Our Board

Renee Holt — Board Chair (U.S.)

Renee Holt is a retired nurse and lawyer with a graduate degree in public health. She has worked in the international public health field for 25 years.  She has experience in women’s rights, reproductive health, vaccines, and clinical trials. As a consultant for the World Health Organization, Renee drafted health legislation for many Pacific Island nations, including the Kingdom of Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Tuvalu. Through her work and travels to the Pacific, Renee feels a strong connection with the Pacific Island people and the mission of Rise Beyond the Reef.  Renee recently retired from PATH, a nonprofit global health organization based in Seattle, Washington.

Adi Sivia Qoro — Board President (Fiji)

Adi Sivia served as Fiji's Minister for Commerce and Industry in 2006. She graduated from Monash University (Australia) with an MA in Foreign Affairs and Trade. Adi Sivia headed up the Aid Unit in the Ministry of Finance and established Fiji's Department of Culture and Heritage. Adi Sivia is a former head of the Pacific Women's Bureau at the Pacific Community (SPC) in Noumea and was responsible for 22 countries. She has also served as the First Secretary at the Fiji High Commission in Canberra.

Sivia is active in community work and serves as a Director of Ba Provincial Holdings. She is the President of RBTR, working with remote communities to improve their livelihoods. She is the Vice President of Homes of Hope, a charity to help sexual abuse and exploitation survivors. She is also a found and President of the Fiji Unity Party.

Adi Sivia believes community engagement is an avenue for connecting with others. Community engagement improves lives, strengthens communities, and, most importantly, provides intangible benefits through witnessing the t accomplishments of those you serve. She knows how great it feels to give back to society at large, the value of empowering community members' contributions, and the importance of helping others develop and participate fully in advancing their communities.

Amie Bishop

Amie Bishop is a retired global health and human rights consultant and has worked in more than 20 countries. She is also the Consultant Research Advisor for OutRight Action International, a global LGBTIQ human rights organization. As a consultant, she primarily focuses on HIV, TB, and health access for key populations, as well as on women’s cancers. Her expertise includes qualitative research and monitoring and evaluation; interim leadership (e.g., a $21 million program on TB in Zambia); program design and grant-writing capacity-building; and strategic planning. From 1989 to 2014, she worked at PATH, where she held various leadership and technical roles, including Ukraine Country Director, focusing primarily on TB, HIV, and women’s cancers. Ms. Bishop is on the Civic Council for the UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Master’s Degree in Applied International Studies, representing LGBTIQ human rights perspectives and was recently selected to serve on Seattle’s Women in Global Health Advisory Panel. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and Public Health from Columbia University and was a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Filani Macassey

Filani Macassey is a multimedia artist who lives in the North Island of New Zealand, where she works as Collection Co-ordinator at the Whangarei Art Museum. Filani graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts and Auckland University in 2007. She has been involved with numerous community-led initiatives and continues to stay engaged within her own community in Kaiwaka.

With her maternal connection to Kadavu Island and the village of Solodamu, the artist continues to visit and keep in touch with her family there and on Viti Levu. Filani utilizes masi as a canvas in her art works and is an ardent supporter of ecologically sustainable and traditional crafts.

Etika Rupeni

Etika Rupeni has been the Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation and the Regional Learning Coordinator for the ADB-Coral Triangle in the Pacific since 2009. Rupeni also served as the Institutional Development advisor for the Asia/Pacific Locally Managed Marine Areas. During his work as the Regional Programme Manager of Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International (FSPI) Communities and Coasts program, he led coastal resource management efforts in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. He formerly held management roles as Country Director for World Wide Fund For Nature and Deputy Director for Wildlife Conservation Society – Pacific Office, working on Fiji-based conservation projects in marine, forest, watershed, climate adaptation and eco-regional planning for the last 15 years.

Terri Beth Sims

Beth Sims is a senior educator with over thirty years of experience working with elementary, middle, high school, and college-age students. As an artist and researcher, she has extensive experience in project-based learning and cross-cultural instruction. Beth loves to travel with students and family and has worked with teachers in Fiji on professional development and adaptive technology strategies.

Dilo Masilaca

Dilo Maciu is a Human Resources Specialist who has served in Fiji's forestry industry for more than 15 years. Maciu is committed to advancing landowning communities for job readiness, and supporting private sector companies to effectively engage and manage work teams. Maciu is a mother of three and deeply involved with her church.

Aliti Vunisea

Aliti Vunisea served as a professor at the University of the South Pacific, interfacing with NGOs in Fiji, and working on gender issues in fisheries in Fijian communities. While working with the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas network, Vunisea conducted community trainings and consultations, and was part of fisheries management interventions in Qoliqolis in Fiji. Vunisea later moved to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and worked in management and on gender issues for the Coastal Fisheries Program. After six years in New Caledonia, she moved to the SPC Regional Office in the North Pacific, where she was the Human Development staff, focusing on gender, youth, and culture. She has spent nearly 20 years in Fiji and other countries in the Pacific, working on gender issues in fisheries, climate change, and environment.

Rosi Tavaiqia

Rosi was born and raised in Fiji, where life was happy yet difficult, and no matter where she has traveled, her island heart was always in Fiji asking, "What can I do to be of service to my people back home?"

Rosi is currently a member of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also secretary of a newly formed service group called aMAYzing Helping Hands, which focuses on charitable support projects for Fijian communities and schools. She enjoys promoting RBTR products stateside, and helping support and create meaningful connections "back home" for the island diaspora community.