Our Team

The success of our work is a product of the many people who contribute, champion and weave with us to help our Maori-Pasifika young people succeed.

Meet our Team.

  • FOUNDER & CHIEF VISIONARY OFFICER (CVO)

    Lesieli’s role in Lālanga is to carry fiercely, courageously and passionately the vision of Lālanga.

    Lesieli is a proud Tongan and comes from the villages of Tatakamotonga and Tu'anuku. She is a mother of four and proud wife of 16 years to the Chief Problem Solver of Lālanga, Daniel Oliver.

    Lesieli attributes her success, drive and determination to the struggles she watched her family go through after migrating to New Zealand from Tonga when she was 4.

    The inspiration to create Lālanga has come from her own experiences of the challenges Pacific learners experience in relation to education, life and wellbeing. She was the child who regularly went to school without lunch, was impacted by the financial challenges of her parents, carried the responsibility as the oldest sibling of caring for her younger siblings, and found it hard to embrace her cultural identity growing up in a western world.

    Lesieli is currently conducting her Masters Research, studying digital solutions to increase success for Maori-Pasifika students. Her research focus has been driven by her determination to find a digital solution to improve the student truancy, wellbeing and academic challenges facing our Maori and Pasifika students.

    Lesieli is savvy, multipassionate, and attributes this to her cultural heritage.

  • CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (CT0)

    Dan’s heart for Pacific people began when he went on his first Missions Trip to Tonga with the Salvation Army when he was 17. He is now the proud husband of a Tongan, and also proud father to his four young European-Tongan children.

    Dan has an extensive background in Technology, research and business management. He has 20 years experience as the Director of Unify DIgital, which is a business he began 16 years. As a Managing Director he has a demonstrated history of working in the information technology, software, cyber security and services industry.

    Dan is currently our lead designer and teacher for our Lālanga FUTURES mentoring program. FUTURES is focused on enabling Māori-Pasifika students with the technological skills they need to succeed in the future of technology.

  • CHIEF STRATEGIST

    Andrew is an old boy from Wesley College and has been surrounded by, lead and worked with Māori and Pacific for most of his life. You just need to spend a little bit of time with Andrew to feel his heart for Māori and Pacific. The skills, experience and expertise Andrew brings to Lālanga cannot be matched.

    We have many dreams, problems to solve and hopes for our work. Andrew plays an extremely important role in helping us to realise our Lālanga dreams for our young people.

    Andrew has an extensive corporate background with over 20 years’ experience in Retail management in key roles in the New Zealand retail market. Previously he has been head of Merchandise for Bunnings New Zealand, leading a team of sixty-three and accountable for sales revenue of $1.4 billion.

    Andrew is an enthusiastic and future focused leader with strong strategic skills, a clear understanding and leveraging of key business drivers and director of a high-performing, highly engaged team culture.

    Lālanga is committed to driving Māori and Pacific success for the longhaul. Andrew plays an important role in ensuring we have a strong and clear strategy for being the best provider of educational, mentoring, and technology solution for schools to enable Māori and Pacific students to succeed.

  • Lālanga ToolBox Curriculum Leader

    Lisa Yandall is our highly accomplished and dedicated Curriculum Leader for our Lālanga ToolBox. With a passion for education, 20 years of teaching experience, and a deep understanding of Pasifika learners, Lisa brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role. She is a proud mother of four beautiful Samoan-Korean children with her husband Jacob.

    Lisa's multicultural upbringing, being raised in New Zealand and marrying a Samoan man, has given her the unique ability to navigate comfortably through various environments. Her commitment to whānaungatanga extends beyond her family, empowering her to forge meaningful connections and build relationships with communities in all capacities, including ākonga, whānau, stakeholders, and leadership.

    Her journey in education began with a passion for primary education, where she dedicated herself to teaching in South Auckland.

    As the Curriculum Leader for our Lālanga ToolBox, Lisa plays a crucial role in leading the design of pedagogy development, educational content, curriculum, and guidelines.

    Lisa's commitment to excellence is evident in her ability to design engaging, culturally relevant, inspiring, and innovative educational content that aligns seamlessly with the NZ curriculum.

    Lisa is a huge asset to our team!

  • Lead Designer and Creator

    Eva is a huge asset to our team and is living proof that you can enable and empower young people to reach their potential when giving them opportunities and mentoring.

    Eva started with us fresh out of High School and without creative experience or qualification. In the last year we have seen Eva grow and soar in her creative gifts, and you will see her creative magic on all our work.

    Eva is a very talented designer, with an awesome work ethic, great attitude, and is always willing to give something ago. What we love about Eva is her initiative and willingness to go the extra mile in the role she plays in enabling our vision.

    Eva is a gift to our work, and we couldn’t do our work without her.

The awesome people consulting to the project.

  • Dr Monica Liva has been working as a general practitioner for 8 years, having worked across a range of health services including Middlemore Hospital , Waikato Hospital , West Fono, the Whanau Ora Community Clinic and the Auckland South Cor rect ional Facility - Wiri Prison. She is now based at Turuki Health Care in South Auckland.

    Monica was born and raised in NZ. She is of Samoan descent and has lived in Mangere for over 30 years. Monica has set out to break the stereotype that Pacific people cannot achieve a degree. She succeeded graduating from Auckland University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Medicine in Surgery, and completed her fellowship in 2014.

  • Indira is a successful Pacific woman, an inspiration to Pacific young girls, and an incredible role model. Indira is a proud Tongan and comes from the villages of Tatakamotonga and Tuanuku, and is a mother to four young children and wife to her husband Hayden.

    Indira is intelligent, beautiful and has recently been announced as the new Breakfast On One’s news reader. Her achievements in the journalism industry are a testament to her excellent work ethic, aswell as her resilience and determination to overcome the many challenges she’s had.

  • Nadeen Lanuola Papali'i is of Samoan descent and has grown up in South Auckland. Currently she is Director of the Health Science Academy at Tangaroa College, Otara. This involves overseeing the student mentoring programme and monitoring student performance.

    Nadeen holds a Masters of Engineering with First Class Honours in Environmental Engineering from The University of Auckland; and engineering degree from The University of Manchester. She has volunteered in the Pacific with Engineers Without Borders NZ and won numerous awards including the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award in Leadership in 2011.

    Nadeen is passionate about raising achievement and providing opportunities, on a local scale, for young people to gain confidence and experience success.

  • Winona is a Data Analyst and tech developer who recently completed her Masters in Applied Application of Technology. She is from Niuean and Cook Island descent . Winona is a deeply passionate tech enthusiast and self -proclaimed nerd!

    Winona is passionate about creating pipelines of access for women and women of minorities in the technology industry. She is an incredible role model for young girls in the STEM industry. Her success is a testament to her excellent work ethic, drive and determination.

Other programs and workshops.

  • Familiarises students with the technologies of the future.

    Inspiries and educates students to grow in their technological capability.

    Develops the soft skills students need to succeed in the future e.g Resilience, Teamwork, Problem solving, Confidence, Mindset and grit.

    Provides good quality teaching to drive learning and engagement.

    Provides a safe and supportive environment for students to grow and learn.

  • The impact of social media on the health, wellbeing, learning and safety of our young children is very harmful.

    Our social media workshop enables your students with the confidence and tools they need to succeed online and offiline.

  • The future of technology is fast approaching us. We give students first hand experience of virtual reality, inspiring them of how they can be part of the exciting future of Virtual Reality.

Let’s talk about your school.

We’d love to chat about how we can work together, book a call with our founder Lesieli.