La`i`opua 2020 Appoints Kawehi Inaba as Executive Director
KONA, HAWAI`I – La`i`ōpua 2020 (L2020) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kawehi Inaba as its Executive Director.
Inaba, who has worked with L2020 for more than 18 months, is a resident of the ahupua`a of Kohanaiki in Kona. An experienced entrepreneur and business owner, Ms. Inaba founded and operated Mokulele Airlines, which was recognized by OHA in 2003 as the Native Hawaiian Business of the Year, in addition to other accolades nationwide. After selling Mokulele, she created Kūpaʻa Business Planners, a firm offering strategic business planning and marketing, and served as the Director of the County Department of Research and Development under the Billy Kenoi administration.
As Executive Director, Inaba will work with L2020’s Board of Directors to ensure the organization’s mission and goals are met. She will oversee the operations, programs, and projects of the organization, including Ululoa Hale, its membership-based coworking center, the building of a community wa`a, the establishment of a community programs centered on the canoe, youth and cultural programs to benefit Native Hawaiians as well as the broader community.
L2020, located in the Kealakehe Ahupua`a on Hawaiian Homelands, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide social, recreational, vocational, economic, educational, and cultural opportunities and infrastructure to Native Hawaiians to include the communities of the Kealakehe ahupua`a. It is a place for pilina (building and supporting one another through relationships) and pu`uhonua (a place of comfort, peace, and safety). For more information about La`i`ōpua 2020, visit its website, Laiopua.org, or call 808.327.1221.
Kawehi Inaba, Executive Director
La`i`ōpua 2020