About Me
I spend my career at the intersection of technology, community, and change — asking the questions that don't always get asked in the rooms where collective futures get decided.
I'm a founder, strategist, and systems change thinker from Aotearoa New Zealand. Through Fibre Fale, I build AI capability and governance leadership for the communities and organisations navigating what comes next. I've worked across Aotearoa, Australia, the UK, the USA, and Africa, and I bring that global experience back to the work I care most about: ensuring Pacific communities shape the AI age, not just survive it.
My governance roles span the WEF Global Futures Council on AI and Humanity, the NZ Human Rights Commission Expert Advisory on AI and Digital Technologies, the Digital Council NZ, and the University of Auckland Council. In 2026 I was named a finalist in AI and Thought Leadership at the She Shapes AI Global Awards.
I speak, write, advise, and build. If you're working on something that sits at the intersection of technology, people, and the future - I'd love to talk.
Technology is never just technology. It is a choice about whose future we are building.
TECHNOLOGY · SYSTEMS CHANGE · SOCIAL IMPACT ·
In November 2022, Julia co-founded Fibre Fale alongside Namulau'ulu Nu'uali'i Eteroa Lafaele — two Pacific women who decided to stop waiting for someone else to build what their communities needed.
What started as a shared conviction has become one of Aotearoa's most recognised Pacific-led social enterprises. Since launching, Fibre Fale has engaged over 24,000 people in person, delivered over 85 events and programmes, reached over 5 million people online, and secured over $3 million in capital.
Fibre Fale AI works across two lanes. For teams and communities: building the AI literacy, confidence, and critical thinking that allows people to engage with technology on their own terms. For boards and executives: building the governance capability and strategic clarity to lead organisations through the AI age with values intact.
My Work
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The work has been recognised nationally and globally:
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She Shapes AI Global Awards · AI & Thought Leadership Finalist · 2026
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Kiwibank Spark Innovator of the Year · Semi-Finalist · 2025
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NZ Hi-Tech Awards · Inspiring Individual Finalist · 2024
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UC Young New Zealander of the Year · Semi-Finalist · 2024
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Sunpix Pacific Enterprise Award · Winner · 2023
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GENNZ Social Entrepreneur of the Year · Finalist · 2023
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UC Young Alumni Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award · Winner · 2023
Speaking
From classrooms to global stages. From engineering teams to government briefings. From rangatahi in South Auckland to business forums in Europe.
Julia Pahina is one of the most versatile and in-demand voices at the intersection of technology, society, and change. She has MC'd Aotearoa's largest AI forums and tech summits, delivered keynotes across the Pacific, Australia, the USA, and Europe, and held rooms ranging from corporate tech engineering teams to tertiary educators, public servants, business leaders, and young people finding their place in the tech world.
She doesn't have one talk. She has one conviction — and she knows how to make it land in any room. What people say about Julia in a room: she makes complex ideas feel urgent and personal. She shifts perspective without losing the room. She brings warmth and sharpness in equal measure — and she leaves audiences with something they didn't have before.
Julia is available for keynotes, panels, MC roles, podcast appearances, and bespoke thought leadership engagements across Aotearoa and internationally.