Mai Tamimi
Board Chairperson
Mai is a community development expert having worked with refugee, migrants, and ethnic, Pacifica and Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mai arrived in Dunedin from Palestine in 2008, obtained her PhD from the University of Otago, and has been a facilitator in Middle Eastern culture and interfaith dialogues.
She is Team Leader Community Development with City Council in Ōtepoti Dunedin and was Middle Eastern Integration Coordinator from 2017 to 2018 with Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora. She has focused on the cultural wellbeing of women and youth and provided cultural and intercultural competence services. She has worked to break down stereotypes of Muslim women through her work with interfaith groups and has delivered crisis services for ethnic communities.
Mai has supported the Muslim community following the 15 March 2019 Christchurch terror attack and was a member of the Royal Commission Ministerial Advisory Group.
She has helped refugee families integrate into society, providing assistance as an interpreter and maintaining social contact with families to ensure they feel supported.
Mai was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit MZNM for services to ethnic communities in the Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours 2022.