UC Berkeley

Fine Tuitupou is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Ethnic studies. She is originally from LA where she primarily grew up. Her experiences growing up in a low income under-resourced community has cultivated her passion for advocacy. Having witnessed her father serve as a social worker at the Tongan Community Center in Hawthorne, California, she was first exposed to health issues and disparities facing the Pacific Islander community. This is also where she first began to understand the significance of data for its ability to tell a narrative. However she recognizes the importance of understanding how data collected in harmful and racially biased ways can be detrimental to communities of color like her own. Coming from a culture and family of matriarchs she is excited to be working with the mothers in the program. Although she is not a STEM major she recognizes the intersection between STEM and the humanities/social sciences. She wants to utilize her own life experiences as well as the pedagogy in her major, like Black feminism, love, and Pasifika epistemology in relation to birthing to inform the work she does.