About Me

Afio mai Tu’igamala ole ma’opū ole Tuia’ana.

Afio le Āiga Taulagi.  Afio Va’afusua’ga ma Tole’afoa. 

Afio Afamasaga o le matua o usoali’i, o oe na faiālaga na matemate mālō.

Maliu mai Tutuila o le Ali’i-o’Āiga i lo lua usoga, oulua na ta’i Alātaua.

Maliu mai oe le Falefitu ma le mamalu o lou fale Fasito’o.

Talofa lava, Malō le soifua manuia.

I begin with the fa’alupega (cultural salutation) of my ancestral villages of Fasito’otai and Vailu’utai. My villages are important anchors of my identity, my fa’asinomaga (identity/sense of belonging). They are places where my sense of self and values as a tama’ita’I Samoa were nurtured and developed.

I am Dr Ta’avale Ioana Mulipola. I am a proud Samoan woman, born and raised in the villages of Vailu’utai and Fasito’otai. I am a daughter, a sister, wife and mother, and carry these hats into my practice.

I currently reside in Aotearoa, New Zealand. I have worked in clinical practice mental health for over 17 years across Counties Manukau, Auckland District Health Board Health New Zealand-Te Whatu Ora.  

My nursing journey began at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), where I decided to specialise in mental health. I have also undertaken further study, completing my post-graduate diploma in advanced nursing.  Futhermore, I completed my Master of Nursing at the University of Auckland and a Doctor of Health Science at the Auckland University of Technology.

Following the completion of my Doctor of Health Science in 2023, I founded the Fau Gagana Practice. It is a passion project, reflecting my advocacy of the importance of culture in understanding mental health and wellbeing.  

I am a Lecturer at the Nursing School at the Environmental Health & Sciences Faculty of Auckland University of Technology.

 From 2026 to 2030, I am working as a Pacific post-doctoral research fellow.  My research project will explore using the Gagana Samoa to better understand mental health in Auckland, NZ.