She attended Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland and, in 1998, won a New Zealand Radio Award for her work with another girl on a feature for the Te Puutake youth radio show.
Since 2007, she has had a wide range of roles, including with the Teachers Eastern Rugby Club; as a marketing consultant with Tonga Rugby Union at the same time as her husband was coaching in Tonga; with Auckland Council; with Auckland University; with the Samoan Sports Association and with the Waiheke Island Recreation Centre.
At the same time, she worked with her husband in a consultancy firm that provided community development support and heritage management.
Together with Motu Tony, Kevin Senio and Cynthia Ta'ala, Atiga is a founder-member of the Pacific Advisory Group, which was set up in 2017 to help bridge the gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika players involved in rugby in Auckland.
The plans fell through but the company continues to seek the opportunity to place a team in other competitions.