
ABOUT US | KO WAI MĀTOU
OUR CORE VALUES | Ō TĀTOU TIKANGA
At Learn Māori Abroad we are committed to providing authentic, one-of-a-kind Māori cultural experiences and high-quality, engaging classes and workshops for learners living abroad.
Our language and cultural classes are based on the following core values:
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WHAKAMANA: To empower Māori language & culture learners who live outside of New Zealand.
- WHANAUNGATANGA: To create community and connectedness among learners abroad.
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TOMONGA: To provide access to learning Māori abroad through online classes, workshops, resources and other learning materials.
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TAUTOKO: To support you on your Māori language and culture journey.
We invite you to join us for a language class or a haka workshop.
We look forward to partnering with you on you Māori language and culture journey.

OUR TEAM | TŌ MĀTOU WHĀNAU

AMELIA BUTLER
Founder | Rangatira & Teacher | Kaiako
Ko Huruiki te maunga
Ko Punaruku te awa
Ko Mātaatua te waka
Ko te Uri o Hikihiki te hapū
Ko Ngātiwai, Ko Ngāpuhi, Ko Ngāti Awa ngā iwi
Ko Mokau o Whangaruru te marae
Ko Amelia Butler ahau
Amelia Butler is an indigenous Māori performer, dancer, choreographer and instructor from Aotearoa New Zealand. She has been teaching and performing dance at an international level for over 20 years. Amelia moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a career in dance and has worked as a professional dancer in the LA entertainment industry. She founded and leads Los Angeles based traditional Māori performance group, Ngā Ānahera Māori, teaches te reo Māori online and teaches haka & poi workshops in the US. Amelia is the Māori Language Lecture at the University of Hawaii, Mānoa. Her tribal affiliations are Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Awa. She is proud to share her culture abroad.

ELLY HULANCE
Teacher | Kaiako
Ko Tuhua tōku Maunga Tapu
Ko Hikurangi ki Tamarunui tōku Manuga Aroha
Ko Ngakonui rātou ko Taringamotu, ko Mangakahu ōku awa
Ko Tainui tōku waka
Ko Ngāti Maniapoto tōku iwi
Ko Ngāti Hari tōku hapū
Ko Hia Kaitupeka tōku marae
Ko Elly ahau
Elly Hulance (Ngāti Maniapoto) was born and rasied in Tāmaki Makaurau. She studied te reo Māori at high school, the University of Auckland and Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Elly joined Learn Māori Abroad in 2021 to reconnect to her Māori ancestry. Te Reo Māori plays a huge role in her whānau (family) life and despite living in Rānana (London, UK) Elly and her husband speak te reo to their two tamariki (children) every day.
Outside of her commitment to revitalizing the language within her whānau and the wider kiwi community in London, Elly is also a designer, and an author/illustrator of dual language children’s books. She has also founded a charity for the neurometabolic disorder Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia (NKH).

ALEC REDVERS-HILL
Teacher | Kaiako
Ko Ngāi Haina te iwi
Ko Rī te hapū
Nō Aotearoa ahau
I whānau mai i Tāmaki-Makaurau
I tipu ake i te taha o Maungakiekie
E noho ana i te taha o te Waitematā
Alec Redvers-Hill was born, raised and, after a few stints overseas, currently lives in Tāmaki-Makaurau, Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. Alec has been a language teacher both in his home country and abroad for over ten years in universities, school, private tuition, community and outreach programs, and online. He has a Graduate Diploma of Arts specialising in English and Māori and a Master of Teaching and Education Leadership. Whether as a teacher, writer, translator, mentor, or fellow learner, he’s always working to encourage engagement with language and cross-linguistic exchange and understanding, especially the continued growth, spread, and vitality of te reo Māori, including recently presenting on the language at Polyglot Conference 2021.


CHRIS DOUBLE
Teacher | Kaiako
Ko Orohena te maunga
Ko Ha’apape te whenua
Ko Vaipopo’o te awa
Ko Fareroi te marae
Nō Tahiti, Nō Pitikeina, Nō Ingarani ōku tūpuna
Ko Chris tōku ingoa
Chris Double grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) and now lives in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). Chris is a descendent of the mutineers of the HMAV Bounty and the Tahitian women that joined them. Through his passion to learn more about his Pacific
ancestry and the encouragement of his Uncle, a fluent te reo Māori speaker, he has studied te reo Māori for a number of years through Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Learn Māori Abroad. Recently Chris has been studying te reo Mā’ohi (the Tahitian language) to further his knowledge of his tūpuna (ancestors).
When he’s not learning languages you can find Chris at music venues around town working on his hobby of gig photography or exercising his other passion, computer programming. Chris acknowledges those who passed on their knowledge of te reo Māori to him and is excited to contribute to the growth of the Māori language by passing that knowledge along
through teaching and normalising of the use of te reo Māori in
everyday life.
LEE STUART
Teacher | Kaiako & Social Media Manager | Pae Pāpāho Pāpori
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Whakamoehau te maunga
Ko Hikutaia te awa
Ko Ngāti Pū te iwi
Ko Ngāti Rangiwhakaea, ko Ngāti Rangirangi, ko Ngāti Rangipakihi ōku hapū
Ko Hikutaia te marae
Ko Lee ahau
Lee Stuart was born and raised in Waitohi, Aotearoa (Picton, New Zealand), and has been a Pōneke (Wellington) local for the last seven years. She studied te reo Māori through high school and immersed herself in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world); from leading her school kapa haka rōpū to writing waiata Māori (Māori songs) for her school choir, and participating in the national Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competitions each year. In 2014, Lee won a nationally televised singing competition on Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) - Hōmai Te Pakipaki.
After completing her GDip Tchg (Secondary) in 2018, Lee decided to purse a GDip Arts in Māori Studies. Inspired by her studies, she started a kaupapa Māori virtual assistant business to assist and empower Māori businesses through the values and principles of Te Ao Māori. She is on a personal mission to reclaim her family's lost history and is set to be the first member of her family to speak te reo Māori in several generations.
As well as teaching for Learn Māori Abroad Lee provides unique, educational and inspiring content for our Social Media channels. To view her posts click here & here.