Team

Louise “Isa” Fonua is a Community Health Worker (CHW) and a CalFresh Enroller at APIFM. As a Tongan American, Isa has always had a passion to give to communities through service. She splits her time between the Community Health Worker team and Enroll LA team. As a CHW, she works to foster healthier Pacific Islander communities in the South Bay through preventive measures such as vaccinations, taste tests, and food distributions. She also works as a CalFresh Enroller to help promote and enroll community members into CalFresh.

Her work would not be possible without the continuous support of the Asian Youth Center for CalFresh enrollment and the different Pacific Islander churches such as Malamalama ole lalolagi church where we have been able to do food distributions, health clinics, and focus groups on exploring different eating habits within the Samoan Community. We have also worked with other churches in the South Bay such as Dominguez Samoan Congregational Christian Church in Compton, Hope United Methodist Church in Long Beach, and Knollwood United Methodist Church in Granada Hills.

Isa is a SoCal native. Having Tongan immigrant parents who had to navigate the shores of opportunity in the United States inspired Isa to pursue her education and give back to the communities she works with. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Asian American Studies from California State University, Northridge and a Master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Student Development in Higher Education from California State University, Long Beach. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family, thrift shopping, playing pickleball, volleyball, and trying new vegetarian dishes.