Jacinta Galea’i, PhD

Executive Director

Jacinta S. Galea’i grew up in Amerika Samoa and Seattle, Washington. Her family roots are from Fitiuta, Manu’a, Leone, Faga’itua, Amouli and Alao in Tutuila and Safotu, Savai’i. In January 2022, she transitioned from the board to serve as the first executive director of SPDC. She received her PhD in English from the University of Hawai'i - Manoa and undergraduate degree from the University of Washington. She has taught composition, Pacific Literature, and Samoan culture and language in high school and higher education. She is committed to equity and social justice and the preservation of Samoan culture and language, and other indigenous cultures of the Pacific. She is a member of Ekalesia Samoa Atia’e CCCAS in Portland, Oregon and lives on Cowlitz and Chinook lands in Washington and works on Multnomah lands in Portland, Oregon. 

Ph.D. in English, University of Hawai’i, 2005

M.A. in English Composition and Rhetoric, University of Hawai’i, 2000

B.A. in English, University of Washington, 1989