Kamehameha Schools is cultivating leaders to care for Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources through its First Nations’ Futures Program (FNFP).
The 2014-2015 cohort of the fellowship program encompasses a diverse group of professionals including a land planner, a legislative advisor, and a farm manager. All are eager to learn leadership skills through case studies and place-based research projects.
“My kuleana is not only to feed people, but to grow the future leaders of Hawaiʻi through the practice of aloha ʻāina,” says fellow Kaui Sana, a manager at Waiʻanae’s MAʻO Organic Farms.
“I am humbled and excited to be part of the First Nations’ Futures Program. I look forward to working with my fellows, sharing our collective knowledge and creating opportunities for our community.”
At their orientation, the fellows met with one another and decided upon an inoa, or name for their cohort: Papa Mālamalama. The members of Papa Mālamalama are:
Keli‘i Kapali
Kapili is a graduate of KS Kapālama. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Hawai‘i and is currently a planner for PBR Hawai‘i.
Kauanoe Batangan
Batangan is a KS Maui graduate. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in Native American studies from Stanford University and serves as a legislative correspondent for U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.
Daniel Ornellas
Ornellas is a graduate of St. Anthony Schools and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Hawai‘i. He is the Maui District land agent for the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Māhealaniokapualehua Kauahi
Kauahi is a Waiākea High School graduate and earned a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and anthropology and a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Kauahi is a Hawaiian resource specialist in KS’ ‘Āina-Based Education Department.
Kaui Sana
Sana is a graduate of Waiʻanae High School. She holds an associate’s degree in liberal arts with a certificate in community food security from Leeward Community College, and a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies from the University of Hawai‘i. She is a farm manager at MAʻO Organic Farms.
Le‘ahi Davis Naone Hall
Hall is a graduate of Kula Kaiapuni o Maui, a Hawaiian language immersion school. She holds a bachelor’s degree in cultural and social anthropology from Stanford University and has served as a youth volleyball coach and outreach and admissions coordinator.
“We have another young, aspiring group of emerging servant leaders primed to learn and contribute,” says B.J. Awa, a KS ‘Āina-Based Education administrator and an FNFP program director. “These fellows look forward to what awaits them for the rest of the program year as they continue to invest their time to grow as individuals and as a team in order to further give back to their communities and our greater lāhui.”
Read more about these exceptional leaders on the Papa Mālamalama web page. The fellows are currently attending the First Nations’ Futures Institute at Stanford University from October 19-31. Like the FNFP page on Facebook to get a sneak peek into their learning experience.
The KS Land Assets Division created the First Nations’ Futures Program in 2006 to inspire and grow leaders with culturally aligned land and resource management skill sets. For an in-depth look at the program, read the story in KS’ I Mua magazine or go to www.fnfp.org.
Fellows practice aloha ‘āina by clearing an area to make a trail at Kaʻūpūlehu in North Kona.
Cohort members stand along the shore to learn more about Kalaemanō on Hawai‘i island.
The fellows spend a day in San Francisco before the start of the First Nations' Futures Institute at Stanford University.
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