Terisa Siagatonu (she/they), award-winning poet, educator, and transformative leader, will soon be joining UC Berkeley to lead Asian Pacific American Student Development (APASD) and the Asian American & Pacific Islander Thriving Initiatives. Born, rooted, and raised on unceded Ohlone territory, currently residing in Oakland, CA, she is the granddaughter of the late High Chief Leuluso’o Fualauto’alasi Leatutufu who served on the U.S. Census Bureau committee that coined the term Asian Pacific Islander in the late 1970s. Terisa venerates his legacy in her paradigm-shifting work within the AA & PI community, having developed and collaborated with AA & PI campus centers, student programming, organizations, conferences, and initiatives nationwide and across Oceania for the last 20 years.
When asked what she’s looking forward to, Terisa shares:
There’s a Samoan proverb that says “Ia fili i le tai se agavaʻa”, which means “the tide shall choose one who is qualified/worthy.” What I’m most looking forward to is learning the tide that has sustained the AA & PI community at Cal for generations, and how I can help guide us safely across the waters to new horizons that our community deserves, while sustaining the existing work on campus that already strengthens us.
We are honored to welcome Terisa to UC Berkeley and look forward to the leadership, care, and vision she will bring to APASD and the broader AA & PI community. Her appointment marks an exciting new chapter in advancing belonging and Thriving on campus.
