Manufou Liaiga-Anoa'i for Daly City Council

09/01/2026

Dearest Sis Christinna Lutu-Sanchez 🌺,

I’m sharing these precious photos of my Reno Liaiga-Anoa'i wearing your one-of-a-kind Lalelei Samoa creations: each one carrying far more than beautiful fabric and design. They carry your spirit, your alofa ❤️and the generosity with which you always gave.

Whenever a request was made of you, you never hesitated. You simply opened your heart 💜.

During Reno Anoa'is tour of the Samoas, his uncle, my dear brother Salima Eucharist Elisara Reupena reached out to you at LaLelei and you poured your love so generously over him.

When we asked again for our CCCAS San Francisco Youth Taupou and Manaia Pageant, you gave once more 🙏🏽 blessing our winners and this grateful co-emcee of mine.

Reno has worn your creations while representing our communities in Washington, D.C., at our California State Capitol, in spaces of advocacy and social justice and in celebrations of love, culture and family.

Wherever he wore his LaLelei shirts, compliments always followed, people noticed their beauty, their originality and the unmistakable love woven into every design.

But this tribute is not about him.

It is about the light that covered him through you: your spirit, your alofa and your unwavering support. Every time he wore a LaLelei creation, he carried a piece of your heart into rooms where our people deserved to be seen.

When Reno arrived at Samoana High School to perform, your beautiful daughter immediately approached him and offered to be of service. In that moment, we saw another reflection of YOU 🥰, your warmth, your positivity and your beautiful way of making others feel welcomed and cared for.

Thank you Sis Christina 🥹, for leaving us with such a lasting impression of human kindness. Your alofa was immeasurable, your presence unforgettable and your heart so freely shared.

Although your earthly days have come to an end, the love you poured into others will continue to live, move and shine through every life you touched.

Today, as so many gather to pay their respects and honor your beautiful life, our Anoa‘i aiga does too, in heart 💙and in spirit 🌊.

Fly peacefully with the angels 🪽. May you know that you will forever be remembered with gratitude, grace, love and smiles.

Ia manuia lau malaga Taimalietane 🩵!

With all our love and prayers over the entire Lutu Sanchez Aiga 🤍🙏🏽!

08/28/2026

Life keeps us busy, distracted
Get your focus back
ON YOU
On who and what matters most 🩵

Keep that list honest 💯
As it will likely be very short ‼️
Unlike your social media friend list 👀

Stay inspired…
Stay dreaming…

But most of ALL…
Stay FAITHFUL in HIM 🙏🏽☝🏽



Love Manūfou…honored to carry My Mama’s beautiful name 💋🌺

08/10/2026

Still catching up on my postings from National CAPACD’s 2026 Convention in Long Beach.

Honoring a Legend in Our Community 🌺

I was deeply honored to sit alongside Maile Meyer for our National CAPACD panel, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Cultural Practice and Protocol for Identity and Action.

Maile is truly a legend in our community and sharing space with her in talanoa was a gift I won’t soon forget.

I’ll admit 🥹 I walked into that room nervous. And if I’m being truthful, when I saw the traditional panel setup, part of me found comfort in the table in front of us. I could sit behind it, hold my notes and perhaps hide a little of the nervousness I was feeling.

But Maile had something different in mind.

She didn’t want us sitting behind a table as “panelists,” separated from everyone else in the room. She intentionally broke up the traditional seating arrangement and asked that we move our chairs into a circle with everyone so we could see one another, face-to-face.

At first, I felt vulnerable. There went my little safety net 💙.

But I followed her lead and it changed everything.

With one intentional shift, the feeling in the room changed. The distance disappeared. Titles became less important. We were no longer panelists speaking to an audience; we were people sitting with one another.

Stories flowed naturally. The connection became seamless. And what could have been another conference panel became something much more familiar and meaningful to our people: talanoa in a village setting.

That moment stayed with me because it embodied exactly what we had gathered to talk about: culture, identity, protocol and the ways our values guide not only what we do, but how we gather.

That, to me, is cultural leadership.

Knowing when to move beyond conventional structures and create space in a way that reflects who we are. Leadership isn’t always about commanding the room. Sometimes it is about reshaping the room so everyone knows they belong in it.

Maile’s warmth, aloha and welcoming presence truly anchored me that afternoon. Without even having to say it, she reminded me that we belonged in that space and that our stories, lived experiences and cultural ways of knowing matter.

I came into the room nervous and left deeply grateful, not only for the opportunity to sit alongside her, but for the lesson I received simply by watching how she chose to hold space.

Some moments remind us that leadership isn’t only about what we say from the stage, it’s also about how we make one another feel while we’re sitting beside each other.

Maile, mahalo and fa’afetai tele lava for your warmth, wisdom and aloha. Sitting alongside you was an honor, but being able to experience the way you hold and transform space is something I will carry with me.

And thank you again to National CAPACD for creating space for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voices, cultural practices and lived experiences to be centered and celebrated-not only in what we talked about, but in how we gathered.

Sometimes leadership changes the conversation simply by moving the chairs and inviting everyone into the circle 🌺💙🌊!

08/08/2026

As a former School Board Trustee, research like the “Zero Hour PE” work in Naperville continues to remind me that educating the whole child matters. When students are given meaningful opportunities to move their bodies, activate their minds and prepare themselves to learn, the benefits can reach far beyond physical health-supporting focus, engagement, confidence and academic readiness.

Imagine what it means for our teachers, too, when students enter the classroom more alert, regulated and ready to learn. Sometimes innovation in education isn’t about adding another textbook, test or program. Sometimes it is about creating the conditions in which young people can thrive. Healthy students make stronger learners, stronger classrooms and ultimately stronger communities.

“Before we ask children to sit still and learn, perhaps we should first give their bodies and minds the opportunity to wake up.”

Thank you AD Wendy Vaovasa-Lotulelei for sharing this article that woke me up too 🙌🏽!!!

08/01/2026

Thank you National CAPACD! I look forward to leaning in and having great conversations with incredible leaders around the country!

We’re excited to announce the speakers for our 2026 Building CAPACD Convention plenary, 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

This closing plenary brings the 2026 Building CAPACD Convention back to where we began—rooted in the places we each call home and the communities we carry with us. Grounded in trust built through local leadership, shared history, and long-term partnership, the session highlights how community development organizations are transforming neighborhood power into civic action.

As we head into the midterm election year, elected officials, nonprofit leaders, and movement partners will reflect on how place-based work strengthens democratic participation and ensures communities most impacted are shaping the decisions that affect their lives.

Moderator
Timmy Lu, AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund, Executive Director

Speakers
Lian Cheun, Khmer Girls in Action (KGA), Executive Director
Duncan Hwang, APANO, Community Development Director
Manufou Liaiga-Anoa'i, Pacific Islander Community Partnership (PICP), Founder & Executive Director

07/30/2026

Thank you, JESUS, for covering today’s Samoan Heritage Celebration at San Francisco City Hall.

A divine reminder that GOD is always in the details.

Fa’afetai tele lava to Mayor Daniel Lurie and your team for your partnership with the National Samoan Chiefs Council.

As I close out today, I do so overwhelmed with gratitude and immense pride for my people.

I look forward to circling back and properly sharing my heartfelt appreciation to every heart and every hand that made today possible.

From beginning to end, GOD navigated this journey.

So much alofa from a of Sāmoa. 🙏🏽🇦🇸🇼🇸

07/29/2026

I’m always grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our Samoan community 🇦🇸🇼🇸🇦🇸🇼🇸!

Thank you Mayor Lurie for upholding the vision and spirit of our elders, our ancestors before us who’ve made San Francisco their home, who’ve built visibility, strong partnerships and a shared sense of community.

Under the leadership of the National Samoan Chiefs Council - Nu’u O Matai, San Francisco’s Samoan community raised our flags in 1972 to honor the rich history of our people and to honor the many sacrifices and contributions our people have made in this great City by the Bay.

Mayor Lurie found it fitting to lift not just our flags as a symbol of cultural pride, but to embrace the heritage our flags 🇦🇸🇼🇸🇦🇸🇼🇸 represent!

May we always remember who we are, where we come from and honor those before us who’ve made San Francisco a place we can always home 🙏🏽!

Malo Fa’afetai Mayor Daniel Lurie! I’m proud to be Samoan, I’m proud to be a native San Franciscan and am humbled and honored to celebrate with our community today 🌊🌉 !

GOD BLESS OUR COMMUNITIES 🙏🏽!


🇦🇸🇼🇸🇦🇸🇼🇸🇦🇸🇼🇸

🚨 LE TALA FOU | BREAKING NEWS 🇼🇸🇦🇸

History is being made once again in the City by the Bay.

Per the , San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie will partner with the National Samoan Chiefs Council to officially raise the flags of Samoa 🇼🇸 and American Samoa 🇦🇸 at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in celebration of Samoan Heritage Week.

In a powerful tribute to the enduring legacy and contributions of the Samoan community, San Francisco City Hall will also be illuminated in red and blue, the colors proudly representing the Samoan people throughout the evening.

The historic ceremony will feature stirring performances of the National Anthems of Samoa and American Samoa by Samoan powerhouse vocalists Uribe Fa’atasiga-Fa’ataui and The Su’a Sisters, while Disney’s young Moana star, Amaya Masoli, will also take part in this unforgettable celebration.

This moment builds upon a rich legacy. In 2001, then-Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. welcomed the Samoan community to City Hall as the Samoan flags were raised alongside legendary WWE Hall of Famers The Wild Samoans (The Anoa’i Brothers) and community leaders Peseta Tumua and Ifopo Tusipa—a landmark celebration that continues to inspire generations.

More than a flag raising, this is a celebration of a people whose culture, leadership, resilience, and service have helped shape San Francisco and the greater Bay Area for decades. As we honor our ancestors and celebrate our future, we invite our entire community to stand together in pride.

Fa’afetai tele lava to Mayor Daniel Lurie, the National Samoan Chiefs Council, and all of the community leaders and cultural bearers making this historic celebration possible.

🇼🇸 Happy Samoan Heritage Week! 🇦🇸

07/26/2026

Malo Fa’afetai ~ Thank you 🙏🏽 Mayor Lurie for your support and partnership with our Samoan community!

I’m looking forward to celebrating 🎉 this ongoing tradition!

Thank you for welcoming us to City Hall in celebration of our vibrant culture and long standing history in San Francisco!

🇦🇸🇼🇸🇦🇸🇼🇸

🚨 LE TALA FOU | BREAKING NEWS 🇼🇸🇦🇸

History is being made once again in the City by the Bay.

Per the , San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie will partner with the National Samoan Chiefs Council to officially raise the flags of Samoa 🇼🇸 and American Samoa 🇦🇸 at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in celebration of Samoan Heritage Week.

In a powerful tribute to the enduring legacy and contributions of the Samoan community, San Francisco City Hall will also be illuminated in red and blue, the colors proudly representing the Samoan people throughout the evening.

The historic ceremony will feature stirring performances of the National Anthems of Samoa and American Samoa by Samoan powerhouse vocalists Uribe Fa’atasiga-Fa’ataui and The Su’a Sisters, while Disney’s young Moana star, Amaya Masoli, will also take part in this unforgettable celebration.

This moment builds upon a rich legacy. In 2001, then-Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. welcomed the Samoan community to City Hall as the Samoan flags were raised alongside legendary WWE Hall of Famers The Wild Samoans (The Anoa’i Brothers) and community leaders Peseta Tumua and Ifopo Tusipa—a landmark celebration that continues to inspire generations.

More than a flag raising, this is a celebration of a people whose culture, leadership, resilience, and service have helped shape San Francisco and the greater Bay Area for decades. As we honor our ancestors and celebrate our future, we invite our entire community to stand together in pride.

Fa’afetai tele lava to Mayor Daniel Lurie, the National Samoan Chiefs Council, and all of the community leaders and cultural bearers making this historic celebration possible.

🇼🇸 Happy Samoan Heritage Week! 🇦🇸

07/26/2026

This was last Sunday in Los Angeles 🔥

Last day at AAPI LEAD💛

We closed out the convening with long-lasting hugs, renewed support for the work ahead and new connections with strong community partners who share a commitment to advancing our communities.

Deep gratitude to the AAPI LEAD Board, staff and the incredible team of volunteers whose dedication made this gathering possible.

Thank you for creating a space where relationships were strengthened, ideas were nurtured and our collective commitment to service was renewed.

Until next time…fa’afetai tele lava 🙏🏽!