E16. Dr Siautu Alefaio-Tugia: Psychologist & Academic

Dr Siautu Alefaio-Tugia: Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Massey University (NZ).

Dr Siautu has worked across education, prisons, disaster recovery (including being a lead in the COVID-19 response in NZ), health, social services and community.

A practitioner and academic, she theorises and practices to re-inform psychology from Pacific-indigenous knowledge frameworks.

With a PhD from Monash University, Siautu comes from a family of community servants who were early Pasifika settlers in Papakura. Her father was Faifeau of Papakura PIC and a visionary who along with his wife created community initiatives that ran from their own backyard in collaboration with other Kaumatua and community members.

This is a story of a woman who leads with her heart and spirit in a discipline that focuses on (and is often limited to) the brain.

Thanks Siautu, you're too awesome and we appreciate you for who you are and all you do.

Links:
Massey University Profile: https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/expertise/profile.cfm?stref=954040
Watson Institute Profile: https://watson.brown.edu/chrhs/people/siautu-alefaio-tugia
NIUPatCH: https://www.niupatch.com/
Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/niupsych