Brief Information

Born and raised in Fiji, Frances has over 2 decades of professional experience in higher education. Prior to joining the Pacific Community, she was Associate Professor at The University of the South Pacific where she held various positions of responsibility including Director of the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies, Associate Dean Research, Innovation and Internationalization, Head of Secondary Education, and coordinator of Education for Sustainable Development. She has developed and taught over thirty courses across various modes of delivery at pre-degree, degree, and postgraduate levels of study. She has supervised graduate research students and researched in the areas of teacher education, curriculum studies, culture and education, Pacific pedagogies and methodologies, indigenous knowledge, education in small island states, education for sustainability, citizenship education, pacific heritage and contemporary arts and social policy. Frances is the Traditional Knowledge advisor on PIFS OPOC Team of Experts and serves as board member of the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc); member of the co-editing team for Indigenous Science Network; and Editorial Advisory Board member for new Bristol University Press book series on Comparative and International Education. Over the last fifteen years, she has worked in the development space on various aspects of education, culture and arts policy, project development and evaluation. She is a passionate advocate for resilience education, culture, the arts, and the status of the Pacific island-based artists.