Lesieli Oliver - Founder, Program Director & Lead Female Mentor
Lesieli is a proud Tongan and comes from the villages of Tatakamotonga and Tu'anuku. She is a mother of four and proud wife of 14 years to her husband Daniel . Lesieli attributes her success, drive and determination to the struggles she watched her family go through after migrating to New Zealand from Tonga when she was 4.
The inspiration to create Lālanga has come from her own experiences of the challenges Pacific learners experience. She was the child who often went to school without lunch, was impacted by the financial challenges of her parents, carried the responsibility as the oldest sibling of caring for her younger siblings, and found it hard to embrace her cultural identity growing up in a western world
Lesieli is savvy, multipassionate, and attributes this to her cultural heritage.
Daniel Oliver - Co- Founder & Technology Director
Dan’s heart for Pacific people began when he went on his first Missions Trip to Tonga with the Salvation Army when he was 17. He is now the proud husband of a Tongan, and also proud father to his four young European-Tongan children.
Dan has an extensive background. He is the Director of Unify DIgital, which is a business he began 16 years. As a Managing DIrector he has a demonstrated history of working in the information technology, software, cyber security and services industry.
Indira Stewart - Program Patron
Indira is a successful Pacific woman, an inspiration to Pacific young girls, and an incredible role model. Indira is a proud Tongan and comes from the villages of Tatakamotonga and Tuanuku, and is a mother to four young children and wife to her husband Hayden.
Indira is intelligent, beautiful and has recently been announced as the new Breakfast On One’s news reader. Her achievements in the journalism industry are a testament to her excellent work ethic, aswell as her resilience and determination to overcome the many challenges she’s had.
Jim Stretton - Lead Male Mentor
We are lucky to have Jim join our team. Jim is a proud Samoan and husband to Naomi. Jim is extremely talented, intelligent, he’s a great role model to young Pacific males and he is everything that we are looking for in a mentor.
Jim will be joining our team in 2021 and we can’t wait for the positive influence he will be in the lives of young Pacific male learners.
The awesome people consulting to the project
Dr Monica Levi
Dr Monica Liva has been working as a general practitioner for 8 years, having worked across a range of health services including Middlemore Hospital , Waikato Hospital , West Fono, the Whanau Ora Community Clinic and the Auckland South Cor rect ional Facility - Wiri Prison. She is now based at Turuki Health Care in South Auckland.
Monica was born and raised in NZ. She is of Samoan descent and has lived in Mangere for over 30 years. Monica has set out to break the stereotype that Pacific people cannot achieve a degree. She succeeded graduating from Auckland University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Medicine in Surgery, and completed her fellowship in 2014.
Nadeen Papali’i
Nadeen Lanuola Papal i ' i is of Samoan descent and has grown up in South Auckland. Currently she is Director of the Health Science Academy at Tangaroa College, Otara. This involves overseeing the student mentoring programme and monitoring student performance.
Nadeen holds a Masters of Engineering with First Class Honours in Environmental Engineering from The University of Auckland; and engineering degree from The University of Manchester . She has volunteered in the Pacific with Engineers Without Borders NZ and won numerous awards
including the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award in Leadership in 201 1 . Nadeen is passionate about raising achievement and providing opportunities, on a local scale, for young people to gain confidence and experience success. On a global scale, she hopes to use her experience to address poor water qual i ty in developing countries.
Melvin Apulu Jnr
Melvin is of Samoan her i tage, from the villages of Faleasiu, and Apia. He was born and raised in South Auckland, New Zealand and married with four young children. Melvin holds a master's degree in philosophy (social policy) from Massey University, as well as other qualifications. Melvin is an experienced senior lecturer in Social work, with a demonstrated history of working in education management industry. He also has experience in working in non for -profit organisations, youth development , coaching, clinical and cultural supervision, and event management . Melvin is also the current Team Leader for the Office of Pasifika Student Success at Massey University.
Flora Apulu
Flora is of Samoan descent and grew up in South Auckland where she was homeschooled. She is a strong advocate for young people having a voice and developing their own solutions for the issues and challenges they face. She created her first Youth Council at 13 years old and was appointed as the first Chairperson of the Auckland Council Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) for 3 consecutive terms from 201 1 to 2016. Here, she led YAP in the development of the I am Auckland plan, based on the voices of over 6000 children and young people ( in just two weeks) .
Graduating with a Bachelor in Social Work at 19 years old, she went on to work for a Police Youth Development agency for over 9 years. Front a front line Social Worker , Mentoring Services Manager and Finally as the Clinical Manager , I led and pioneered the use of the YLS/CMI -AA in NZ. She holds many governance roles including being on the Oranga Tamariki , Ministry for Children, Pacific Panel and the Unitec Fono Faufata Panel . She now runs her own business, “ConnectEd” , a youth development think tank and consultancy.
Winona Ngaro - Malifa
Winona is a Data Analyst and tech developer who recently completed her Masters in Applied Appl icat ion of Technology. She is from Niuean and Cook Island descent . Winona is a deeply passionate tech enthusiast and self -proclaimed nerd!
Winona is passionate about creating pipelines of access for women and women of minorities in the technology industry. She is an incredible role model for young gi r ls in the STEM industry. Her success is a testament to her excellent work ethic, drive and determination.
Dr Toeaso Feausiga
Dr Toeaso Feausiga is a proud Samoan. He has worked in North Shore Hospital , Waitakere Hospital and Middlemore
Hospital prior to joining South Seas Healthcare in December 2019. He enjoys working with Pacific people, managing proper acute medical conditions and saving lives. His interest areas lie in Pacific health, sports medicine, dermatology, surgical procedures and
cardiology. He is a graduate from the University of Auckland, having attained a MBCHB, MBA and a BA. He also sits on governing board of the ConnectEd Foundation.