Tere Ngawai Gilbert ONZM is a New Zealand early childhood educator and advocate for the te reo Māori language.

In 2024 Gilbert was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to early childhood and Māori language education.

Gilbert was the kaiako (teacher) and tumuaki (manager) of the University of Waikato on-campus early childhood education centre from 1994 until 2015.

[3][4] Gilbert represents Ngā Puna Reo o Aotearoa on the Ministry of Education's Early Childhood Advisory Committee.

[1][5] In the 2024 Queen's Birthday Honours Gilbert was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to early childhood and Māori language education.