Skip Content
Tracey Cooper

Tracey Cooper has joined Te Wānanga o Aotearoa as a Communications Specialist based in Te Awamutu.

Tracey – Waikato-Tainui, Ngai Te Rangi – has a Bachelor of Communications Studies degree from Auckland University of Technology and has been a journalist and communications professional for more than 15 years. For the last three years, he was Communications Content Manager at the University of Waikato.

Before that he worked for more than 10 years at the Waikato Times, covering some of the largest news events in the country along with several international events.

“Coordinating a massive team of reporters at the Waikato Times to cover the tangi of Te Arikinui Dame Te Atariangikaahu in 2006 was easily the biggest event I was involved in. More than 100,000 people converging on Ngāruawāhia was amazing and created images and stories the like of which will never be seen again in my lifetime.”

Other career highlights include being one of only four daily newspaper reporters to cover the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, flying in to Christchurch the day after the devastating 2011 earthquake and being judged New Zealand’s best sports feature writer in 2009.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in journalism and got to do things many people can only dream about,” he says.

“In every role I’ve had I try and take advantage of opportunities to learn new skills and use those skills to the best of my ability. I’ve always been keen on education and learning so working at the wānanga seems a pretty good fit to me.”

That commitment to education has also seen Tracey spend more than 10 years as a parent representative on the Deanwell Primary and Melville High School board of trustees in Hamilton, chairing the Melville board for the last three years.

“I believe that if you don’t like something about the school your kids attend, you should do something about it, not just whinge about it, so I did. Twelve years later, our youngest daughter is in her final year at school so it’s a good time to give someone else the opportunity.”

After more than 15 years in Hamilton, Tracey and his partner Janine are now planning their next move, to Raglan, where he will get to spend more time indulging his passion for fishing.
“That will be great and we’re looking forward to the move.”


 Back to news & events

Published On: 19 July, 2016

Article By:



Other Articles

  • 28 September 2023

    Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaiako attending 2023 Toi Kiri Festival in Tauranga

    Te Wānanga o Aotearoa will attend the prestigious Toi Kiri World Indigenous Arts Festival in Mt Maunganui for the first time this year. Eight kaiako (teachers) will participate in the festival, which gathers indigenous artists from around the world to showcase their art.

  • 25 September 2023

    Tūwhitia Symposium drives student success for underserved learners

    This week Te Wānanga o Aotearoa will host organisations from across the tertiary sector as they come together for the second annual Tūwhitia Symposium, where they will discuss and explore ways that work towards the continued drive of positive outcomes for underserved learners in Aotearoa.

  • 25 September 2023

    Oranga Tamariki continues to improve Māori cultural capability with support from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

    With the support of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Oranga Tamariki is making a continuous and conscious effort to strengthen the knowledge and respect for Māori culture amongst their kaimahi, as well as a commitment to better fulfil their Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.

  • 06 September 2023

    Mahuru Māori challenge aligned with maramataka

    The Mahuru Māori challenge is just around the corner, but what does this mean and who can get involved?