Damon Salesa is a scholar of Pacific politics, history, technology, culture and society. His work includes the prizewinning book Racial Crossings, a number of academic chapters and articles, and Tangata o le Moana (co-editor). He is currently completing a Marsden Research Project on technological, social and cultural change in Samoa. A graduate of the University of Auckland and Oxford, he was previously based at the University of Michigan. A Samoan born and raised in Glen Innes, Auckland, he is currently University Director of Pacific Strategy and Engagement and Associate Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland.