Moananu Anna Redican-Kolose

Samoan, Niuean

Moananu Anna Redican Kolose is Chief Executive Officer of Vaka Tautua, based at the Head Office in Manukau, Auckland.

Appointed in May 2022, Anna was formerly the Pacific Equity Programme Director for the Auckland District Health Board. Throughout the pandemic, Anna also acted as Pacific COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Lead for the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre.

Having left a corporate legal career two decades earlier to join the public service, Anna wants to help achieve equitable health and socio-economic outcomes for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa.

Anna credits her interest in Pacific health to her family. Her mother, Aseta Redican, was the first New Zealand qualified Pacific physiotherapist and was Pacific General Manager at ADHB. Anna's grandmother, Matelina Okesene, was a Samoan/Niuean nurse, and her grandfather was well-known Doctor Moananu loane Okesene Tilialo. The chiefly title 'Moananu' comes from his mother's village of Fogapoa in Savai'i, Samoa.

“Vaka Tautua is at the coalface of serving and supporting Pacific families. I am honoured to be given the chance to build on the legacy of its former leaders and founders. For me, this is the ultimate role in my career.”