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"In retrospect, working for my dad's Pacific community organisation at a grass roots level for all of those years was the best preparation I could have had and my best training ground." family at the time) Monique recalls moving out of Grey Lynn as a child to the suburbs, which was considered 'moving up in the world'. When she was eight her father, through his involvement in social services, was offered a job in Ngaere, Taranaki supervising an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre. For the next five years the centre and the 12 steps of AA became a major part of Monique's life, which she says had a huge impact on who she was going to become. Returning to Auckland in 1987 she attended Marcellin College and then Selwyn College, before enrolling at Auckland University to pursue law and psychology degrees. Upon discovering law did not meet her expectations Monique took a year off; working for her father's Pacific non-government organisation, where she had been working part-time for years 'taking minutes in meetings and make cups of tea'. Whilst working for her father she re-enrolled at university, completed her doctorate in clinical psychology, became a Foundation for Research, Science & Technology Top Achiever Doctoral award winner and was invited to present at various international conferences. "In retrospect, working for my dad's Pacific community organisation at a grass roots level for all of those years was the best preparation I could have had and my best training ground." For the past five years Monique has been the national manager for Le Va. She is also the Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Psychologists Board, Chair of the New Zealand Centre for Social Innovation, Chair of Pasifikology, and she is on the Pacific Advisory Board for the Auckland Supercity. "Back in the old days it was widely believed that Pacific people didn't have a problem with mental health so they were never given any attention. About six years ago a national mental health survey was done and it found that Pacific people actually have higher rates of mental illness than the general New Zealand population. It was good to have that evidence that complemented what we were experiencing at the frontline, and to show that we need to prioritise the work we do in the Pacific mental health arena. The World Health Organisation has since prioritised mental health in the South Pacific." Monique's priority is to increase the number of Pacific people accessing health care services. "Pacific people often access at the crisis get me started on the increase in Pacific suicides lately. There is a sense of urgency in addressing the challenges our young people face. We need to ensure health and social service providers are being responsive to the needs of Pacific people – like actively engaging with Pacific community groups, young people and churches, rather than sitting back and saying the communities aren't making use of our services so they mustn't want or need them. We need to work on reducing barriers to access, and reach out to a vulnerable population who are often not in the position to reach out themselves." A major career highlight for Monique was participating in the emerging Pacific leaders dialogue commonwealth leadership programme two years ago. Under its figurehead, HRH Princess Anne, 10 people were chosen from throughout New Zealand to travel through the South Pacific examining issues such as economic growth, infrastructure, governance, climate change, education and health. "It was a turning point and eye opener for my career. Having a global perspective of issues that are close to home suddenly put things in context." Like any working parent the mother of two has overcome her share of challenges along the road. "I remember getting my first full time job with two children under "We need to work on reducing barriers to access, and reach out to a vulnerable population who are often not in the position to reach out themselves." point of the health problem, which ends up costing the system more and costing the well being of our communities – with the ripple effect of job loss in an already underprivileged population. It's not just mental illness – our people have a lower life expectancy and higher rates of mortality and hospitalisation for conditions that could have been avoided. And don't two, and my biggest challenge was not knowing what to wear! I didn't anticipate not knowing how long it would take to have clarity of what it meant to be a professional businesswoman." Another challenge has been working cross- culturally. "I was brought up to respect my elders, always put relationships first and contribute to my community. I've found recently that sitting in the boardroom with older, Pakeha, wealthy, mostly experienced males that there is sometimes a cultural divide that creates a natural conflict – our values are sometimes fundamentally polar opposites. An example is if I'm wanting to disagree with someone in authority, it goes against my grain. I'm sure that's a common challenge for young, Pacific women today … to learn how to respectfully debate." Monique admits that although she is dressed in her 'power suit and killer heels' she hasn't yet mastered the art of debate, but is getting better at it. "At the end of the day I want to be remembered as a value-based leader, someone who lived with integrity and good judgement based on my cultural values, which have been handed to me from my ancestors." www.leva.co.nz www.hermagazine.co.nz | 17