Nō Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Maniapoto; Ngāti Rārua ki te Tau Ihu, Ngāti Tama ki te Waipounamu ahau. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Sandy is self-described as tribally grounded, globally informed and whānau tested against the everyday realities in which whānau exist.

Internationally and from 2004-2008, Sandy served as President of the Asia South Pacific Association for Adult and Basic Education (ASPBAE), the largest non-government organisation on adult education in the world. This international experience gave her unique exposure to the diverse adult education communities of Asia-Pacific. From 2015-2020, Sandy was elected as President to the International Council for Adult Education, representing member organisations in 75 countries to champion adult learning and education (ALE) as a universal human right. It also allowed her to hold consultative and observer status with UN bodies and UNESCO to influence international education policy and lifelong learning frameworks.

Sandy was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (University of Oklahoma) in 2009. Entry into this illustrious grouping is rigorous and requires the candidate to be eminently distinguished in the profession, to have brought honour or distinction, and to have contributed to the heritage of adult and continuing education.

Sandy employs a strengths-based approach to teaching which seeks to promote students’ critical engagement with historical discourses, social and cultural meanings, and power relations. She believes every student brings a range of experiences, ancestral knowledge, memory and insights into the teaching space. These are honoured, and provide the platform for building knowledge, reflecting on knowledge and making knowledge relevant.

In terms of her research background, she has focussed on Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Development, Climate Change, Sustainability, and Adult Education. She was the Vision Mātauranga Lead for the Deep South National Science Challenge (2018- 2024) overseeing a research work programme which resulted in the largest Māori-led body of climate change research. In addition, she co-led the Kāhui Māori for the Antarctic Science Platform (2021-2026) opening up spaces for Māori-led research. She is supporting Māori engagement into the genetic editing space and Cellular Agriculture through her research with NZ Plant and Food.

A recent research project which she led under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trad, Manatū Aorere was on Pacific Climate Mobility- when people choose to, or cannot, move in response to climate change impacts. The outcomes of this critical research are informing a range of public policies for Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2025, she was appointed Coordinating Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Assessment Report 7 WGII Australasia chapter). She is on the Science Committee, WASP (World Adaptation Science programme) and the Antarctic Science Platform as a Steering Group Member.

A central focus for her is to ensure the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems into research to create holistic solutions to global challenges.