Phylesha Brown-Acton hails from the village of Fineone Hakupu Atua in Niue and identifies as Fakafifine. A recent Masters graduate of Applied Indigenous Knowledge, Phylesha is the Founder and Executive Director of F’INE Pasifika Aotearoa Trust.

Phylesha has rooted her work in advancing the voice, visibility, and rights of MVPFAFF+ / Pacific LGBTQI+ people and their families for over 25 years. She serves in projects on both a national and international level such as being a co-investigator for the The Manalagi Project as well as being the co-chairperson of the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN).

In 2019 Phylesha received a Queens Honour – Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her service to MVPFAFF+ / Pacific LGBTQI+ communities & Pacific communities. She describes F’INE as “A mana enhancing space that is there to uplift and honour experiences, journey, culture, story, family and people”.