Rate My Professor Leilani Pereira-Moeono

Leilani Pereira-Moeono is the Pacific Regional Co-ordinator in the administration team at Va’a o Tautai, the Centre for Pacific Health within the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. In this capacity, she coordinates the initiatives of Va’a o Tautai with Pacific communities across New Zealand and the broader Pacific region. Va’a o Tautai focuses on health matters pertinent to Pacific peoples. Leilani holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, and Bachelor of Laws (BA BCom LLB) from the University of Otago. She is of Samoan, Tokelauan, and Chinese descent and relocated to Dunedin in 2020 to take up her current position.

Prior to joining the University of Otago, Leilani worked as a lawyer in New Zealand, including as Deputy Registrar at the Auckland High Court. She spent numerous years practicing law in Samoa across various areas, serving as Executive Legal Officer at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour. During this time, she revised and consolidated multiple Samoan statutes under the supervision of the Parliamentary Counsel, including the National Provident Fund Act, Forests Act 1967, Development Bank Act 1974, Notaries Public Act 1974, Frustrated Contracts Act 1975, Newspapers and Printers Act 1992, District Courts Act, and many others as part of the Consolidated Acts of Samoa around 2008-2010. At the University of Otago, she co-authored and verbally presented “Extra just got more extra: Leaning on Pacific values to lead our team through uncertainty” at the COVID-19’s Impact on Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned Symposium in November 2022, alongside R. Richards, F. Cockerell, K. Fagasoaia, M. Lameta, B. Weastell, and F. Sopo'aga.