wāhine Business Development programme run by He Kākano Iti in Te Tairāwhiti, as well as working in the climate change space with Tahi Pacific Climate Change Coalition.