Dr Hilary Smith, of Palmerston North, MNZM for services to linguistics and the community
Dr Hilary Smith has been involved with Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tuāo Tāwāhi (VSA) for more than 40 years. She was a VSA teacher and teacher educator in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Laos. She chaired the VSA Council, sat on the VSA Appointments Panel, and chaired local interest groups. She was President of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Aotearoa New Zealand, co-convenes the Languages Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand, and chairs Applied Linguistics in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has supported numerous countries through her career in applied linguistics. Dr Smith is working with the Gamilaraay Aboriginal community in New South Wales, Australia to support Gamilaraay language revival.