NEWS RELEASE

Kamehameha Schools names Jason Jeremiah director of natural and cultural resources

Jason Jeremiah

Kamehameha Schools (KS) has named Jason Jeremiah director of its Natural and Cultural Resources (NCR) department. NCR is part of the Statewide Operations Division in the Community Engagement & Resources Group (CE&R), a recent addition to the KS organizational structure.

CE&R works to connect Kamehameha’s educational services, its lands, and the resources of each community to support Hawai‘i’s educational system and improve the wellbeing of people and place, region-by-region.

Jeremiah will be responsible for leading the NCR team in implementing KS’ Cultural Resources Management Plan and Natural Resources Management Plan, which seek to connect people to place and promote Hawaiian identity as part of Kamehameha’s Strategic Plan 2020 (SP2020); titled Kūhanauna.

“Jason began his career with Kamehameha Schools as an intern with the Land Legacy Resources department, the predecessor of today’s Wahi Kūpuna Program, and also the Land Information Systems department, the predecessor of today’s Enterprise Information Management and Services Division,” said Sydney Keli‘ipuleole, KS director of statewide operations. “He has a wide breadth of knowledge and I am confident in his abilities as we move ahead with Kūhanauna,” Keli‘ipuleole added.

Jeremiah has worked as a policy advocate for native rights, land and culture for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and his experience at Kamehameha Schools includes cultural resources planner/analyst and cultural resources senior manager and most recently interim director of NCR. He was part of the KS cultural resources team that completed the Cultural Resources Management Plan, which set the standard for treatment of iwi kūpuna (ancestral remains) via collaboration with lineal descendants, and helped develop field schools on KS lands for UH archaeological students.

These actions are directly in line with CE&R’s goals to cultivate a strong Native Hawaiian identity to instill confidence and resiliency in Hawaiian learners and to inform decision making and actions within our organization, for the improvement of the well-being of the Lāhui (people).

“I am excited and honored to guide our natural and cultural resources programs that will ensure the health and vitality of Pauahi‘s ‘āina and connect our Lāhui in the stewardship of our resources to strengthen Native Hawaiian identity,” Jeremiah said.

Born and raised in Kailua, Jeremiah is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and holds a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He also successfully completed Kamehameha School’s First Nations Future Program as member of the third cohort, Papa ‘Ōhi‘a Lehua.

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