The Advisors
Hon. Mr. Vikrant Chandra
Legal Advisor
Mr. Vikrant Chandra is the Legal Adviser of UNA Fiji. His role is to provide Legal Advice and support to UNA Fiji.
Mr. Chandra is a Partner at Millbrook Hills Law Partners (MHLP), a law firm having its offices in Ba and Nadi, Republic of Fiji.
Mr. Chandra believes in the work he does with the firm. MHLP has always believed in establishing a corporate structure, at the same time not forgetting its social responsibility. He has been instrumental in spearheading the establishment and operation of Legal workshops in Ba called "Afternoon Tea with Millbrook Hills". These workshops are free to the general public and include a range of topics, such as Domestic Violence, Estate Planning, and Property matters. The workshop is scheduled to reconvene after the pandemic is under control.
He has taken on some tough cases and provided positive outcomes. One such case is Nadan v State (Supreme Court of Fiji), which extensively discussed the non - parole period. Mr. Chandra believes that one must always have a work/life balance. His passion to help others has always driven him towards consistent hard work. He treats his team members at work as his family and always puts his client’s and his team's interest at heart first.
Mr. Chandra also has a keen interest in sports and youth empowerment and is the President and Legal Adviser to the Fiji Professional Golfers Association. While also serving as the current treasurer of the Fiji Young Lawyers Association.
He is a certified golf professional, has been a member of the New Zealand PGA, and is a current member of the Fiji PGA. Mr. Chandra has also represented Fiji at numerous Golf events, highlights include, The Mini Games, the Pacific Games, and the Eisenhower Teams Trophy in Turkey.
In Fiji, he has won the Amateur Golf Championship 4 years in a row, the blue ribbon event for amateurs before turning professional. This is the most in a row by any player in the history of Fiji.
Mr. Chandra holds a Bachelor’s in Law Degree from the University of the South Pacific (USP) 2011 and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) from the University of Fiji 2012.
His hobbies include playing golf, training in the gym, music, and spending time with family and friends.
Hon. Ms. Arieta Koila Costello
Peace Building Advisor
Ms. Arieta Koila Costello is the Peace Building Advisor to UNA Fiji. In this role, she provides her expert advice and facilitation on all matters relating to peacebuilding to the Association.
Bringing her extensive expertise and experience to the role. She attended Veiuto Primary School and Suva Grammar School before pursuing higher education. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from the University of Queensland (1992), a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Policy and Administration from the University of the South Pacific (USP, 2002), a Master of Arts in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in the USA (2005), and a Professional Diploma in Business Leadership from USP (2013).
With over 30 years of professional experience, Ms. Costello has made significant contributions to various organizations, including the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, ECREA, and the Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding. For the past six years, she has also served as an independent consultant for KKasa Consultancies. Her work has involved collaborating with prominent international organizations such as UNDP, UNOHCR, PTC, SPC, PIFS, Dialogue Fiji, Fiji Women’s Forum, ANZ, KPMG, Digicel, Vodafone, Westpac, and Howards Law. In addition, she has taught classes on Peacebuilding, Women’s Leadership, Leading Healthy Organisations, Training/Design and Facilitation, Trauma Healing, and Awareness at Eastern Mennonite University, the Pacific Theological College, and GKI in West Papua.
Ms. Costello provides a wide range of services, including designing and facilitating strategic thinking and action processes, team building, conflict resolution, stress management, and trauma healing. She also offers on-call counseling for organizations such as Digicel, Vodafone, ANZ, and SPC. Currently, she is the Regional Manager for Redr Australia, an international humanitarian organization.
Passionate about fostering healthy relationships within groups, individually, and with the environment, Ms. Costello has dedicated her career to peacebuilding and conflict resolution. In her personal life, she has been an avid collector of hand-carved soap in her youth and has collected crystals since her 17th birthday. She is also a devoted mother to her two children, Shaniah and Kevin.
Hon. Ms. Emele Duituturaga
Development and Gender Advisor
Hon. Ms. Emele Duituturaga is the Development and Gender Advisor, her role involves providing strategic guidance, program design, evaluation, capacity building, resource mobilization, and advocacy support. Her expertise in promoting gender equality, integrating gender perspectives, formulating gender-sensitive policies, conducting gender analysis, advocating for change, and addressing gender-based violence is invaluable in enhancing the Association’s impact and effectiveness. She also ensures the integration of gender considerations across all aspects of our work.
Hon. Ms. Duituturaga is an indigenous Fijian residing in Suva, Fiji. A Development specialist by profession, she has experiences spanning 3 decades working with governments, regional organisations, bilateral and multilateral organisations, and civil society organisations in the Pacific and around the globe. She currently works as a consultant on various assignments and projects including as the Gender, Equity, Disability, Social Inclusion (GEDSI) of the Vanuatu-Australia Health Partnership. Hon. Ms. Duituturaga is a Board member of the Fiji Development Bank and the Deputy Chair of Lakeba Nawa Vision Ltd – an investment company for the Vanua of Lakeba in Lau where she hails from.
She serves as an Adviser to the Onoilau Tikina Womens’ Association, Pacific Theological College, and the Fiji United Nations Association. Hon. Ms. Duituturaga led the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) for a decade (2009-2019) as its Executive Director where she was instrumental in PIANGO's strong positioning as a regional and global civil society actor raising the profile of the Pacific and Small Islands Developing States advocating on climate change, localisation of humanitarian aid, gender equality, development effectiveness and implementation of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. She represented the Pacific at high level meetings and co-chaired global organisations.
Hon. Ms. Duituturaga also led PIANGO’s “Rethinking Development, Reshaping the Pacific We Want” journey which challenged prevailing models of development in the Pacific. To this end, she was a strong advocate with Pacific governments and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to include civil society in Pacific regionalism, influencing regional policy priorities. Prior to joining PIANGO, Hon. Ms. Duituturaga was a Research Associate at the Fiji campus of the University of the South Pacific (USP) and co-authored an Asia Development Bank (ADB) study on Identifying Binding constraints in Pacific Economies. She was Fiji Government’s Chief Executive Officer/Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Women, Social Welfare, Poverty Alleviation and Housing for 4 years (2004-2007).
Previously, Hon. Ms. Duituturaga worked for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); She was Head of the Women’s Bureau at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia; an ADB long term Adviser in Papua New Guinea (PNG); a short-term gender adviser with Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). She started her career in New Zealand (NZ) as a Social Worker, Policy Adviser, Housing Manager and University Lecturer and worked at different levels in the NZ central and local government. She has undertaken numerous consultancies worked in the development sector in Pacific Islands countries working and living in NZ, New Caledonia, PNG, Solomon Islands and Fiji.
Hon. Ms. Duituturaga has worked with most development partners in the Pacific region – EU, DFAT (previously AusAID); MFAT (NZAID); Asian Development Bank; World Bank; UN Agencies and with a number of Church based and Civil Society Partners in the Asia Pacific region and in Europe.
Hon. Ms. Duituturaga has a Bachelor in Social Work (NZ); a Postgraduate Diploma in Corporate Management (NZ); and a Masters in Business Administration (NZ).
Hon. Ms. Lorraine Seeto
Governance Advisor
Ms. Lorraine Seeto is the Governance Advisor at UNA Fiji. In this role, she provides high-quality leadership guidance, technical support, training to UNA Fiji on Good Governance.
Ms. Seeto is currently the General Manager of the Pacific Corporate Governance Institute (PCGI). The PCGI is endorsed by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, established by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, through the support of the Australian and New Zealand Governments through the Fiji Partnership programme. Ms. Seeto also sits on some boards and committees in Fiji.
Ms. Seeto was with the Reserve Bank of Fiji in an executive role as Chief Manager and Advisor to the Governors. She has also been involved with coordinating events such as the 52nd AGM of the Asian Development Bank in Fiji in May 2019 and various COP and CAPP meetings. She was also associated with the Fiji Institute of Bankers, Fiji Institute of Accountants, University of the South Pacific (USP), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other central banks such as the National Reserve Bank of Tonga and multilateral institutions (World Bank, Bank for International Settlements, etc.)
Ms. Seeto has been awarded the following accolades: Honorary Fellow by Fiji Institute of Bankers, Lifetime Achievement Award by Fiji Institute of Bankers, Women in Business- Excellence and Commitment Award in 2018, and was a Finalist in Leadership in Financial Inclusion 2016 - Alliance for Financial Inclusion. She has also participated in courses and seminars at the International Monetary Fund Institute in Washington D.C., IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute, SEACEN, Swiss National Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia, Asian Development Bank, and Pure Magic.
She holds a Master of Commerce (Economics) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia along with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Accounting) in 1981 from the University of the South Pacific (USP), Suva, Republic of Fiji.
Ms. Seeto when not working loves to expand her network so that she can be more effective in what she does, she also loves relaxing at Moments with friends over a meal and coffee and cake. She enjoys sera net searching for great quotes or jokes and sharing them with friends. Her motto for life is being occupied and adding value to whatever she does. Ms. Seeto is can also speak her Chinese dialect fluently. Originally from Suva City, she still lives in her family house in the City.
Hon. Ms. Natalia Sagrario
Strategic Advisor
Ms. Natalia Sagrario is the Strategic Advisor of UNA Fiji. In this role, she provides specialist advice to UNA Fiji on what we need to do and how to do it in order to achieve our objectives. Ms. Sagrario has previously served UNA Fiji as Co-opted Member of the Executive Committee.
Ms. Sagrario is a Spanish consultant in the field of international development and cooperation with more than 12 years of experience. She has worked for universities, multilateral organizations, national governments, international agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations in more than 40 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the island states of the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. During her consultancies, she has now worked on numerous projects totaling over a billion USD.
She is now an established consultant working for the European Union in monitoring and evaluating and support civil society organizations globally.
Ms. Sagrario acquired a Bachelor in Psychology, with a specialization in Social-Political Psychology from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Spain in 2008. She further completed a Master’s Degree in International Development Cooperation from the University Institute of Development and Cooperation - Complutense University of Madrid (IUDC-UCM), Spain in 2009. She graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Latin American and Caribbean Economies, from The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) in 2010, Furthermore, she has a University Diploma in South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, from the University Institute of Development and Cooperation - Complutense University of Madrid (IUDC-UCM) Spain in 2015. Additionally, she has University Diploma in Humanitarian Action: Concepts, Legislative Framework, and Actors from the Institute of Conflict and Humanitarian Action Studies (IECAH) Spain in 2011.
Ms. Natalia is fluent in Spanish, English, and French languages, with basic knowledge of Italian and German languages as well. She loves reading, is an art and antiquity enthusiast. She loves masala chai and crab curry. She grew up in Mexico but now resides in Madrid.
Hon. Ms. Rebecca Irby
Special Advisor and Representative/Delegate of UNA Fiji
Rebecca Irby is the Founding Partner and President of PEAC Institute. Over the last ten years, Rebecca has served as an education and technology consultant on diversity and cultural awareness initiatives with the NJ Department of Education, Rutgers University, the National Liberty Museum, Nagoya University, and many others. Rebecca also sits on an advisory board incorporating social skills training into the core programs of schools around the United States.
Hon. Mr. Rizwan Hussain
Financial Advisor
Mr. Rizwan Hussain is the Financial Advisor of UNA Fiji. In this role, he provides specialist advice on how to manage our finances. Mr. Hussian has previously served UNA Fiji as Co-opted Member of the Executive Committee.
Mr. Hussain, an initial Educationist is now a Banker with over 17 years of professional banking experience in Fiji. He is currently employed at Merchant Finance Pte Ltd as General Manager Credit and has previously worked for Westpac Banking Corporation and Fiji Development Bank.
During these years in the Banking industry, he has worked on a variety of tasks relating to research, policy and procedures, credit; risk management, treasury; liquidity risks (actuarial), and finance; budget analysis. The tasks have provided him with the knowledge and understanding of Fiji’s focus sectors and relevant development policies, various lending and non-lending products, customer service, customer relationship, financial institutions; markets, financial risk management, business, and international finance.
Mr. Hussain graduated with Post Graduate Diploma in Economics from the Fiji National University in 2020. He acquired a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) from the University of the South Pacific (USP) in 2013, in which he received The Reserve Bank of Fiji Gold Medal for being the outstanding graduate. Before this, he completed a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics and Graduate Certificate in Education in 2007. Mr. Hussain started his career in 2007 as a secondary school teacher at Evanson Learning Centre – Turtle Island, Malolo Islands, Fiji. Where he taught Basic Science, Mathematics & Physics from Year 7 to 13.
Mr. Hussain loves playing soccer and outdoor activities. He usually plays indoor soccer with his friends and colleagues on Sunday mornings. He hails from the Soccer Crazy Town of Ba and now resides in Nasinu.
Hon. Mr. Ronald Rishay Dip
Independent Audit Advisor
Mr. Ronal Rishay Dip is the Independent Audit Advisor for UNA Fiji. His primary role is to assist Officers in establishing the best practices and internal control processes in the financial control system within the Association while promoting efficient operation.
He is currently the Managing Partner at Acuity Accounting & Business Consultants firm.
Mr. Ronal is also currently pursuing a MCom in Professional Accounting from the University of the South Pacific. He holds professional membership with the Fiji Institute of Accountants as Chartered Accountant Member, Full CPA Membership with CPA Australia, and Myob Partner with MYOB Partner Program NZ.
While being an Accounting Professional Mr. Ronal has also served as a technical official/ judge with the South Pacific Bodybuilding Federation, a Member of the World bodybuilding & Physique sports federation (WBPF) Affiliated with the Pacific Games Council 2018-2020. He has also served as the Treasurer of the Fiji Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation. He has completed numerous sports management training during his time with Fiji Bodybuilding.