Faaolo Utumapu-Utailesolo

I am a Samoan woman with a disability and a proud DRF program officer for Pacific Island Countries.

I am an experienced disability rights advocate in the Pacific region and one of the founders of the disability rights movement in Samoa, having co-founded the National Disabled People’s Organization, Nuanua o le Alofa (NOLA), in 2001. I have served on various leadership roles on the board of NOLA, volunteered to build the capacity of other OPDs, and was the former president of the Samoa Blind Persons Association. I have also provided communications support for the Deaf Association of Samoa. I have coordinated awareness building campaigns for SENESE Inclusive Support Service, a provider of inclusive education services, to ensure that the message of disability-inclusion is recognized by communities where children with disabilities reside. My dedication to the disability rights movement has continued to grow as I have served on the disability sub-sector committee of the Samoan government, also as a member of the Samoa Media Council. I have played various leadership roles for the Pacific Disability Forum, the Regional OPD in the Pacific, including a 4-year board term from 2013-2017.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, and a master’s of Arts degree in Media and Communications from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.