The Muriel Bell
Dr Muriel Bell
The Muriel Bell Lecture is named in honour of Dr. Muriel Bell, a pioneering nutritionist and public health advocate in New Zealand. Dr. Bell was instrumental in advancing nutrition science and improving public health policies throughout her career. In recognition of her significant contributions, the lecture series was established to celebrate her legacy. Each year, a distinguished individual who has made outstanding contributions to nutrition or related sciences is selected to deliver the Muriel Bell Lecture, sharing insights and advancements in the field of nutrition.
Our Distinguished Speaker
Mafi Funaki-Tahifote
Feeding Futures: Advancing nutrition through action and evidence in our communities.
Mafi Funaki-Tahifote is one of the few New Zealand registered and practicing dietitians of Pacific ethnicity who is fluent in her mother tongue, Tongan. She is also one of the few registered dietitians with an MBA, graduating from the University of Auckland during the COVID year, in 2020.
She spent nearly two decades of her early career as a dietitian in public health, eventually progressing into senior management roles. During this time, Mafi also served on various technical advisory groups and was often the media spokesperson on Pacific peoples’ nutrition. Mafi also has considerable governance experience across a range of settings, including community organisations, education board of trustees, non-government-organisation boards, and government appointed boards.
Towards the end of her full-time work in public health, Mafi accepted a clinical dietitian opportunity to work weekends where she could use her Tongan language abilities to contribute meaningfully. This opportunity provided a pathway for her to courageously embrace and integrate a number of different ngāue/mahi, allowing her to continue serving others in a way that aligned with her values and current circumstances.
Mafi is humbly privileged to continue working part-time in the nutrition and dietetic fields— as a clinical dietitian, Pacific nutrition and dietetic technical advisor, Pacific cultural advisor, and volunteer in various nutrition organisations. Most recently, this has included an exciting journey with the Federated Nutrition Society of Oceania, which contributes to advancing nutrition in Oceania, impacting Mafi’s homeland of the Kingdom of Tonga. This ongoing contribution is made possible from the support of the MAS Foundation, where, for most of the week, Mafi is privileged to work alongside clinical psychologist Dr Julie Wharewera-Mika as the Tangata Tiriti Head of Foundation in the philanthropic sector.
She is also an active member of her Tongan community through her local church, and enjoys walking, table tennis, and spending time with her family of seven and wider extended fāmili and kāinga. Mafi is passionate about improving health and wellbeing equity, and about supporting community-led solutions to issues that are ‘very preventable’ yet often systemic.
