Mrs Kathleen Tuai-Ta'ufo'ou, of Pōkeno, MNZM for services to the Pacific community
Mrs Kathleen Tuai-Ta’ufo’ou is CEO of SIAOLA, where she pioneered initiatives in family violence prevention, Whānau Ora, mentoring, and financial literacy. SIAOLA helped over 100 families into home ownership and 1,500 people to secure driver licenses. During the COVID-19 pandemic and 2023 severe weather events, she established a Tongan-focused hub, facilitating 14,800 vaccinations and distributing 16,500 food parcels to over 100,000 people. As CEO of the Fonua Ola Network, she unified eight Pacific organisations to streamline service delivery. She led the accreditation processes for Vaka Tautua, Fonua Ola, and SIAOLA. Mrs Tuai-Ta’ufo’ou serves on the Methodist Alliance Steering Committee and Te Whatu Ora National Women’s Screening Pacific Reference Group, and has provided Pacific representation in government policy development.