She studied psychology at Waikato University, earning first her Bachelor of Social Sciences before gaining her masters as well as a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology.
What drew her to psychology was an interest in understanding why people behaved the way they did.
She said she decided to focus on clinical psychology because it was very much around understanding mental health.
"I wanted to understand more about that because I knew that was a place most Māori don't feel comfortable in.
"I wanted to practise and be able to provide a different way of working in that clinical space."
Paewai then moved into management, which she felt would enable her to affect and influence change across the board.
"I wanted to support and enable and help build the capability of practitioners that would then go out and work with people."
Her most recent role at Oranga Tamariki national office enabled her to gain an understanding of the central government.
She said she wanted to go in and be part of the change that was happening in Oranga Tamariki.
Her goal was to take what she had learnt from working within the system and take it back out into the community.
Paewai said there was a lot more to be done in addressing inequities.
"I think there's a strong awareness, across the country.
"There's a lot more understanding and awareness of why we have these inequities."
She said in the past there had been no recognition of what had led to those inequities, but that was changing.
"I think there's a lot better understanding of that and understanding the need to address those.
"And if we do that, then the whole of New Zealand benefits."
There were some challenges with Māori communities, especially in rural towns like Dannevirke, Paewai said.
"We need to build capability, we need to be resourced well."
She said smaller rural communities could sometimes be forgotten about by the bigger players.
"I think we need our voice to be heard. We need to speak up louder.
"I think there's such an amazing opportunity in a small place like Dannevirke to bring everybody together and work together.
"It'll be challenging but I think we're all up for it.
"I can't wait to get in there and start building strong relationships."
