Karibaiti Taoaba is the Pacific Regional Director for the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF). Based in Suva, Fiji, she has been in this role, strengthening democratic local governments to support sustainable development across 10 Pacific Islands Countries, since 2009. Before joining CLGF, Karibaiti worked for the Government of Kiribati for 18 years. She has served as the Permanent Secretary for three ministries in Kiribati, including the President's Office. As Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs, Karibaiti had oversight for the overall implementation of policies and administration to support the country’s 22 islands and 3 urban local governments.
Karibaiti holds a BA in Administration and Politics from the University of the South Pacific and an MSc (Human Resource Development) from Victoria University, Manchester, UK.