Rita Seumanutafa is a Samoan academic and community leader in Melbourne.
Since moving across the Tasman from Aotearoa New Zealand, Ms Seumanutafa has made her mark as an academic, having recently completed a Phd in Music at the University of Melbourne, and also as a community leader, liaising with state government departments in delivering services to the Pasefika community in Victoria. Her efforts in this space during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially driving the vaccination programs, were most impressive.
Rita is a prolific composer of church hymns and is very active in teaching choirs in Melbourne - something she had grown up practising and perfecting from the Samoan Church she and her family belong to.
In the Arts space, Rita Seumanutafa is one of the creators of the PICAA, the Pacific Islands Creative Arts Association Inc., in Victoria, a hub for actors, directors and writers of Pasefika heritage to share and practise their crafts.
