Ms Selane Tairea

Research Officer, Te Puna Vai Marama – Cook Islands Centre for Research, University of the South Pacific

Selane Tairea is a Research Officer at Te Puna Vai Marama Cook Islands Centre for Research. She holds a background in psychology and statistics and specializes in community-based data collection, analysis, and reporting. Selane has a passion for blending research with purposeful community engagement. Her work includes national surveys, professional development, program design, and policy dialogue. Selane has worked closely with local farmers to document the on the ground impacts of climate change and is working in collaboration with agencies to develop solutions that reflect local realities. Her contributions to the Pacific regional research agenda is the focus on making research more grounded, inclusive, and useful for decision-making. Serving amongst a number of NGOs in the Cook Islands she pushes for people to understand that “If you want to do research in the Cook Islands but you do not work with the community, you are not going to get far.”