Pacific Advisory Group

PACIFIC ADVISORY GROUP CHAIR

Fesaitu Solomone

Fesaitu Solomone hails from the island of Rotuma. She is a Consultant specializing in media content. She has held management roles in the Television Media Industry for over two decades with Fiji Television Limited and Sky Network Television Limited. Her belief in our Pacific people further lobbied Sky TV in 2019 to sponsor the first Pacific content in partnership with Pacific Media Network to deliver Pacific Divas on Prime. She acted as one of the Sky Executive Producers and Producers for this concert. Additionally, she is a strong advocate, influencer and promoter for Rotuman language and culture. Her passion and love for her Rotuman language led her to establish the first NZQA accredited Rotuman Language program through Pasifika Education Centre in 2017. She continues to be an advisor and Rotuman language tutor. She further extended her work in the Rotuman language space as the Senior Translator and on-air Presenter for the Rotuman language during COVID-19. She is a strong supporter to her Rotuman community and any Pacific community that works to promote our people.

PACIFIC ADVISORY GROUP DEPUTY CHAIR

Sarah McLean-Orsborn

Sarah McLean-Orsborn is Samoan and New Zealand European with Scottish and Croatian gafa from her paternal lines and from her maternal lines hails from the villages of Tapatapao, Moamoa and Papa Sataua in Upolu, however Sarah grew up in Mulifanua and calls that home. 

Sarah is currently a Lecturer at the University of Auckland where she is completing her PhD which focused on Samoan women’s experiences of COVID-19. Sarah’s professional appointments to date have been educational or health focused.

Her reasoning for joining PAG is because she views the Museum to be a fale of learning, exploring and enriching of the mind and the opportunity to work alongside and with the Museum to ensure particularly our younger and older Pacific people can utilise and enjoy this place was one she could not pass up.

Dagmar Vaikalafi Dyck

As a first generation New Zealander, Dagmar is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, art educator and social justice advocate. In 1995 Dagmar graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. She was the first woman of Tongan descent to do so. She has spent the last 30 years regularly exhibiting nationally and internationally with her works being held in both significant public and private collections in New Zealand. 

Dagmar taught for 10 years at Sylvia Park School and as Deputy Principal led Curriculum design whilst championing their Arts programme and whole school Inquiry learning. She is currently Programme Manager, Pacific-led Education at Tui Tuia | Learning Circle - Uniservices at the University of Auckland. Her Masters research focused on examining art teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and pedagogical practices and how these could affirm Pasifika students’ success as Pasifika. 

She holds several governance roles and is a Council Board member (Ministerial Appointment) for The Teaching Council. Dagmar is a member of the NCEA Pacific Peoples Review Panel for the Ministry of Education, a member of The Arts Ohu Mātanga NZ Curriculum Refresh writing group, and a member of the  Executive Committee for Aotearoa NZ Association of Art Educators (ANZAAE)  and Aotearoa Tongan Teachers Association (ATTA).

Dagmar’s maternal lineage hails from the Wolfgramm and Hemaloto kainga from the villages of ‘Utungake and Tu’anuku. Her paternal lineage includes Dutch, Polish and German ancestry and links to her father’s birthplace in Danzig, Germany, today Gdansk, Poland.

Sarah is currently a Lecturer at the University of Auckland where she is completing her PhD which focused on Samoan women’s experiences of COVID-19. Sarah’s professional appointments to date have been educational or health focused.

Her reasoning for joining PAG is because she views the Museum to be a fale of learning, exploring and enriching of the mind and the opportunity to work alongside and with the Museum to ensure particularly our younger and older Pacific people can utilise and enjoy this place was one she could not pass up.

Raymond Sagapolutele

Raymond Sagapolutele is an Aotearoa-born Sāmoan artist and academic with ties to the villages of Fatuvalu in Savai'i and Saluafata in Upolu, Samoa. His photographic practice focuses on his heritage as a diasporic Sāmoan, with cultural ties to the history of the Pacific and the lands within Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. In his hands, the camera gains a voice and forms an oratory which connects to the cherished Samoan tradition of Fagogo (storytelling).

Charles Enoka Kiata, MNZM

Kia ora, Pacific greetings and ko na mauri!

My name is Charles Enoka Kiata, I hail from the sovereign Republic of Kiribati and migrated to New Zealand in 2002. I am married to a beautiful lady from Nikunau, Nei Teeren Tabuarorae and we have six children and five grandchildren. We live in Ranui the best in the west of Auckland. I have been a member of the Pacific Advisory Group of Auckland Museum since 2022.

Pamata Toleafoa

Pamata Diaz Toleafoa hails from the villages of Salelesi and Satapuala, of the motu of Samoa. Born in Hastings, Pamata was raised and currently resides in Mangere, South Auckland. 

A proud former student of Mangere College and the University of Auckland, Pamata graduated with a Bachelor of Arts conjoint with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) with first-class honours. Recently, Pamata submitted a master’s in fine arts, with a research topic examing measina as living entities.

Pamata is passionate about Samoan measina and is constantly exploring new ways to re-energize how we ‘look at, ‘look into’ and understand our treasures beyond their visual aesthetics. Drawing on the oral histories, narratives, and experiences gifted by elders, Pamata manifests this through creating measina using readily available materials to reflect diasporic influences and opportunities as they are presented. 

Pamata currently serves as Senior Librarian Pasifika Research under Auckland Libraries. 

"As one of the Youth Representatives within the Pacific Advisory Group (PAG), I am fortunate to provide my cultural knowledge and creative experience to enhance the conversations around the trajectory of our measina. Being a youth voice for PAG means I can inform and be informed about how we can better connect and serve our treasures."

YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE

Dejealous Palota-Kopa

I hail from the villages of Falease’ela Lefaga, Fasito’o Uta, Faleasi’u and Malie. I am a first generation New Zealand-born Sāmoan and the eldest of 3 children. 

I am a proud alumna of Auckland Girls’ Grammar School where I was Head Girl in 2013 and following secondary school I went on to the University of Auckland to study a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts conjoint where I graduated in 2020. I was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of NZ in 2021.

My passion lies within serving the Pasifika community and also sharing my love of my Sāmoan heritage through music and dance. I am also passionate about empowering youth with disabilities through my work as a volunteer for Recreate NZ the past 7 years. I have witnessed the difficulty youth with disabilities face in entering the workforce and advocate strongly for developing an inclusive workforce that supports disabled individuals.

I am currently working as a consultant providing legal software support to lawyers and legal practitioners at Law Firms across New Zealand.

YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE

Kasi Valu

Kasi Valu hails from the villages of 'Eua, Lapaha, and Ma'ufanga in the Kingdom of Tonga. 

As an actor, poet, writer, and assistant producer for Le Moana under the leadership of Tupe Lualua. His work currently centres on Pacific peoples' experiences, wit, complexities, and universal connectivity. 

Hailing from a lineage of academics and factory workers, Valu has been embedded by his family and mentors to continue to do the dishes and to do things for the katas. 

His aspirations for Tāmaki Paenga Hira are ensuring that the institution is responsive and proactive in its engagement with Pacific peoples. 

Tevita Faleafa

Tevita Tukuafu Faleafa is a proud South Aucklander with both parents from the beautiful islands of Tonga. His father hails from the villages of Kolomotua and Hofoa and his mother from the villages of Ha’apai and ‘Uiha. 

Tevita holds a Bachelors of Arts double major in Sociology and Pacific Studies and a Bachelor of Arts First Class Honours in Pacific Studies. 

Tevita is currently a Senior Education Adviser at the Ministry of Education. Previously the Senior Advisor Pasifika at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and prior to this the Advisor Pasifika with a demonstrated history in the higher education industry.

Tevita’s passion and drive within the education sector has always been around Māori and Pasifika learner success. It is also this passion that continues to remind Tevita the importance of having an adaptive and equitable education system for all learners. 

His reasoning for joining PAG is the opportunity of connecting the Museum as a place of learning and understanding for Pacific learners within South Auckland while also having the opportunity to work alongside and with the Museum to build initiatives and programs that will ensure a continuation of this. 

Jacqueline Pointon

Jacqueline is from the villages of Lufilufi, and Leulumoega Tuai, Samoa.

Driven by Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum's vision of "He oranga tangata ka ao – Enriching lives: Inspiring discoveries."

Jacqueline is committed to enhancing the wellbeing of individuals and fostering a culture of continuous learning and inspiration. With a background that spans service at the United Nations (New York location), central and local government, and former District Health Board settings, Jacqueline's career has been marked by policy analysis, research, advisory services, and senior roles that reflect her dedication to making meaningful contributions to improving equitable outcomes.

By joining the Pacific Advisory Group, Jacqueline aims to contribute significantly to the realisation of better outcomes for Pasifika people in alignment with the Museum's Annual Plan, focusing on Pacific identity and well-being, as well as the engagement and empowerment of thriving Pasifika Communities. Her commitment to delivering quality policy advice aligns seamlessly with the Museum's vision and enabling Pasifika to connect with the past and have a sense of their identity and place in a changing world.