I am a researcher and community practitioner whose work is grounded in long-standing connections with Sāmoa and a commitment to community-based approaches to health, disability, and wellbeing. I have lived and worked in Sāmoa for many years, including working as a teacher in a rural village and with the Sāmoan Ministry of Education. These experiences shaped my interest in how relationships, culture, land, and community influence people’s experiences of identity, belonging, wellbeing, and participation.

Before beginning my PhD, I worked in Hawai‘i supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, serving as a director for a community-based nonprofit. This experience deepened my interest in disability inclusion and in understanding how systems of support can better reflect the lives, relationships, and communities of the people they serve.

My current PhD research centres the lived experiences of people with disabilities in Sāmoa. I am interested in how culturally grounded and relational understandings of wellbeing, care, belonging, and participation can contribute to more inclusive approaches to disability and community health.

My earlier research examined identity and connection to land among the descendants of Melanesian labourers in Sāmoa, utilizing oral history and community-based methodologies. Across this work, I am interested in learning from communities and in creating research that is useful and grounded in the realities of people’s lives.