Taunuu Ve’e, Commissioner

Taunuu Ve’e has over 25 years working in diverse populations both domestic and international to promote and improved health outcomes through collaborative development on national, state, and local level, established public and private partnerships across government and multi-sector organizations to provide not only capacity building smaller organizations and faith community but to broker many relationships by convening those leaders at the table in order to lift the voices of the underserved and unserved because they are invisible within the system.  She co-founded the first Bay Area Regional Pacific Islander Taskforce in 2015, an advisory council to the six-county directors of health departments in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties.  The plan is to establish relationship with all 10-counties by end of 2022.  The goal is to raise awareness and visibility of Pacific Islander (PI) health and social issues by educating counties on PI history and culture, improving regional data collection, and reporting on PI community, and increasing PI civic engagement participation.

National Work:  Tau was a National advisor on Pacific Islander Affairs for Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) to represent one of the most under-served and invisible populations across the United States and its affiliated Pacific Island jurisdiction for 8 years.  The APIAHF is the oldest and largest health advocacy organization in the nation.  Tau was also appointed and led the Racial Equity Initiative, a collaboration of 26 community-based organizations in California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, and Mississippi.  The APIAHF was one of the anchor institutions representing Asian and Pacific Islanders for the Kellogg Foundation’s “American Healing” initiative.

When Taus not busy with work, she’s very active at her church as a deacon’s wife, choir, women’s ministry member for the region in northern California and American Samoa. For releasing stress, she enjoys a round of golf with her husband Pete Noga when she can.