Dr Maka, an International Development Consultant, returns to Tonga with a wealth of experience after working in the region for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Fiji, from 2004-2015, where she was the Head of a Community Development Program and Senior Technical Adviser to the Division of Education, Training and Human Development. She was on various regional committees, including the Univeristy of the South Pacific's TVET Standards and Quality Committee, and was SPC's representative to the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific Human Resource Development Committee (CROP).

Dr Maka began her civil service career in 1984 as Assistant Teacher Graduate with the Ministry of Education and moved up to various senior positions before joining USP as a lecturer in 2000.

She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Language Education and a Master in Education from the University of Nottingham, England, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics from Macquarie University in Australia.