Biography
Fuatino Taliaoa Petelo Leafa was born in Samoa, and migrated to New Zealand with her family in 1986 for a better future and education. She has a bachelor’s in Social Work from Manukau Institute of Technology, a postgraduate diploma in Social Work from Auckland University, and a master’s in Indigenous Studies from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, New Zealand. She has been a community social work practitioner for over 20 years and is passionate about working for her community.
She joined the Manukau Institute of Technology in 2018 and is currently with the School of Social Work. She is a Senior Social Work Lecturer and is also the Fieldwork Placement Coordinator.
Fuatino’s passion for social work and community development is reflected in her master’s research, Looking into community engagement space and how culture is embedded and valued in social work practice. She was also part of the Talatalanoa mai; student matters, looking into the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on students’ learning. She will present and talk about the psychological impact of COVID-19 on Pasifika student learning experiences research.
Panel Presentation (2022) | Surviving and Thriving in Times of Rapid Change: Multiple Tertiary Teaching Voices from Aotearoa, New Zealand
