When Poto Davies (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Waikato) speaks, you feel it.
As the facilitator of Escalator’s Te Ao Māori module, Poto helps wāhine see leadership through connection to land, people, purpose, and self.
Grounded in whakapapa and guided by wairua, her teaching reminds us that leadership is a relationship built on mana and aroha. Through story and reflection, she creates space for understanding, belonging, and growth helping women lead with authenticity, balance, and heart.
Meet your Te Ao Māori Guide in Escalator: Poto Davies
When Poto Davies speaks, you feel it.
It’s not just what she says – it’s the quiet strength, the deep listening, and the way she brings Te Ao Māori into the room like a living presence.
As the facilitator of Escalator’s Te Ao Māori module, Poto helps women see leadership through a different lens. A lens that starts with connection. Connection to land, to people, to purpose, and to self.
Grounded in whakapapa and guided by wairua, Poto’s teaching reminds us that leadership is not a title or a destination, it’s a relationship. She helps wāhine explore what it means to lead with mana and aroha; to weave strength and humility, courage and care.
Through stories, reflection, and shared kōrero, she opens a space where understanding deepens and assumptions soften. Participants describe her sessions as transformative; moments that awaken new ways of thinking, feeling, and leading.
They leave with more than knowledge; they leave with a sense of belonging.
Learning from Poto means learning to see differently. To recognise the unseen threads that bind teams, communities, and systems together. She invites each wāhine to step into leadership that is inclusive, authentic, and uniquely hers.
At its heart, Poto’s work is about balance – between the head and the heart, the individual and the collective, the past and the future.
It’s about remembering that true leadership lifts others, honours all voices, and leaves the world stronger for those who follow.
About Poto
Poto Davies (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Waikato) brings deep experience shaped by governance, community leadership, cultural facilitation, and a lifetime of learning through real-world mahi.
She has served in a wide range of influential roles across her rohe, including:
- Trustee for AWDT
- Co-chair of the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust
- Co-chair of the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant (since 2008)
- Hearings Commissioner (RMA), sitting predominantly on Regional Council hearings
- Member of several local council committees
- Extensive experience in resource consenting and subdivision work, advocating for Māori views through partnership, conversation, and relationship-building
A graduate of multiple AWDT programmes since 2016, including Escalator, Poto credits AWDT with helping her find her confidence, voice, and personal leadership tools. Those same insights now shape the way she teaches: gently, powerfully, and always with humanity at the centre.
