Fononga Vainga Mangisi-Mafileo, PhD
Fononga Vainga Mangisi‑Mafileo is a Pacificleadership expert and Senior Advisor on Ocean Governance with nearly 20 yearsof national and regional experience. She has been at the forefront of Tonga’socean governance reforms, including drafting the Tonga National Ocean Policy andguiding the passage of the Ocean Management Act 2025, which establishesenduring governance arrangements, statutory institutions, Marine SpatialPlanning, and mechanisms for sustainable financing. These reforms provide areplicable model for integrated governance and long‑term resource stewardship.
Her regional contributions include seven yearswith the Pacific Community (SPC), where she advanced the GEF‑funded PacificRidge‑to‑Reef Programme, a global test case in integrated approaches to land,freshwater, and ocean governance. Fononga designed communications, knowledgemanagement systems, and donor‑grade monitoring and evaluation products thatincreased regional visibility, facilitated policy dialogue, cooperation andcoordination, and strengthened donor confidence and engagement.
Earlier in her career, Fononga added strategicvalue through her work at ANZ Bank Tonga, where she served as Manager ofMarketing & Communications and Customer Advocate. In this role shestrengthened service delivery systems, improved customer complaints resolution,and embedded accountability and responsiveness into institutional processes.This experience provided her with a strong foundation in customer-centricity,client engagement, and continuous improvement, which she now applies togovernance, resilience and sustainability frameworks in the public sector.
She has represented Tonga and the Pacific athigh‑level international and multilateral fora, ensuring Pacific priorities areconsistently voiced in global policy dialogues.
Fononga brings proven strengths in policy integration,strategic advocacy and engagement, knowledge management, and accountability inservice delivery. Combining statutory authority with cultural legitimacy, hervision is to embed stewardship and covenantal legitimacy into governance,contributing to a Pacific‑wide renewal where nations lead with integrity,foresight, and unity.
Area of Expertise: Ocean Governance, Policy Integration, Strategic Advocacy and Engagement, Knowledge Management, servicedelivery improvement (monitoring, evaluation, research and learning)
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I am a daughter of Lomaloma, Vanuabalavu, Lau in Fiji and a proud nau (mother) to my 18-year-old son, Tegumailagi. I describe myself as a social development practitioner with over 25 years of experience in the Pacific working with Pacific Governments and Civil Society Organizations. I have formal post graduate qualifications in sociology and governance from the region’s University of the South Pacific.
Christine(Chris) Nurminen has a pioneering spirit and is a Pacific development executive with extensive governance and management experience in the not-for-profit sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is Tongan and the Director of Manava Partners – a consultancy she and her sister co-founded based on seeing the need to support Pacific women to lead. Using her MA(Hons) in Education, Chris has served as a CEO for a Crown-appointed charity, served as Chair on various charitable Boards and she now consults Pacific organizations to support strategy, funding and professional development. Chris values partnerships and the interface between Pacific and Māori women in protecting Pacific languages and cultural identities. She is married with two young children and is a published children’s book author.
Lynn Rolston is a DISC Human Behavior Consultant and Communication & Leadership Coach who helps people feel seen, heard, and valued—at work and in life. She equips leaders, teams, and women in business with the tools to communicate with clarity, reduce conflict, and lean into their natural strengths with confidence.
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