Fepulea‘i Margie Apa (born 1973/1974) is a New Zealand healthcare manager. As chief executive of

Counties Manukau District Health Board The Counties Manukau District Health Board (CM Health) was a district health board which focused on providing healthcare to the Counties Manukau area in southern Auckland, New Zealand. As of 2016, it was responsible for 534,750 residents; or 11 ...

from 2018 to 2022, Apa was the first Samoan to be head of a

district health board District health boards (DHBs) in New Zealand were organisations established by the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 under the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, Fifth Labour Government, responsible for ensuring the provisio ...

in New Zealand.

Early life and education

Apa was born in New Zealand in 1973 or 1974. Her parents Fepulea‘i Filo and Seulu Hana were

Samoan Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

emigrants from Savai'i and

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

. She grew up in

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...

. She attended

Papatoetoe High School Papatoetoe High School (PHS) is a secondary school (years 9–13) in Papatoetoe suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. History Papatoetoe High School was established in 1956. In February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, cases of CO ...

. At the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

she gained a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

degree, followed by a

Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a graduate-level professional degree. It provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to pu ...

from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Career

While at the University of Auckland, Apa won a scholarship from the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; ), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the public sector organisations ...

that funded her studies and gave her work opportunities. Early in her career, she worked on the review of the 1995

Cave Creek disaster The Cave Creek disaster occurred on 28 April 1995 when a scenic viewing platform in Paparoa National Park, New Zealand, collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 14 people. The victims, 13 of whom were Tai Poutini Polytechnic students, fell onto ...

. Later, she worked in the labour market policy group at the

Department of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

. From 2003 to 2007, Apa was general manager of Pacific health at the

(DHB). From 2007 to 2012, Apa was deputy director-general for sector capability and implementation at the Ministry of Health. She returned to Counties Manukau DHB in 2012 as director, population health and strategy and was appointed the DHB's chief executive in 2018. She was the first Samoan to lead a DHB in New Zealand. The New Zealand government announced in 2021 that two new health authorities,

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora is the primary Universal healthcare, publicly funded healthcare system of New Zealand. It was established by the New Zealand Government to replace the country's 20 district health boards (DHBs) on 1 July 2022. ...

(Health New Zealand) and the Māori health authority Te Aka Whai Ora, would be created in 2022 to replace the district health boards. Apa was appointed in December 2021 as chief executive of the interim Health New Zealand, heading the organisation from July 2022. She resigned from the role on 7 February 2025 four months ahead of the end of her contract. She has also been chair of Presbyterian Support, and is on the board of

World Vision The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

Personal life

Her husband is Riki Apa. They have two adult daughters. Her title Fepulea‘i is a chiefly title from her father's village in Savai'i.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading