Erin Thomas

Erin Thomas leads change with heart and a deep commitment to community. As Director and Change Facilitator at ICAAD, based in Tāmaki Makaurau, she connects frontline environmental and human rights defenders across the Pacific and beyond with innovative tools to transform policy and practice. For Erin, sustainability blooms like a delicate bouquet of putiputi—woven carefully through steady hands, shared learning, and intergenerational care.

Her work centers on building solidarity and bridging grassroots experiences with systemic change. She coordinates pro bono partnerships with law and tech firms, creating win-win solutions like the TrackSDGs project, which integrates human rights frameworks into ESG and impact investing to unlock powerful opportunities.

Erin’s approach is rooted in the Māori whakataukī, “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata”—recognizing that people are the foundation of true sustainability. She encourages rising changemakers to stay accountable to their communities, build bridges, and find power in collective action.

A pivotal moment in Erin’s journey came from her research on gender-based violence in Niue, where she witnessed how the absence of ‘perfect data’ often stalls action on urgent human rights issues. This insight fuels her challenge to the sector: lean into complexity and confront uncomfortable truths rather than avoiding them.

Her work emphasizes creating the right spaces for transformative learning—such as ICAAD’s Advocacy Academy, which brings together activists, artists, youth, and professionals from over 22 countries to share knowledge and amplify justice movements. Erin believes Aotearoa’s superpower lies in Te Tiriti and Māori leadership as the foundation for genuine partnership and sustainable futures.

Inspired by books like Braiding Sweetgrass and Parable of the Sower, Erin calls on everyone to engage deeply with Aotearoa’s foundational document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to protect local democracy, including institutions like Māori wards that enable representation and equity.

If she could plant one seed for the future, it would be the power of unlikely relationships and partnerships—those connections that build movement infrastructure and creativity necessary for systemic transformation.

Her advice for anyone ready to step into change: be honest about the influence you have and the risks you face. Often, we underestimate our power and overestimate the risks. Seeing this clearly allows us to make bolder, justice-driven choices—starting today, wherever we are.

Read Erin’s full reflections and answers for BLOOMING Sustainability.

BLOOMING  Sustainability Questionnaire

Name: Erin Thomas

Company & Title: Director, Change Facilitator at ICAAD (International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination)

Website & LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-thomas-78195399/ |  www.icaad.ngo

* Guiding Values | Kaupapa

If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?

It would be a putitputi, or a bouquet of putiputi. Weaving flax in such a delicate way requires steady hands, care, and attention. The practice is also learned intergenerationally and in community with others.

A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?

Stay accountable to your community and build solidarity. When people praise you individually or lift you up as a sole change maker, remember that real power comes from bringing people together. The connections you build are where the magic happens. Find your people, build bridges, and remember that the most powerful change happens in community.

* Leading Change | Arataki

A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:

Doing research on gender-based violence in Niue taught me a lot about how we can sometimes use data as an excuse. Niue has a small population which makes traditional prevalence studies impractical. In interviews, almost everyone acknowledged domestic violence was prevalent, but some still wanted comparative data to prove it was worth addressing. It struck me that people needed two hands to count the domestic violence incidents they personally knew about, yet we kept looking for the "right" kind of data instead of acting on what we already knew. That's when I saw how we often put human rights issues in the too-hard basket not because we lack data, but because we don't want to face what we already know to be true.

What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?

Getting people to lean into complexity, especially around human rights. We shy away from holding up mirrors to our own practices.

An area you need more support with:

Finding mission-driven professionals who are keen to dive deep in this work including confronting their own power and taking on the challenge of investing in high impact change makers.

An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:

The Matike Mai vision for constitutional transformation. It's Aotearoa’s roadmap to truly honouring Te Tiriti and realising the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by mapping a path to a new way of governing this country by 2040. Matike Mai is for everyone. It’s a vision where we can all find our place and thrive together. It’s a document everyone in Aotearoa should read.

Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:

I use creative pedagogies designed for cross-cultural adult audiences. In our Advocacy Academy, we've had participants from over 22 countries - activists, environmental defenders, artists, youth, and mission-driven professionals - and the key is creating the right container for deep learning. When the conditions and relationships are right, the learning is not only effective, it’s transformative.

What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?  Te Tiriti and Māori leadership as the foundation for real partnership. That's what makes us unique globally, and it’s the key to sustainable futures.

 * Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki

Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability:

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• What It Takes to Heal by Prentis Hemphill

• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler

Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:

Attend a Tiriti Workshop in your community or host one in your workplace. Learning about our foundational document is a critical step towards practicing sustainability in Aotearoa. Tangata Tiriti — Treaty People has some amazing resources and offerings.

A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:

Your upcoming local elections and what's happening with Māori wards. Important sustainability decisions are made at the local level, and not only is it important to have your say, it’s also important to protect institutions like Māori wards that are an important step towards honouring Te Tiriti. We went from three councils with Māori wards to 49 in just a few years when barriers were removed. Communities clearly wanted this representation. Now, the government's forcing expensive referendums that create division and undermine local democracy.

If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?

I truly believe that unlikely relationships and partnerships are what will build the power and bring in the creativity we need to transform systems. I have big aspirations for the work we do, but building the movement infrastructure for these unlikely relationships and partnerships is the most powerful seed of change for the future we can offer.

The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:

• Bianca Ranson

• Estefania Muller Pallarès

* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:

Be honest about what influence you actually have in your workplace, community, or networks. Then, be equally honest about what the real risks are for using that influence toward justice. Most of the time, we overestimate our risk and underestimate our influence. Once you see that clearly, you can make bolder decisions about how to use your position to shift systems toward equity. Start today, in whatever space you're in.

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