Meet the Wairarapa Campus Leaders

Riki Anderson
Kaikōkiri - Wairarapa

Riki Anderson Ngāti Kahungunu | Ngāi Te Whatuiāpiti | Rakaipaaka) is Kaikōkiri – Wairarapa, a senior role focused on supporting student success, strengthening community relationships, and helping create a welcoming, inclusive, and culturally grounded campus environment. Riki has 23 years’ experience in education, having taught makeup artistry in Auckland then completed teacher training and has held a wide range of leadership roles at UCOL. He understands the juggle of being a student too, having achieved distinction in Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership through the University of Canterbury and is now in his final year of Poutuarongo Mātauranga Māori at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. He particularly loves ‘working alongside my Kahungunu and Rangitāne whanaunga’ and is passionate about equitable education for all.

Melissa Lange
APM Service Industries

Mel has worked in tertiary education for more than 20 years. Coming from a trade-based background and as a former local business owner, she was drawn to education through a desire to make a difference in people's lives while raising her family. Throughout this time, she has continued to build her qualifications and experience within the sector, progressing through teaching, programme leadership, and management roles. Since the introduction of UCOL Wairarapa's local leadership model, she has held a range of leadership positions within the Wairarapa campus.

Tracey Cook
APM Nursing

Tracey Cook is the third part of our campus leadership and is the Academic Portfolio Manager of Nursing, having finished her nursing studies in the early 90s and then nursing primarily in intensive care, working across NZ, Australia and England for roughly 15 years, before returning to New Zealand and joining UCOL as a clinical lecturer in 2006. “It is an immense privilege to be in a position where I can empower future nurses as they prepare to enter the workforce,” Tracey says. “Our tauira come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are the first in their family to achieve a degree, some are second-chance learners, some are changing direction in their careers, and others have always known that nursing was their calling.”