‘Anapesi Ka’ili is the daughter of Tevita & Lakalaka Ka’ili of Kolofo’ou, Tongatapu. Her paternal grandparents are ‘Ilaise Mafi from Ha’ano, Fakakai and Pangai Ha’apai; and Viliami Soakai Pulu from Ma’ufanga and Kolonga Tongatapu. Her maternal grandparents are Meliame Loata Toki of Tu’anuku, Vava’u and Tonga Poteki Malohifo’ou of Koloa and Neiafu, Vava’u and Lakeba, Fiji. ‘Anapesi is a transnational child who was raised both in the Island of Tonga and in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Utah State University, a Master of Education in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from Northern Arizona University and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Education, Culture and Society at the University of Utah.
'Anapesi currently teaches in the Ethnic Studies Department while also serving as the Program Director of the Pacific Initiative for the America West Center at the University of Utah. She has conducted field research on the Navajo Reservations and also within Pacific Islander communities in both Arizona and Utah. Her research areas have focused on Pacific Islander Pedagogy, History and Epistemology, Native Languages and Cultural Identities, and Pacific Islander Diaspora, Migration, and Transnationalism. Her current Doctoral research explores the experiences of Pacific Islander American students in higher education and the ways in which they navigate academic success in predominantly white educational institutions.
'Anapesi volunteers much of her time in the community by helping to lead and organize the H.Y.P.E. Movement, a grassroots movement started by Tongan college students to unite their Pacific peers and break free from all the stereotypes and negativity that has been projected upon them by society and often times internalized by many young people. She also serves as the Editor-in-chief of popular Planet-Tonga website (www.planet-tonga.com) and the Pacific Eye Magazine (www.planet-tonga.com/pacificeye). She also serves as the Education Director for the National Tongan American Society, Vice-Chair for the Minorities in Education National Committee, an Education Representative for the Pacific American Foundation, a faculty mentor for the McNair Scholars Program, a faculty mentor for the Pacific Islander Student's Association, and a member of the Governor's Pacific Islander Advisory Council, the Coalition for Minorities Education Advisory Committee, Utah's Educational Summit Board, the County Mayor's Council on Diversity Affairs, and the Governor's Ethnic Minority Health Taskforce. 'Anapesi has also held leadership positions in the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society and the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society.
‘Anapesi is deeply passionate about social justice and the ways in which history, culture, and indigenous epistemologies inform our understanding and practice of social justice. Here are her thoughts:
The H.Y.P.E. Movement to me is more than just a response to some of the tragedies (i.e. violence, drop out rates, poverty, suicide, etc.) that we are currently facing in our Pasifika communities, but it is really a reclaiming of who we are as Pacific peoples. It is a way of decolonizing our minds and recognizing that the trend that our young people are falling into is something that is not reflective of our culture or who we are as a people but rather it is reflective of what happens when young people are being forced in a society to be stripped of their culture, and their history. This movement is about changing consciousness and redirecting our path for the future! I hope this movement at the very least will force people to think about what it means to be Pacific Islander in the 21st century and what legacy we want to leave behind for the next generation! The H.Y.P.E. Movement is a grassroots movement developed by young Tongan university students who were devastated by the direction they saw our young people headed toward. They approached me to advise them and we have been pushing it forward since. It was launched in San Francisco, California in June 2008 and since that time we have taken the H.Y.P.E. Movement to all the major U.S. cities with large Pacific Islander populations, as well as numerous Islands in the South Pacific.
Wooohoooooo GO ANAPESI!!! You ROCK!!! Ofa lahi atu ka koe mo ho'o tokoni moe ofa. You are the bestest and look forward to working with you more in repping the H.Y.P.E and driving our youth to pursue their dreams and letting them be all that they can be.
LOVE YOU SIS!
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