Meet the kūlia team

Michelle Kapana-Baird

Site Teacher
michelleProject Ho‘olokahi, Kaiser High School, O‘ahu
Focus: Limu Restoration

Michelle is a M.Ed. candidate, winner of Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative Educator 2006 award, developed Maunalua Bay's alien limu program, and serves as a Malama Maunalua educator.

Photos of Michelle's Projects

Na Pua O Maunalua video

 

Matt Kanemoto

Site Teacher
mattKoko‘ula Learning Center for Agriculture, Kahuku High School, O‘ahu
Focus: Agriculture

Koko‘ula Learning Center for Agriculture is a Hawaiian Agriscience Learning Center that plays an integral role in nurturing, supporting and enhancing agricultural awareness and cultural nourishment along the Koko‘ula coast. It serves as a dissemination point of information and knowledge that exposes the students, their families, and surrounding schools and rural communities to the dynamic connections between modern agriscience technology and traditional Hawaiian values, perspectives and practices.

Matt works to partner with elementary school provide elementary students to experience of visiting the Koko‘ula Learning Center for Agriculture Center to experience the applied science learning experience that the farm offers. School partnerships also enables Kahuku's high school students to share their knowledge and expertise by serving as teacher guides during partner school visits. Matt and his students also helps to advise elementary schools on how to create a Hawaiian garden or add native plants to the existing landscapes at each schools.

 

Alyson napua Barrows

Site Teacher
napuaWaihe‘e, Maui
Focus: Limu Restoration

A Native Hawaiian, she works to restore the limu on the reef where her mother's side of the family is from. In addition, in 1992 she joined the great work as a Hawaiian Study Program - Kupuna Component to teach the Hawaiian Culture in Hawaii's public schools. The collaboration between both Waihe‘e Limu Restoration and the Hawaiian Study Program - Kupuna Component compliment one another in their focus and purpose in supporting the children of Hawaii. Both implementing the Hawaiian Culture and the western technology - science to support a sustainable community that once existed in old Hawaii.

 

Sabra Kauka

Site Teachersabra
Island School, Kaua‘i
Focus: Hawaiian Studies

Sabra is the Kaua‘i coordinator for the Department of Education's Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Program, Kumu Kapa of Kawaikini Hawaiian Immersion Charter School, Kumu Hula of Na Pua O Kamaile, and is the Hawaiian Studies Kumu of Island School, Kaua‘i.

Photos of Sabra's Projects

News of Sabra's Projects

 

Manuel Jadulang

Site Teachermanuel
Honoka‘a High and Intermediate School, Big Island

Focus: Agriculture

Manuel Jadulang has been part of Dr. Chinn's original Malama I Ka Aina class that started in the early 2000s. Through the years, he has developed and integrated placed-based learning and hands-on science into his agriculture classes. The program have several greenhouses (for native and ornamental plants and vegetables), an agriculture shop, plant tissue culture lab, field areas for vegetable crops, and an aquaculture area. The program works with industry and field experts such as DLNR, NRCS, USDA Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center to bring expert knowledge into the program.

Photos of Manuel's Projects

Laupahoehoe Field Trip Video

 

Mahina Hou Ross

Site Teachermahina hou
Molokai High School

E ke hoa, Aloha ‘Āina Greetings friend, love the land. Subsistence kalo farmer in Halawa Valley on the east side of Molokai. Also teacher at O Hina I Ka Malama Hawaiian Language Immersion Program at Molokai High School with students in 9-12 grades. Curriculum focus is on doing place based project based scientific inquiry using the latest technology as a way for students to present their inquiry to the community. Students visit fishponds, lo‘i kalo and Mo‘omomi shoreline to do their scientific inquiry. Another focus of the curriculum is cultural exchanges with other schools from Aotearoa and Tahiti where we visit them and share our music and culture and they visit us in Molokai.

 

dr. Huihui kanahele-mossman

Site Teacherhui hui
Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School, Big Island

Huihui has HIDOE administrative and science teaching experience, and is knowledgeable in Hawaiian culture and educational issues. The foundation of her cultural knowledge lies in the Hula tradition which originates from her ‘ohana, Kekuewa, and Kanakaole. A part of her family kuleana is contributing to the educational and cultural pursuits of the Edith Kanakaole Foundation based in Keaukaha, Honohononui Hawaii. Her current position is administrator of the secondary school grades 5-10 at Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School also based in Honohononui, Hawaii island.

 

dr. Jennifer Kuwahara

Site Teacherjenny
Mililani Middle School

Jenny's interest in place and inquiry-based approaches to science education began when she was a GK-12 Fellow as a graduate student in Botany at UH. She has taught at the University Laboratory School, Farrington High School, and Mililani Middle School. Jenny lets place guide her teaching and tries to help students connect with the land through student-designed research projects mixed with environmental restoration projects. Jenny is also active in in Hawaii Science Teacher Association, and has been elected President Elect of HaSTA.

Jennifer's School Blog

Christopher Baird

Site Teacher/Polynesian Voyaging Society Liaisonchris
Olomana School
Focus: Sailing

 

 

dr. Pauline Chinn

Kūlia I Ka Nu‘u Principal Investigatorpauline
Professor, Curriculum Studies
University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Pauline grew up in Kaimuki and taught science in public and private schools on O‘ahu before moving to the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Her interests in science education focus on sustainability and culturally responsive, place and inquiry-based science. She believes teachers are key to meaningful, engaging, and rigorous science instruction that connects school science to real world issues and applications.

 


Ivy yeung

Kūlia I Ka Nu‘uivy
MPA Candidate
University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Ivy attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and received her Masters' in Business Administration in Fall 2012. She has over 8 years of experience managing various educational grants at the university.

 

 


oanh enos

Kūlia I Ka Nu‘u Project ManagerOanh
Masters in Accounting Candidate
University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Oanh received her Associate Degree in Arts from the Honolulu Community College, and graduated with her BBA from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the Fall 2012. Oanh is continuing her studies by pursuing her Masters' in Accounting.

 

kellie Kong

Kūlia I Ka Nu‘u Project Graduate Assistantkellie
PhD Candidate, Educational Technology
University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Kellie attended the University of Southern California, where she received her Bachelors degree and continued her education at the California State University of Los Angeles for her Masters' degree. Kellie also has experience teaching grades K-5.