About Rochelle Stewart-Withers
Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand
Professor Rochelle Stewart-Withers is of Ngāti Rāhiri Hapū o Te Ātiawa descent, to the Taranaki region in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). She is Head of Programme for the Institute of Development Studies (latest QS Ranking -Top 30 in 2024) at Massey University (Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa) in Palmerston North NZ. She is an Indigenous and feminist scholar in the sport for development space. Broadly her research critically explores the potential of sport as a means for improving economic and social outcomes in the Global South and for Indigenous Peoples, especially at the community and family level. Since 2001 she has been conducting research in the Pacific region, Samoa and Fiji, and also Aotearoa, and to a lesser extent PNG, Solomon Islands and Tonga. Prior to academia she was a Registered Nurse for 16 years holding senior leadership positions in mental health. She has recently stepped down from the Board of the NZ Mental Health Foundation having served since 2011 and most recently as deputy chair of the board. Rochelle has newly become a member of the editorial board for the Sociology of Sport Journal (SSJ). She is mum to 5 young people and has just become a nanny to Waimoana Te Anahera Iris.