Jake Fitisemanu

Fitisemanu was born in Wellington, New Zealand and raised in Hawaii and Utah. He is the oldest of eight children, raised by an American mother with Korean and Chinese ancestry, Karen Jun Lin Dang, and a Samoan father, Sauaga Jacob Fitisemanu. He earned a Bachelor of Science in social studies and a Masters of Public Health from Westminster University. == Career ==

Public health and early political career Fitisemanu has over 15 years of professional experience working in public health and clinical administration in both the state government and private hospital system sectors. He has taught as an associate instructor at the University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College and has authored several peer-reviewed publications, including a textbook chapter. He co-founded the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition in 2011, where he worked to combat high rates of obesity and diabetes in the local Pacific Islander community. President Barack Obama appointed him to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, where he served until his resignation in 2017. He and Verona Mauga, are the first Samoan Americans elected to the Utah State Legislature. == Personal life ==

Fitisemanu and his wife, Lucia Carvalho, and their two daughters reside in West Valley City, Utah. He holds the registered Samoan chiefly title "Laufou," bestowed upon him by the village of Toamua-Puipa'a. His father, Jacob Fitisemanu Sr., successfully ran for two terms as president of the Samoan Community Council of Utah and spearheaded notable Polynesian community initiatives, including the building of the first cricket pitch in Utah (at Southridge Park in Taylorsville). His relative, John, was a plaintiff in Fitisemanu v. United States. == Electoral history ==