Mary-Jane Rivers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awards | Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
Mary Jane Rivers ONZM (known as Mary-Jane, [1] born 1951) is a New Zealand community development leader. In 2024 Rivers was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to community-led development, governance and education.
Rivers was born in Christchurch in 1951. [2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at Victoria University of Wellington in 1986. [3]
In the early 1970s, while working at the Upper Hutt City Council, Rivers encountered a woman and her children in need of a safe house. The only women's refuge in New Zealand at that time was in Christchurch. Rivers helped found New Zealand's first North Island Women's Refuge in the Hutt Valley, despite receiving opposition from church groups concerned that women's refuges damaged families. [3] [4] Rivers then led the Social Policy Unit in the Ministry of Works and Development, where she was responsible for assessing the community impact of large development projects. [4]
In 1985 Rivers was appointed as the Ministry for Women's first policy director, the ministry only having been established the previous year. [3] [4] She was also the first chief executive of the Citizens Advice Bureaux. [3] In 2006, Rivers founded Inspiring Communities, an organisation aimed at supporting community-led development. [5]
Since 2015 Rivers has chaired REAP Aotearoa. REAP stands for Rural Education Activities Programmes, and REAP Aotearoa is the national body representing the thirteen individual programmes. [6] [7] [3] Rivers has consulted on community development internationally, and was involved in founding UnionAID, an international development agency, and served on the board for twelve years. [3] [8]
Rivers has worked on food resilience, and in 2022 was a founding trustee of He Puāwai, which works in the Hutt Valley. [3]
In the 2024 New Year Honours Rivers was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to community-led development, governance and education. [1]
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The 1982 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1981 and the beginning of 1982, and were announced on 31 December 1981.
The 2023 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Charles III in his right as King of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. They were announced on 31 December 2022.
Cherie Maria Chu-Fuluifaga is a Chinese Tahitian New Zealand academic, and is a senior lecturer in education at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2024, Chu-Fuluifaga was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education.
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Caroline Irena Seelig is a New Zealand academic administrator, and was chief executive of the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. She has contributed to vocational education and distance learning for more than thirty years. In 2024 Seelig was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education.
