Born in Hastings and raised alongside her whānau in Maraenui, Chrissy now lives in Tāmaki Makaurau where she dedicates much of her time to Mau Rākau – traditional Māori weaponry. Throughout her time in high school, tertiary studies, and her professional career, she found purpose in embedding the learnings and principles of Mau Rākau to tell and create innovative opportunities of system change for the Māori community. In October 2022 Chrissy reached the highest level in Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa and is now one of three wāhine who have reached Pou Waru. She has joined the Toi Tangata team as Lead Facilitator for Mātaiao ki Tāmaki which is embedded in the Atua Matua Model of the observation and study of taiao and the building of taiao literacy.