Carmela is a retired military veteran with combined services in the U.S Army and Air National Guard in radio communications.

Carmela currently works for the Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). Her ties to Kaho’olawe Kanaloa span over two decades. First as a Land Surveyor during the UXO Clearance Project and currently a GIS/IT Specialists for the KIRC.

She is a student of oli in Hālau Na Hanona Kūlike `O Pi`ilani for nearly 17 years. Her diverse life experiences has exposed her to different cultures and its people. It has made her appreciate our people, our culture and made her realize how precious our traditions are. It is her life kuleana to use the skillsets and experience that she has acquired for the betterment of our lāhui.

Wayne is a “recovering technologist” with over 30 years of Information Technology experience. He currently utilizes his entrepreneur expertise as the Director of the Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Maui Center, providing no-cost business counseling, advice and training to Maui County. He enables small businesses to succeed.

He is also a co-founder and co-producer of the 4-time Grammy Award winning live concert series “Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar”. He currently resides in ʻIao Valley on Maui.

Mr. Wong graduated from Kamehameha High Schools (Kapālama), holds a BS degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Puget Sound.

Carol was born in Kula Moku and raised in Honua’ula Moku in the Ahupua ‘a of Mo ‘oloa on the island of Maui. She attended Ulupalakua School, Kihei School, and Kamehameha Schools. She has a B.A. Sociology with an emphasis in Psychology. After a thirty-year career in the private and public sector, she was hired as the Commission Assistant for the Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) in 2000, She retired as KIRC’s Administrative Officer in 2019. Her work with KIRC and as a student of Halau Na Hanona Kulike O Pi`ilani has inspired her to firmly reestablish a deeper connection to where she comes from and who she is. She continues to seek enlightenment, bring honor to those who have laid a strong foundation, and to strengthen that foundation for generations to come. In addition to Hawai’i, she has lived in the mainland United States and Germany.

Leilani was born in Honolulu, growing up both in Kalihi Valley and Makaha on the island of Oʻahu. She attended Kamehameha Schools for 6 years and then was uprooted with her ʻohana, seeking improved work and living opportunities on the mainland. Three days after graduating from high school, she started working for the government which started her 50-year employment history in several different industries. Leilani, her husband and two children lived in Hayward, California. During this time she earned a BS in Accounting, BS in Finance and a BS in Hospitality Management from Cal State University, Hayward. She also started on a Master’s of Accountancy program at St. Mary’s College.

In 2017, Leilani retired and moved to Maui to take care of her ʻohana in Haiku. During this time she has worked for several non-profit organizations in Maui without compensation as a way to give back to society that can use her help in Accounting. She has been a member of Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ‘O Pi‘ilani for 5 years as a student in both Oli and Hula which has helped her get back to her roots and culture.

Joylynn is a Native Hawaiian who has a Hawaiian family history on Maui that lasts for generations. In 1994, she graduated from Kamehameha and continued her education at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo where she received her Bachelors in Marine Science with an emphasis in Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies in 1998. For over 25 years, she has been fluent in the Hawaiian language and she and her husband are currently raising their three children in Hawaiian immersion schools. In 2016, she joined Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ‘O Pi‘ilani as a mea oli (chanter) which appealed greatly toward her desire to be a cultural practitioner whose life would be enhanced through cultural ‘ike (knowledge) and the use of ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language).

Throughout her career, she has taken on many leadership roles with Maui nonprofits and environmental organizations including: Kimokeo Foundation, ‘Ao‘ao O Nā Loko I‘a O Maui, Nā Leo Pūlama ‘o Maui, Nā Leo Kāko‘o ‘o Maui, Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, Maui Invasive Species Committee and NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Paul is a child of Maui, born and raised in Puʻuohala, Wailuku. He cherished his youthful experiences with his grandparents on their family land in Kalapana on Hawaiʻi Island, and his love of ʻāina stewardship stems from garnering family sustanance primarily from the land and the sea. After graduating from Kaʻahumanu Hou, he served in the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard for seven years and worked for Boeing at the Maui Space Surveillance Site on top of Haleakalā for over a decade. He and his wife, Kekai, have three sons and currently reside in Waiehu Kou. He is a hula and oli practitioner of Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻo Piʻilani and he enjoys a variety of hana noʻeau, skilled traditional Hawaiian practices, including kōkō puʻupuʻu, kālai pōhaku and kālai lāʻau. He worked at ISI Hawaiʻi Water Solutions from 2013 - 2022 as an irrigation and waterworks specialist and currently works at Rojac Construction as a Project Manager.

Dennis was born and raised in Burbank in Southern California. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Geology from California State University at Northridge. He attended UCLA towards a MS in Computer Science. Kamana`o has worked in the telecommunication and computer field for the past 31 years. He moved to Maui in 2005 with his Maui born wife, Makanalei, and two of their children, Hōkūmālie and Kananiokapualokelani. He has been involved in numerous non-profit organizations on Maui over the past 12 years. He is a student of Hālau Na Hanona Kūlike `O Pi`ilani