For the past 30 years she has been engaged in archaeology of the Pacific, especially in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Sāmoa. She was the project leader of the extensive excavations at Pulemelei mound (2002–2004), and since then been involved in higher education, heritage management and archaeological investigations in Sāmoa. In 2011, she was appointed Adjunct Professor at the National University of Sāmoa, and also has an affiliation as a visiting research fellow to the Australian National University (2001, 2015–17).