Kamakanaokealoha Aquino

Native Hawaiian Coordinator, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative

I am from Waimānalo, Oʻahu and the first in my ʻohana to graduate from college. I graduated with a BA Hawaiian Studies and a MEd in Educational Administration, with a focus in higher education Read More

Meda Chesney-Lind, Ph.D.

Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Meda Chesney-Lind, Ph.D. is Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawaii. Nationally recognized for her work on women and crime, her testimony before Congress resulted in national support of gender responsive programming for girls in the juvenile justice system. Read more

Michael Endres, Ph.D.

Faculty, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Social Sciences Research Institute, Vice President, Breaking Boundaries Recovery Services

I am a clinically-trained research psychologist and data scientist working in both the academic and public sector. Read more

Noelani Goodyear-Kaopua

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

He Kanaka Maoli Hawaiʻi au. ʻO Oʻahu kuʻu one hānau. My interest in the political stems from my earliest days, as a keiki born to young activists who were also UH undergraduates. Read More

Elaine Hicks

Project Coordinator, Honolulu County Offender Reentry Project, Adjunct Lecturer Social Work at University of Hawaiʻi

Elaine Hicks is a licensed clinical social worker and substance abuse counselor in the state of Hawaii. More than 10 years in the mental health field providing an array of services including case management, counseling, coaching, psychosocial rehabilitation, compassion fatigue prevention for mental health and substance use counselors. Read more

Kenneth Lawson

Co-Director, Hawai’i Innocence Project and Faculty Specialist, William S. Richardson Law School at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Ken Lawson is the Co-Director of the Hawai’i Innocence Project and a Faculty Specialist at the William S. Richardson Law School where he teaches Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Professional Responsibility, Evidence, and Hawai‘i Innocence Project. Read more

Dan Milz, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Matsunaga Peace Institute at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Dr. Dan Milz is an Assistant Professor with a dual appointment in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Dr. Milz studies the science and politics of environmental planning by analyzing how people think about ecological systems as they make plans and propose new policies.

Camille Nelson

Dean, William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Camille Nelson has long been an outstanding member of the legal community. Prior to her appointment as Dean of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law Dean Nelson served as Dean of American University Washington College of Law (“WCL”). Read more

Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio

Assistant Professor, University of Hawai’i Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

I am a Kanaka Maoli aloha ʻāina educator, activist, and artist whose ʻohana has been living, working, and bettering Hawaiʻi since time immemorial. My kūpuna were aliʻi, makaʻāinana, activists, educators, firefighters, laborers, pastors, artists, composers, community organizers, social service providers, storytellers, and weavers. Read More

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, Ph.D.

Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Dr. Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio is Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Dr. Osorio received his PhD in History from the University of Hawaiʻi. At Kamakakūokalani, he has developed and taught classes in history, literature, law as culture, music as historical texts, and research methodologies for and from indigenous peoples. Read more

Wendell Perry

Assistant Professor, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Wendell Kekailoa Perry is an assistant professor at the Hawai‘inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. He is an emerging kanaka maoli scholar and new leader in higher education.

Lorinda Riley, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Public Health, School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Dr. Lorinda Riley holds a joint appointment with Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health at the Office of Public Health Studies and Kamakakūolani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Dr. Riley’s research interest is on indigenous conceptions of wellbeing as well as policies related to indigenous social determinants of health.

Cathi Ho Schar

Assistant Professor, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture, Director, University of Hawai’i Community Design Center

Cathi Ho Schar FAIA is an Assistant Professor, licensed architect, and the inaugural director for the University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (UHCDC), a teaching practice established by the School of Architecture as a platform for faculty, staff, and students to work on public interest projects at the intersection of the university, government, and community. Read more

Laurel Mei-Singh

Assistant Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Born and raised near Lēahi on Oʻahu, I developed a fascination with the mutual relationship between humans and the environment and eventually earned a PhD in Geography. Now, my teaching and research uncover the dynamic relationship between environmental processes and social formations that include racial capitalism, indigeneity, and militarism. Read More

Aviam Soifer

Professor, past dean, William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Professor Soifer received his law degree from Yale Law School in 1972. He also holds B.A. cum laude (1969) and Masters of Urban Studies (1972) degrees from Yale. While in law school, he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal, a director of the Law School Film Society, and a director of the Legal Services Organization. Read more

Ty Kawika P. Tengan

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Social Sciences University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

I entered the fields of anthropology and ethnic studies because I had many questions about the nature of Hawaiian culture and nationhood, and I felt the best way to find these answers was through ethnographic (immersive, community-based) research and engagement. Read More

Kat Brady

Coordinator, Community Alliance on Prisons

Kat is a community advocate for justice who is actively engaged in bringing the community’s voice into venues where it has rarely been heard. She works to increase civic literacy, public participation, and to reform public policy. Her areas of focus include environmental, cultural, and social justice issues. Read more

Michael Broderick

Member, Honolulu Police Commission

Broderick is currently the CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu. Previously, he presided over more than 10,000 cases involving families and children as a judge. He has also served as the director of the Hawaii State Judiciary, overseeing the day to day operations of the courts, and the director of the Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution. Read more

Vincent Borja

Project Coordinator, Interagency Council on Intermediate Sanctions

Hawaiʻi State Senator Donovan Dela Cruz

Hawaiʻi State Senator, District 22

Donovan M. Dela Cruz, is a state senator from District 22, which encompasses Wahiawa, Mililani Mauka, Launani Valley, Waipio Acres, and Wheeler. Senator Dela Cruz is Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and a Member on the Committee on Education. Read More

Hawaiʻi State Representative Sonny Ganaden

Hawaiʻi State Representative, District 30

Prior to elected office, Representative Ganaden has been a lawyer, college instructor, journalist, youth mentor, and artist. As a lawyer, he has been a staff attorney at the Domestic Violence Action Center, a court-appointed attorney with the District Court, and handled civil litigation for small businesses. Read More

Ciara Lacy

Filmmaker

Ciara Lacy's interest lies in crafting films that use strong characters and investigative journalism to challenge the creative and political status quo. She has created content for film and television, managed managed independent features, as well as coordinated product placement and clearances for various platforms. Read more

Nikos Leverenz

President, Board of Directors at Drug Policy Forum of Hawaiʻi

Heather Lusk, MSW

Executive Director, Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center

Heather Lusk, MSW, is the Executive Director of the Hawai'i Health and Harm Reduction Center which works to reduce harm, promote health, create wellness and fight stigma in Hawaii and the Pacific. Read More

Robert Merce

Vice-chair, House Concurrent Resolution 85 Task Force on Prison Reform, Attorney, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation

Robert Merce is a retired attorney. He served as vice-chair of the House Concurrent Resolution 85 Task Force on Prison Reform and was the principal author of the group's final report to the 2019 Legislature. Read More

Kamaile Maldonado

Advocate

Kamaile Maldonado was raised in Halawa and her ʿohana has roots in Kakaʿako. She has two B.A.s with honors in Sociology and Intercultural Communication from Pepperdine University and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Read More

Mark Patterson

Administrator, Kawailoa Youth & Family Wellness Center, Former Warden, Women’s Community Correctional Center, Member, Hawaiʻi Correctional System Oversight Commission

Mark is the current Administrator of the Kawailoa Youth & Family Wellness Center (formerly the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility) and former Warden of the Women’s Community Correctional Center. He is known for his work in Trauma Informed Care within a Correctional Environment. Read more

Justice Michael Wilson

Associate Justice, Hawai’i Supreme Court

Associate Justice Michael Wilson was appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court on April 17, 2014, after serving as a Circuit Court Judge of the First Circuit since May 10, 2000. As a Circuit Court Judge, he presided over adult drug court, adult mental health court and the felony criminal trial court. Read more