[2] After graduating, McNeill returned to Rotorua, teaching at Waiariki Community College including development of their Māori Studies B.A.
[2] She additionally advocated for mandatory domestic violence reporting and the founding of Māori women's refuges during the 1980s.
[1] In 1997, she joined the Te Ara Poutama department of Māori and indigenous development at Auckland University of Technology.
[1] Whist there, she also completed a PhD in 2007 titled 'Te hau ora o naga kaumatua o Tuhoe: a study of Tuhoe kaumatua mental wellness', rising to full professor in 2019.
[1][2][4] During this time, she also acted as a treaty negotiator for her iwi, settling with the crown in 2014.