Born in Vailoatai in American Samoa, schooled in Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand Pafitimai Salā Dr Faasaulala Tagoilelagi-Leota has spent almost 30 years in the early childhood sector with twenty years lecturing and programme leader for Pasifika education at tertiary level. Selected to be a panellist for the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Excellence Awards in Education, the Pasifika input for the development of Vulnerable Children’s paper and the current president of the SAASIA Inc (Samoan National ECE Association in NZ) for the last 9 years, she has published widely on Samoan cultural knowledge’s contribution in legitimising Pasifika world view. She hails from Vatia in Tutuila, Vaiala, Moataa, Sapunaoa and Leauvaa from Samoa. Dr Tagoilelagi-Leota is an education consultant under Tatai Angitu of Massey University, working on international and national contracts.

The former Chair of MIT’s Pacific Advisory Committee to the Faculty of Nursing & Health Studies, Metua has over three decades of experience in the health, education and social sectors in both governance and management roles. Currently with Alliance Health Plus (PHO) as Manager Pacific Integration and Development Services, highlights of her career include roles as Operations Manager for the Meningococcal B Clinical Trials (University of Auckland), establishment of the Starship Children’s Hospital Pacific Family Support Unit, management of the Manukau Youth Centre and Patient Care Coordinator for South Auckland Crown Health Enterprise. Born Amuri, Aitutaki Cook Islands, Metua migrated with her family to NZ at 4 years of age. She has held a number of executive posts in community organizations including Chair Pacific Health & Welfare, National Treasurer P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A., Vice President of the Cook Islands Health Network Association (NZ) Inc – CIHNA and Co-chair of the Cook Islands Nurses Association Aotearoa (CINAA). Metua is proud of her Cook Islands-Tahitian-Papaa heritage, 2 children and is the proud nana of 6 grandchildren.

Tania has been involved in teriary education for 30 years; 20 of these years as Professor. She holds dual positions in Te Ara Poutama, The Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). She is Professor of Māori Innovation and Development Auckland New Zealand and Director of Te Ipukarea-The National Māori Language Institute and Te Whare o Rongomaurikura - The International Centre for Language Revitalisation. Dr Ka’ai’s passion for education, in particular for minorities, reflects in all of her work at AUT. Her work as Director is an opportunity to share her knowledge not only with students and staff at AUT and others nationally, but internationally too, having launched the Centre at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2011. As an Indigenous scholar (from a Māori and Pacific heritage, Dr Ka’ai uses the cultural values transmitted by her elders and mentors as an epistemological framework to inform her academic writing and teaching within the academy. Dr Ka’ai has spent her entire adult life being involved in various initiatives for the revitalisation of the Māori language in Aotearoa/New Zealand including: becoming involved in the Te Kōhanga Reo Movement initially as a mother to stop language loss in her family and more recently as an expert to give evidence at the WAI2336 Claim (Waitangi Tribunal Claim) against the Crown based on her research and knowledge of Kōhanga; working with her tribal community to establish a Kura Kaupapa Māori in that community which still exists today 25 years later, and all of the teachers are trained and qualified from that tribal community; Indigenising the university academy through establishing culturally rich spaces to research and teach the Māori language and culture, and celebrate Māori identity and, advocating the introduction of policies and processes which recognize the Māori language and culture as an official language.

Aiolupotea is the General Manager Regional Partnerships at the Ministry of Pacific Peoples, based at their Auckland offices in Manukau.

Dr Rae Si’ilata is a Lecturer in Biliteracy-Pasifika at the University of Auckland, in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy/Critical studies in Education and Faculty of Education and Social Work. Rae’s recent research interests centre of Pasifika learner success, identity construction, and experiences of education. Rae is interested in bilingual/biliterate/bicultural outcomes, teacher professional learning and development in second language acquisition and biliteracy, and mixedness in Māori/Pasifika whānau/family. Rae has previously held roles as the Associate Dean Pasifika (Faculty of Education and Social Work, UoA); and is currently contracted to the MoE as Project Director, Pasifika Teacher Aide Project; and Project Director, Pasifika Early Literacy Project (PELP). An impressive research portfolio, Rae has received a number of distinctions and honours including the 2018 Sunpix Pacific People’s Award, the Ako Aotearoa Inaugural Pacific Professional Development Fund Scholarship and was the 2018 Pacific Community Panel member for the Network for Educational Research. Rae also is an Advisory Board Member for the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative since 2018; is the Pasifika Research Group Member for A Better Start Science Challenge; and was most recently a member of the Ministry of Education Reference Group for the review of NCEA in 2018. In her spare time, Rae is also currently supervising two doctoral students, and was a Supervisor to 8 master’s students in 2018.