To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
PATEL, Ms Ranjna, ONZM, QSM, JP
For services to ethnic communities, health and family violence prevention
Ms Ranjna Patel is a multi-award-winning leader and advocate for community wellbeing, whose initiatives have made a lasting impact across New Zealand.
In 2014, Ms Patel co-founded Gandhi Nivas, an innovative early intervention service supporting men at risk of committing family harm. To date, it has helped more than 6,000 families in Auckland. A five-year study concluded in 2020 showed a 60 percent non-recidivism rate among a cohort of 900 participants. She has consulted on similar services overseas. She established Mana 4 Mums in 2019 to support pregnant Māori and Pacific women under the age of 23 in South Auckland. The service has provided holistic, wrap-around care to more than 1,600 women until their children reached 15 months of age. In 2023, she co-founded the Swaminarayan Complex, a multicultural community centre in Auckland promoting connection and offering programmes for seniors, women, and children. She has held numerous governance roles, including Deputy Chair of Diversity Works New Zealand, Mental Health Foundation Board Member, Executive Trustee of Total Healthcare and NACEW, and Chair of Indian Ink Theatre Company. She is Patron of New Zealand Police Recruit Wing 330. She co-founded Tāmaki Health in 1977, which has grown to become New Zealand’s largest privately owned primary healthcare group, now serving more than 330,000 patients. Ms Patel was the first person of Indian origin to be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2024 and the first woman to receive the Kiwibank Innovator of the Year award in 2021.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2017
Queen’s Service Medal, New Year 2009
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
STEWART, Emeritus Distinguished Professor Alison, CNZM
For services to plant science and the arable sector
Emeritus Distinguished Professor Alison Stewart is an internationally renowned plant scientist with a 40-year career focused on sustainable plant protection, soil biology and plant biotechnology.
Professor Stewart has been Chief Executive of the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) since 2018 and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009 for her contributions to biology and plant pathology. She was Chief Science Officer at Marrone Bio Innovations in the United States from 2013 to 2015 before returning to New Zealand and becoming General Manager Forestry Science at Scion from 2015 to 2018. She is internationally recognised for her work on the biocontrol of plant pests and diseases and has commercialised a number of products in New Zealand and the US. She has pioneered the implementation of sustainable farming practices that can improve crop yields and quality while minimising environmental impacts. As CEO of FAR, she has been instrumental in promoting the arable sector and has strongly advocated to government and the public on the importance and value of plant production systems in New Zealand. She is a great proponent of cross sector engagement, fostering collaboration between researchers, growers, government and industry stakeholders for continuous improvement. Throughout her career Professor Stewart has been a strong mentor of young scientists and future agricultural leaders, encouraging innovative and ambitious thinking to address New Zealand’s agricultural challenges.
HONOURS
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2009
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
WILLIAMS, Mrs Catriona Ruth, MNZM
For services to spinal cord injury research and equestrian sport
Mrs Catriona Williams has been the founder and driving force behind the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust since its establishment in 2005 and was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014 for her contributions.
Since 2014, Mrs Williams has continued to support spinal cord injury (SCI) research through further promotion, fundraising events and challenges. To date, CatWalk has raised more than $10 million towards research for an SCI cure, including $420,000 raised at CatWalk’s 10th anniversary fundraiser event in 2015, $350,000 at the ‘Remarkable’ event held in 2017 at the AJ Hackett Bungy Centre and recently $570,000 at the CatWalk Luminary event held at Ellerslie Auckland in 2024. She is a regular speaker around New Zealand, inspiring countless people by her example of courage and determination in the face of adversity, and dedicates time to engage with people who have experienced an SCI and are new to life in a wheelchair. Having herself navigated a second SCI in 2021, she completed an 11-day, 1,100 kilometre charity ride in the United Kingdom in 2024, a fundraiser in memory of equestrian Caroline March and supporting Spinal Research and the British Eventing Support Trust. Mrs Williams’ efforts have also seen her inducted into the Equestrian Sports New Zealand Hall of Fame in 2023 and win the Community and Not for Profit section at the 2016 New Zealand Women of Influence Awards.
HONOURS
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2014