Summer 2023
Pomaika’i Ah Mook Sang grew up in Papakolea on the island of O’ahu where she enjoyed Homestead life and continues this lifestyle on the island of Molokai in Ho’olehua. She will be a part of the Sustainable Molokai Mahi’ai Moa program raising boiler chickens to feed her family and community. She has two children and will be a part-time accounting student at UHMC Molokai in August 2023. She is currently a Program Assistant with INPEACE and enjoys assisting with the education and healthy development of the island’s keiki. Pomaika’i is celebrating her 8th year of recovery and is inspired and motivated by the OD2A-C3 program. She looks forward to being a peer support to those in our community who are struggling with SUDs.
Kawena Bagano is a Native Hawaiian resident and speaker, born and raised on the island of Kauaʻi along with Waimānalo, Oʻahu. She currently resides in Hanamāʻulu, Kauaʻi with her two keiki. Kawena has dedicated most of her life and career in helping to revitalize and perpetuate the Native Hawaiian Language and Culture through education and prevention services. She currently serves as a Program Specialist for Alu Likeʻs High Risk-Reduction Hoʻāla Hou Program, servicing Hawaiian focused Charter Schools. She also serves as the Program Coordinator for an early-intervention program with Keala Foundation, which serves youths who are struggling with substance use. She also served in the Mental Health field as a Crisis Specialist for five years. She is dedicated to helping to create safe, thriving, drug-free communities and serves on the Advisory Board of the Stateʻs Hawaiʻi Alcohol Policy Alliance Coalition along with Papa Ola Lōkahiʻs Culture and Addictions Advisory Council. She hopes to gain more ʻike or knowledge on best practices to be applied in her current field of prevention through this Overdose to Action Workforce Team. She is a current Graduate student at the Grand Canyon University and is looking forward to graduating with her Masters of Science degree in Mental Health and Wellness this Fall of 2023. She holds a B.S. degree in Psychology through Liberty University and an A.A. degree in Liberal Arts from Kauaʻi Community College. She also attended UH Hilo and studied Hawaiian Studies for two years before changing majors.
Hampton Davis is currently pursuing an Associate’s degree as a Liberal Arts major at the University of Hawaii Maui Community College. He plans to continue his Electrical Engineering education this coming spring. His family has resided on the island of Molokai for a hefty period. Hampton has spent half of his life on Moloka’i and the other half on Oʻahu at Kamehameha boarding school. With this lifestyle, he noticed the drastic effects that awareness can bring throughout all issues. By pushing to learn about the concepts surrounding drug abuse and drug awareness, he hopes to become a reliable resource for the citizens of Hawaiʻi.
Jason Delgado: was born and raised in Los Angeles California. Growing up he spent his summers with his ʻohana on Kauai before moving there right after high school in the early 90s. He specializes in yard maintenance as well as construction and has built up his clientele on the Island of Molokai over the past 10 years. He enjoys the fact that he can work outside and soak up the beauty of Molokai each day. His daughters, ages 12 and 13, keep him on his toes as they become young impressionable teens. As we all know Keiki these days are not only experiencing but experimenting with things that back in his day, were not only done by a much older crowd but were less potent, addictive, damaging, and lethal than they are today. This has resulted in a higher percentage rate that has skyrocketed more than ever before. Because of this, he strives to continue to learn about these ever-changing matters as well as use and apply the tools that he has learned thus far about addiction, substance abuse, and most importantly, prevention in the challenges our community faces today. Keeping his ʻohana, as well as the community, safe and informed is his top priority.
Esther “Lokelani” Kuhaulua was born in Lihue, and raised in Anahola on the island of Kaua’i . She graduated from Kapa’a High and Intermediate School with honors. She took business courses through UH Hilo and has a desire to learn ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi. As someone who has gone through many struggles and has been incarcerated, she knows the dangers of substance abuse and its toll on ʻohana and the community. She knows the value of pilina and hopes to be the support she didn’t have to those who have been in her shoes.
Michelle-Lyn “Hoku” Luuloa was born and raised on Molokaʻi. Her roots are tied to Kamiloloa. She enjoys spending time with her family and caring for others through chore work services. She has experience working within her family’s construction and carpentry business. Hoku knows how substance abuse affects relationships and wrecks families. She sees the need in her community for more education and support services. Hokus’ desire for Molokai’s youth is for them to refrain from drug use and the dangerous path that it leads to. She looks forward to being a part of this cohort.
Lani McKenna was born and raised in Mauka – remote Wailua Falls of rural Kauai, and came upon the McKenna Recovery Center after a decade of being away returning to find her own healing from a broken heart. That journey would bring her to a job at the McKenna Recovery Center, where she found light a passion for addiction treatment, love and partnership and seven years later, decided to pursue her graduate degree in social work. And holding dear to her heart, the legacy of her late husband after Gerald McKenna, MD, DFASAM, DLAPA, a psychiatrist who was nurtured in his education and own pursuit in community psychiatry, to serve others despite focusing in addiction treatment, he always kept slots open to provide psychiatric consult for primary care patients, behavioral health providers, forensic evaluations for the courts, pilots and the only psychiatrist on island to serve consults for the a local hospital on demand, even when the clients were not his patients. To grow the Legacy left behind by her late husband. She now endeavors to facilitate the establishment of an intensive outpatient treatment program for HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION via telehealth and beyond for not just Kauai but statewide.
Ashton Naehu, like many Moloka’i babies, was born on O’ahu but raised on the island of Moloka’i. He is the oldest of 3 boys. He is a high school senior at Molokai High School and has taken Early College courses at UHMC, getting a jump start on college, and earning dual credits for high school and college. He is passionate about the outdoors, fishing, diving, and hunting which provides food for his family. He is potentially interested in a Maritime career. Ashton’s family has been affected by substance use and he is interested in learning how to help his family and community live drug-free. He hopes to pass on the knowledge he gains in the OD2A-C3 Program to those who want a better life.
Vanalouise Naehu was born and raised on the island of Molokai. She is a 7th generation native from the Ahupuaʻa of Kamalo. She is a homemaker and small business owner who loves the Lord Jesus Christ. She loves her island home and wishes to keep the Molokai culture alive and well. What she hopes to gain from these workshops is the knowledge from those who help others with addiction. She hopes to one day use this knowledge and help bring those who seek the Lord closer to him.
Carla Leolani Ritte-Hanchett, an AmeriCorps Alumni, was born and raised on Moloka’i and grew up in the Ritte’s Molokai Mortuary with her 5 siblings. After having her first baby at age 17, she moved to Maui and graduated from Baldwin High School. Currently she and her husband, Michael, have 8 children, 23 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. Carla has also lived in Lihue, Kauai, Kaupo and Hana, Maui and currently lives in Hoolehua, Molokai. Carla worked at Kualapu’u School as a Student-Parent Involvement Facilitator as well as Part-time Teacher for the Chapter1 Program helping children who struggled with reading. She then went on to work with pregnant and parenting women with alcohol/drug addiction through Salvation Army Family Treatment Services before embracing her dream job with Queen Liliu’okalani Children’s Center until retiring in 2016. There she worked as a Community Building Facilitator, with orphaned and destitute children and their families one on one, in groups and in community to build healthy and resilient children, nurturing families, and strong supportive community. Carla’s participation in the OD2A-C3 program is a continuation of her desire to learn and grow so she can more effectively love and serve her family and her community.
Cheri Rivera was born in Hanmond, Indiana and raised in upcountry Maui. She moved to Molokai in 2013 where she has embraced the homestead living lifestyle. She has an adult daughter and lost her son to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2020 at the age of 15. Cheri enjoys the outdoors and kalo farming and is looking forward to raising livestock. Cheri has escaped domestic violence and experienced the effects of substance abuse in her ʻohana and community and is passionate about learning about how to best help those who suffer from addiction. Cheri hopes to serve her community in the realm of prevention for Molokai’s youth.
U’ilani Schaefer was born and raised on the island of Moloka’i. She has received her certificate of completion in nurses aide and has worked in healthcare as a CNA/HHA for over 10 years. She is currently a homemaker and a mother of three daughters. She also owns and operates a small business from home creating inspirational Jewelry and detail trinkets. She loves her island Moloka’i and wants to see it thrive. She believes we all have our own “addictions” in one way or another, great or small, and would like to obtain knowledge and strategies from this program to further educate, help, and guide her community.
Correna Pawn Simao: My ancestral roots on my paternal fathers side goes back to Olowalu Maui, to Waikapu Both paternal grandparents were farmer and grew taro, sweet potato, and various vegetables and fruit. My grandparents were John Kamahele Pawn and Maraea Ka’ae. They moved to Molokai and were one of the first families to harvest Hoolehua Homestead. From my grandparents my father was one of 11 children from this union and he remained on this island living on the same homestead we call Lot 47. My parents raised 5 children on Molokai. Some of us stayed, some of us left and some returned. My current occupation is American Sign Language Deaf Interpreter ( self employed). My aspiration is to help people overcome drug addiction and to contribute to my aina as my promise to my tutu. She told me to go get an education and return to give back to my people. I hope to gain all the knowledge I can through this training and maybe go back to school to obtain my masters in the field of social work or psychology.
Erika Starkey was born on O’ahu and raised in Ho’olehua on homestead on the island of Molokaʻi. She graduated from Molokai High School and spent time on the Big Island. She has 3 children and enjoys working outdoors. She is a free-spirit and enjoys helping those she encounters. Erika is on her own journey of recovery and understands Molokaʻi’s unique challenges, including the need for more services for those suffering with mental health issues and substance use disorder. She hopes to see more resources available to all residents to provide healthy alternatives to substance use.
Mariah-ShayeTraxler: is a Hawaiian-Caucasian born on the island of Oʻahu, but blessed to be raised on the beautiful island of Molokaʻi. She is a mother of two and is currently striving to earn her GED. She is interested in pursuing an education in the medical field with hopes to care for Molokai Kupuna. She is participating in OD2A-C3 to step out of her comfort zone and gain education and experience to benefit her ‘ohana and community.
Madeline Stark was born and raised in California but her heart is here in Hawaii where she has lived and worked for a decade. She is a proud mom of her nearly 1-year-old son, Kupa’a. She graduated from UH Hilo with a degree in Tropical Plant Science and Agro-Ecology. She has a passion for cultivation and community and has been an ‘āina-based educator on Hawaiʻi Island and on Molokaʻi. Madeline sees the effects of SUD in her community and in the lives of those she cares about. She wants to help build a healthy community that her son and all Molokaʻi keiki can flourish in.
Taryn Tokoro is a Native Hawaiian born and raised on Kaneohe, O’ahu, residing on Molokaʻi since 2014. She is a homemaker of 3 and enjoys baking. She plans to enroll at UHMC Molokaʻi to explore a degree in Human Services. She looks forward to gaining knowledge, skills, and experience through the OD2A-C3 program to be effective in this field. Her aspiration is to educate herself, her ʻohana, the youth, and her community, to bring awareness about substance use treatment and prevention.