Note on our name:
Our office name has been updated to the Hawai‘i Papa o ke Ao (HPOKA) Office. Hawai‘i papa o ke ao can be described in English as: Hawai‘i, the foundation of enlightenment. We use this ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i name to clearly describe what our office is here to do: To support the re-grounding of the University of Hawai‘i in Hawai‘i for the benefit of all.
Welina!
This webpage is designed to provide support for hui members who are part of a cohort at UH Mānoa that is working towards becoming a Native Hawaiian place of learning, as well as provide general updates on its progress for the betterment of our UH Mānoa community.
For questions please contact us at: nhpol@hawaii.edu
*Note: While cohort sessions (year 1) are open to specific units, people may continue to participate in subsequent years. For example, people from Cohort Kumukahi units continue to participate in cohort sessions beyond 2024. We have learned from our campus community that learning about the Native Hawaiian principles in the strategic plan continues to be valuable, and so we opened future cohort sessions to people from each respective cohort of units, although it may be simultaneous to their unit’s hui preparing the 5-year action plan.
To learn more about the 5-day professional development experience that all hui members attended in preparation for the year-long hui support work, visit the Cohorts Webpage.
Cohort Kaulua
December 2025 Summit
We currently are preparing for the Cohort Kaulua summit to be held on December 3rd and 4th, 2025. This summit with bring together hui members representing 8 units (schools, colleges, and other units) from across the UH Mānoa campus. Accompanying the 12 units who joined us on this journey throughout 2025.
Resources
The following resources will be presented at the December 2025 Cohort Kaulua Summit and are intended for all hui members, those in attendance and those who are unable to join or will be added to the hui later on. If you are not at the December 2025 gathering, we suggest that you ask hui members who attended the summit about these resources and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us at: nhpol@hawaii.edu.
Cohort Kumukahi
November 2024 Summit
The inaugural Cohort Kumukahi summit was held on November 14th and 15th, 2024. This summit brought together 68 hui members representing 12 units (schools, colleges, and non-academic units) from across the UH Mānoa campus.
Resources
These resources were presented at the November 2024 Cohort Kumukahi Summit and are intended for new and existing hui members. If you are new to your hui, we suggest that you ask hui members who attended the summit about these resources and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us at: nhpol@hawaii.edu.
Other resources shared with us for the collective:
Hui Support
To support this year-long process with hui members, a guidebook and ongoing support sessions were provided.
Guidebook
To support the work of the huis, a guidebook is provided to introduce hui members to a process for creating 5-year action plans that move their hale closer to becoming a place that is reflective of Hawaiʻi papa o ke ao.
Note: Sections are shared sequentially. As the hui engages with each section, we invite you to spend considerable time with each section over the next year to determine a process for engaging with your hale. We recognize the desire, ask, and push to move forward with writing and after hearing stories from our Mānoa community, we are purposefully in our process. We kindly ask that you and your hui pause and spend time with each section to create an informed approach that will inform and potentially be integrated into your 5-year action plans.
Ongoing Support Sessions
To engage with the guidebook sections, Cohort Kumukahi hui members were invited to various monthly opportunities to take steps towards their hale’s 5-year action plan. After each monthly ongoing support session, a recap of the session was provided including access to related resources and recordings, when applicable.
December 2025 Hōʻike
To conclude the year-long ongoing support, Cohort Kumukahi hui members will gather on December 10, 2025 for a Hōʻike, where they will share their draft 5-year action plans and receive feedback from other hui members across our campus community.
Cohort Kumukahi Hui Members
The hui members listed by hale (i.e., unit) was last updated on: March 31, 2025. To learn more about these groups and their role, visit the Hui (FAQ) Sheet.
College of Arts, Languages & Letters
| Brad | Taylor |
| Karen | Jolly |
| Katinka | Hammerich |
| Andrea | Berez-Kroeker |
Cancer Center
| Annette | Jones |
| Esme | Infante |
| Hideko | Yamauchi |
| Lenora | Loo |
| Namrata | Gurung |
| Taylor | Lowe |
| Xuemei | Xie |
College of Social Sciences
| Jack | Barile |
| Kamakana | Aquino |
| Kāwika | Tengan |
| Ruben | Campos |
| Sakaria | Auelua-Toomey |
| Susan | Ma |
| Tiare | Sabellano-Tsutsui |
| Wei | Zhang |
Division of Student Success
| Amy | Hubbard |
| Andrea | Hazzard |
| Camaron | Miyamoto |
| James | Solano |
| Jeffrey | Bock |
| Wiliama | Sanchez |
College of Engineering
| Brennon | Morioka |
| Joseph | Brown |
| Kelli | Ching |
| Kim | Perez Hults |
| Song K | Choi |
| Steve | Durbin |
Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology
| Aimee | Sato |
| Chris | Suchocki |
| Christine | Ambrosino Carrier |
| Hayley | Luke |
| Lauren | Van Heukelem |
| Maria | Frostic |
| Mariko | Quinn |
| Mindy | Mizobe |
Institute for Astronomy
| David | Jones |
| Doug | Simons |
| Karen | Meech |
| Michael | Liu |
| Nicholas | Saunders |
| Rena | Lee |
| Roy | Gal |
John A. Burns School of Medicine
| Cyrus | Pattermann |
| Dee-Ann | Carpenter |
| Gunes | Aytac |
| Jourdan | McMillan |
| Lee | Buenconsejo-Lum |
| Martina | Kamaka |
| Selina | Chen |
| Tai-An | Miao |
| Teresa | Schiff-Elfalan |
| Tracie-Ann | Tjapkes (chap’kess) |
| Vanessa | Wong |
School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene
| Chris | Kanehiro |
| Clementina | Ceria-Ulep |
| Donna-Marie | Palakiko |
| Gary | Glauberman |
| Holly | Fontenot |
| Molly | Altman |
Sea Grant
| Anne | Rosa |
| Brad | Romine |
| Elizabeth | Lenz |
| Katy | Hintzen |
| Maya | Walton |
| Sara | Kahanamoku-Meyer |
| Elieen | Nalley |
| Darren | Lerner |
School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
| Healani | Chang |
| Heather | Saito |
| Helena | Andrade |
| Jenny | Engels |
| Jessie | Perelman |
| Judy | Lemus |
| Justin | Suca |
| Lucie | Knor |
| Rob | Wright |
Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health
| Aimee | Chung |
| Cameron | Rasmussen |
| Danielle | Phillips |
| Jonathan | Huang |
| Mapuana | Antonio |
| Michael | DeMattos |
| Sarah Momilani | Marshall |
| Whitney | Watts |
HPOKA Office
Action Steps
The HPOKA: Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office is committed to sharing and supporting our action steps with the hui and our campus community.
Activities Post-Hui Summit:
- Met with deans & directors via Provost Council (December 23, 2024)
- Met with the deans & directors (January 13, 2025)
- Met with deans & directors (March 17, 2025)
- Met with associate deans (April 25, 2025)
Next Steps:
- Cohort Kumukahi Hui Summit (December 2025) Prep