Grace Fiavaai is a journalist and producer of The Poly Will and Grace series, based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Fluent in Samoan, she reports on Samoan politics and Pacific regional issues, with a focus on accurate, accessible reporting and the people affected by public decisions. She is completing postgraduate study in educational leadership at Auckland University of Technology and hopes to begin a master’s degree in 2027.
Grace has broken major political stories about Samoa, covered Samoa’s 2025 general election and participated in two Pacific Island missions, gaining first-hand insight into governance, leadership and community life across the region. She has paternal links to Niue, Tonga and China, and spent part of her childhood in Jamaica, where her parents served as missionaries with the EFKS Church.
Before becoming a journalist, Grace worked as a flight attendant. She continues to serve as a youth leader and, in 2024, became the first Pacific journalist to be named a finalist at the New Zealand Science Media Awards.
Known to many as Mama G, Grace is passionate about challenging stigma faced by Pacific women in media. Outside the newsroom and her studies, she is a working mother of two, a foodie and a sports lover.
If you meet Grace at the conference, expect plenty of humour and Pacific style. You might even leave knowing a little about Samoan milimili and when to let out a good “chehoooo!”
