Faumuinā To Lead New Pasifika Leadership Academy
MEDIA RELEASE
11 November 2010
For Immediate
Release
Faumuinā To Lead New Pasifika Leadership Academy And Charitable Foundation
BEST Pacific Institute of Education (BEST) today proudly announced that it had recruited Olympic discus thrower and leading New Zealand sportswoman, Beatrice Faumuinā OMNZ, as Chief Executive of a new leadership academy and charitable foundation dedicated to training Pasifika leaders.
Faumuinā said “Both BEST and I share the vision of growing the number of Pasifika people in leadership positions in New Zealand businesses and community organisations.
“We need to lead our own people to be the solution to our own problems. We need to train and mentor Pasifika to be top leaders. I am personally as well as professionally committed to these goals.”
BEST Executive Director Anita Finnigan welcomed the news that Faumuinā had agreed to come on board to lead two exciting initiatives:
• The BEST Pasifika Leadership
Academy will initially offer a Diploma in Pasifika
Leadership that has been designed and tailored for Pasifika
people. Dr Lester Levy of the University of Auckland
Business School’s New Zealand Leadership Institute will be
assisting with academic input and programme development;
and
• The BEST Pasifika Leadership Foundation, a
charitable trust, will provide a mentoring programme to
students and others committed to growing their leadership
potential and becoming top leaders for the Pasifika
community. Mentors will be successful leaders in their own
right, and will help aspiring Pasifika leaders to meet their
full potential.
“Beatrice is the perfect choice to lead these initiatives because no-one better understands the determination and drive needed to reach the top” said Finnigan.
Today’s announcement builds on BEST’s position as a high performing Pasifika-focused Private Training Establishment (PTE). BEST was established 23 years ago and today serves a student population of over 2000. Pasifika students at BEST achieve qualification and course completion rates well above Pasifika studying at Polytechnics or other PTEs.
Faumuinā started as Chief Executive of the Academy on 8 November 2010.
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