Introducing our newest Consumer Advisory Committee member

Update Rērere Kōrero
Jesse stands holding his graduation certificate, he is grinning from ear to ear and holding his graduation certificate. Jesse wears a Māori cloak and is flanked by two older people, also smiling and holding certificates.. .

Jesse Davis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manu) is an advocate for equity and rural New Zealanders and is the newest member of our Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC).

The Consumer Advisory Committee provides Te Pātaka Whaioranga with advice from a consumer perspective. Jesse joined the committee as an official member in March 2024.

Ko wai au?
Ko Puketohunoa tōku maunga,
Ko Taumarere tōku awa,
Ko Ngātokimatawhaorua tōku waka,
Ko Ngāpuhi tōku iwi,
Ko Ngāti Manu tōku hapū,
Ko Kāretu tōku marae,
Ko Jesse Davis tōku ingoa.

Jesse was born and raised in the Karetu Valley, in the Bay of Islands. Shortly after graduating high school in 2015, he began studying and working as a community pharmacy technician, practising across the mid-north for well over half a decade.

“Watching my hard-working whānau thanklessly rally together to fill in the gaps within the healthcare system and care for my small rural community was a call to arms I simply couldn’t ignore” says Jesse.

Jesse is now studying in the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery Programme (MBChB) at Waipapa Taumata Rau - the University of Auckland. Jesse plans to return home to Te Tai Tokerau as a much-needed rural GP, interested in palliative care.

Jesse currently holds diverse roles at Waipapa Taumata Rau, from tutoring population health and anatomy and physiology for Māori and Pasifika students, to working with tauira in university accommodations. He is also a member of the Equity Working Group for the National Palliative Care Steering Group at Te Whatu Ora.
 
Now, as a Member of CAC, Jesse’s goals and priority remain resolute – “to advocate for the empowerment of whānau voice within Pharmac to ensure that we can thrive no matter where we live across the motu.”

Jesse believes it is CAC's position to ensure the decisions made within Pharmac, impact New Zealanders positively and equitably. “Communities know what communities need, and we need only listen” says Jesse.

As a teina in this network of rangatira, Jesse hopes to give voice to those who matter most.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.”