• Native Hawaiian Perspectives Webinar

    May 26, 2023
    Native Hawaiian Perspectives Webinar: Native Hawaiians Are Moving Out of State
    Date & Time:     May 31, 2023 12:00 PM  in  
    Description: Join us on Wednesday, May 31 at 12 pm HST as Native Hawaiian Perspectives returns with a new panel discussion focusing on the topic, "Native Hawaiians Are Moving Out of State. What are the factors causing this?  How can we remedy? What will bring them back?"

    Native Hawaiian Perspectives will bring fresh native Hawaiian voices and new perspectives forward. The conversation will be moderated by Jacqui Hoover, Hawaii Island Economic Development Board Executive Director.

    Hawaii Island Economic Development Board is honored to announce panelists for the upcoming webinar set for May 31 at noon HST. The conversation will be moderated by Jacqui Hoover, HIEDB Executive Director.

    Former OHA Trustee Peter Apo - Peter Apo is president of The Peter Apo Company, providing Hawaiian cultural planning consulting services. A founding member of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, Apo has served as its past chairman and Director of Culture & Education. His career in public service began in 1975 with election as first chair of the Waianae Neighborhood Board. He was elected to the first Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and served as a member of the State House of Representatives for 14 years.
     
    Mahina Paishon-Duarte - Mahina Paishon-Duarte is co-founder and chief executive officer of Waiwai Collective, a regenerative urban oasis, a kīpuka, for creatively growing community, culture, and commerce. As a social entrepreneur who has also led several educational and cultural organizations, her vision and mission are one and the same––to catalyze positive, lasting change for Hawaii in one generation.
        Today, Mahina is a part of the 'Āina Aloha Economic Futures movement to address long-standing socio-economic inequities that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored; and to bring to life a resilient economy through our core value of 'āina aloha—a deep and abiding love for Hawai'i’s communities and natural environments.
     
    Sheldeen Haleamau - Sheldeen Haleamau was born and raised in Hanapepe Kauai, across the street from the famous swinging bridge in Hanapepe Town. She is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and graduated from UH Hilo in 1990.
        Sheldeen resides in Las Vegas with her husband Gary and three adult children. She works at The Venetian Las Vegas, sings with her family band Kawili and was awarded the Nevada Heritage Award in 2014.
     
    Samuel Wilder King II - Samuel Wilder King II is a Native Hawaiian attorney born and raised in Honolulu. Sam specializes in real estate, land use, and contracts law.  
        Sam graduated from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service with a degree in Middle East Regional Studies in 2006. After a short stint working in Afghanistan, he returned to Hawaii to attend UH Law School, graduating Cum Laude in 2013 as an East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellow with a professional certificate in Urban Planning. He is currently back in private legal practice with a focus on real estate development.
        Sam is the executive director of 3 Native Hawaiian non-profit organizations focusing on astronomy and human rights. He is also a humble volunteer with the Friends of Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa. Sam is married to Tiffany King, a local girl whose grandfather was in the 442nd, and a proud father of two boys born and being raised in Hawaii.
     
    Malama Solomon
        Malama Solomon of Waimea has strived to address the tangled issues that keiki to kupuna of Hawaiian ancestry have struggled with for generations. Born to a family with a revered 160-year hula legacy dating back to the Kalakaua dynasty, while also being hard-working stewards of the land as ranchers and farmers who were always involved in community issues, she chose to complement her hula training and ranch upbringing with academic studies that earned her a BA in Cultural Anthropology from UH-Hilo, a B.Ed in Secondary Education from UH-Manoa, and a Ph.D. in Educational Foundations from Oregon State University. 
        Malama was elected a founding Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and subsequently elected to the State Senate. She has served in leadership positions both in public office and Democratic Party of Hawai’i for 35 years, and is a strong advocate for Hawaiian affairs, education and agriculture. She has dedicated her life to trying to develop solutions to give the next generations of Hawai’i’s children choices and hope while maintaining their connections to the land and their cultural heritage. 
     
    Moderator: Jacqui Hoover
    Born and raised on Hawaii Island, Jacqui Hoover serves concurrently as President of Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference and as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board.  
        She currently serves on the Military Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, Pohakuloa Training Area Community Advisory Group, State of Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Steering Committee, Hawaii Aerospace Advisory Committee and other boards and commissions.