Kūlana ʻIke Kūpuna
Kūlana ʻIke Kūpuna is a cultural practitioner economic development program of Hikaʻalani, supporting 20 practitioners in strengthening the economic sustainability of their cultural practices.
Developed with guidance from cultural knowledge bearers who are also entrepreneurs, the program brings together practical business and financial training, mentorship, and opportunities for growth. At its foundation is the understanding that economic success looks different for every practitioner and should be defined by their own ʻike, values, and kuleana.
Through this program, Hikaʻalani seeks to support practitioners in building sustainable livelihoods while maintaining the knowledge, relationships, and responsibilities central to their practices.
Meet the people who helped shape this program and the cultural practitioners who make up its inaugural cohort.
Guiding Practitioners & Curriculum Development
Kūlana ʻIke Kūpuna was developed with the guidance of cultural knowledge bearers who have also established themselves as entrepreneurs. Drawing from their experiences sustaining cultural practices while navigating the realities of running a business, they helped shape a curriculum that brings together cultural values and practical approaches to economic development.
Their guidance helps ensure the program remains grounded in the ʻike, values, and kuleana of cultural practitioners while providing tools and resources to support their individual goals.
Norma-Jean Lehuanani Chock
Lei Hulu
Kahailimanu
Lance Genson Mahi La Pierre
Kālai & Traditional Implements
Pae Laʻau Hawaiʻi
William Keoua Nelsen
Ulana Lauhala
iHala
Page Chang
Kapa
Pūkoʻa Studios
Tammy Mahealani Smith
Mea ʻAi Hawaiʻi & ʻAi Pono
KTER4U (Kater4U)
Meet the Cohort
Meet the 20 cultural practitioners who make up the inaugural Kūlana ʻIke Kūpuna cohort. Explore their profiles to learn about their practices, their work, and opportunities to connect.
Tiare Akiona-Agpaoa
Kuku Kapa & Hula
Tiare is a kupaʻāina of Koʻolau, Oʻahu, where she is raising her four keiki. Her passion for practicing and perpetuating all that is Hawaiʻi stems from her hula lineage. She has studied hula for over 40 years under nā kumu hula Aunty Maiki Aiu Lake and her daughter, Coline Aiu, of Hālau Hula O Maiki, and holds the title of ʻŌlapa (graduated dancer).
Her hula journey also led her to the art of kuku kapa, which she has practiced for 25 years under kumu Dalani Tanahy. Kapa has since become a family practice.
With over 30 years of teaching experience spanning preschool through 12th grade, Tiare has developed and implemented culturally grounded Hawaiian curricula for organizations serving learners from early childhood through adulthood. She currently serves as Education Manager at Papahana Kuaola, where she develops ʻāina- and culture-based programs for students, teachers, ʻohana, and the broader community.
Shawn ʻIliahi Doo
Traditional Voyaging, Hōlua & ʻŪkeke
Shawn ʻIliahi Doo was born and raised in the lush, river-nourished lands of Wailua, Kauaʻi, where his foundation in Hawaiian cultural values was established. Deeply connected to both ʻāina and kai, he carries these ancestral relationships into his work as an educator and cultural practitioner now based in Makiki, Oʻahu.
Alongside his wife, Darlyne Piʻilani Doo, their three keiki, and one moʻopuna, ʻIliahi lives by the saying, “He moku, he waʻa; he waʻa, he moku,” emphasizing harmony, shared purpose, and respect for the elements that sustain us.
Whether sailing the open ocean through traditional voyaging, riding the grassy slopes on a hōlua, or bringing forth the delicate sounds of the ʻūkeke, he uses these traditional arts to connect past and present. Through his work, ʻIliahi strives to strengthen community ties and perpetuate the vital relationships between ʻāina, kai, and ʻohana for future generations.
Nōweo Kai
Ulana Lauhala & ʻIeʻie
Mahalo ke Akua. ʻO wau ʻo Nōweo Kai, ke keiki a Janice Leinaʻala Lua lāua ʻo Gordon Umi Kai. No Kaimukī, Waikīkī, mai au mau a mau.
Growing up with mākua who were always creating, natural materials such as plants, stone, bone, and wood were a constant part of my childhood. Today, I am a botanist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where I curate the campus plant collection. I am also blessed to share my life with a wonderful wife and daughter.
Although I have had limited opportunities to practice ulana lauhala and ʻieʻie weaving since the 1990s, I am excited to use this program as an opportunity to reconnect with these meaningful practices and bring them back into focus.
Kaimana ʻĀkau-Chock
Lei Hulu
Kaimana ʻĀkau-Chock was born and raised between Mānana and Waiawa Uka, moku ʻo ʻEwa, Oʻahu. Growing up in a household surrounded by hula, ulana lauhala, and lei hulu, he completed his first lei hulu at age 16 and has over 15 years of experience in the practice.
Kaimana graduated from Kamehameha Kapālama and earned a bachelor's degree in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. For over a decade, he has worked in education and the nonprofit sector, supporting Native Hawaiians, Hawaiian culture and language, and ʻāina stewardship.
In his free time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and traveling with his husband.
Hale Momona Catering
Chasen St. Onge & Jayme-Lee Moeʻata Mokulehua
Hale Momona Catering began long before it had a name. Chasen St. Onge grew up learning his way around the kitchen from his grandparents and their restaurant in Lahaina, Maui. He carried that love for cooking into college, where he worked as a chef to help pay his way through school. When he returned home, requests to cook for family gatherings and celebrations began coming in, and through word of mouth, Hale Momona grew.
Hale Momona means “fruitful house,” reflecting the home Chasen grew up in on Maui, where there was always food on the table, enough to share, and room for everyone. Today, Chasen and his wife, Jayme Moeata Mokulehua, are raising their two daughters with those same values. Together, they carry on his grandparents’ legacy through Hale Momona, feeding lāhui and continuing to make room for everyone at the table.
Alex Puanani Connelly
Hula, mea inu
Alex Puanani Connelly is from Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu, and is a mother of two. She has worked with Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA) since 2012 and currently serves as the E Alu Pū Network Coordinator. In this role, she organizes network gatherings, workshops, and initiatives, working to listen and respond to community needs while advancing grassroots efforts toward collective ʻāina momona goals.
Puanani is a haumāna of Hālau Mōhala ʻIlima and an alumna of Castle High School, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and the Agricultural Leadership Program. She also serves on the Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Council of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and works as a server and bartender at Mahina & Sun's restaurant.
Kaia Kong
Ulana Lauhala
Kaia Kong is a lauhala weaver, born in Hilo and raised in Kaimukī, Oʻahu. She is a graduate of Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue and works professionally in natural resource management, where she has helped protect Hawaiʻi’s endangered native plants and animals.
Kaia began weaving lauhala at age seven at the Mission Houses in Honolulu, learning under the guidance of the members of Ulana Me Ka Lokomaikaʻi. Her kumu include the late master weavers Uncle Frank Masagatani and Aunty Esther Kakalia Westmoreland, as well as her current kumu, Uncle Mike Nahoopii.
She is deeply grateful for the ʻike shared by her kumu and kūpuna and is honored to pass on what she has learned while continuing to grow in the practice of ulana lauhala.
Sara Kahele
As a mother of six and grandmother of three, Sara Kahele has dedicated her life to serving others. Her purpose is to support those around her, creating bridges and opportunities for others to grow and thrive.
Through this work, she has developed a deep love and appreciation for guiding and nurturing her family's passion for cultural practices and sustaining their Hawaiian way of life. She hopes to establish a strong cultural foundation that will endure for generations to come.
Pōmaikaʻi Kahele
Ulana Lauhala
Pōmaikaʻi Kahele is a 17-year-old homeschooled high school senior with a deep love for her Hawaiian heritage and a passion for sharing it with others. Shortly after being introduced to traditional Hawaiian craftsmanship, she discovered that weaving lauhala was more than an art form. It became a meaningful way to express her connection to her culture and share its stories.
Proud to call both ʻEwa Beach on Oʻahu and Miloliʻi on Hawaiʻi Island home, Pōmaikaʻi draws inspiration from the people, traditions, and natural beauty of the places she loves.
Nanea Lum-Hudson
Kapa & Visual Arts
Nanea Lum-Hudson is a Kanaka ʻŌiwi artist and educator born and raised on Oʻahu. Originally from Kahaluʻu, she now lives and works in Kūpanihi, Oʻahu. Her place-based artistic practice brings together representation and abstraction to explore Hawaiian cultural life.
Working across mediums ranging from kapa and large-scale oil paintings to video installations, Nanea honors the revitalization of traditional practices while exploring their evolving and ephemeral nature.
Her work is grounded in the process of learning, reflecting her belief that expressing the journey of acquiring knowledge is an essential purpose of art.
Mānowai Kobashigawa
Kālai, Koko Puʻupuʻu & ʻUlana ʻIe
ʻO Mānowai koʻu inoa. I am a Hoʻokano and a Hālualani, originally from Kahaluʻu, Oʻahu. I currently work in conservation, protecting and restoring native forests and species.
My cultural practices include carving, koko puʻupuʻu, and ʻulana ʻie. I strive to be a lifelong learner of nā mea Hawaiʻi, continually deepening my knowledge and skills so that I can carry forward as much ʻike as possible for future generations.
Kealani Makaiwi
Kapa & Oli
Kealani Makaiwi is a Native Hawaiian kapa and oli practitioner dedicated to perpetuating the living traditions of her ancestors through cultural practice, education, and service. Raised in Hauʻula and now based in Kapolei, Oʻahu, she began her oli journey in 2011 and her kapa journey in 2014, embracing both as pathways of ʻike, healing, and connection to kūpuna.
In 2025, she received Kumu Dalani Tanahy’s blessing to teach and sell kapa, followed by Kumu Reni Aʻiaʻi Bello’s blessing to teach oli in 2026.
Kealani tends multiple wauke patches across Oʻahu, carrying each kapa piece from cultivation to completion while honoring the relationships between ʻāina, kūpuna, and community.
Ānuenue Pūnua
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Mele, Hula & Education
Born and raised in Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu, Ānuenue Pūnua is a proud mother of three daughters, an educator with over 26 years of experience, and a passionate advocate for Hawaiian culture and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Her life's work is grounded in a deep aloha for her people, her language, and her kuleana to nurture the next generation through meaningful connections to culture, community, and ʻāina.
Ānuenue was a founding member of Paepae O Heʻeia, stewards of Heʻeia Fishpond. She is also a voyaging member of Nā Kālai Waʻa Moku o Keawe and a hula student of Hālau o Ke ʻAʻaliʻi Kū Makani. She currently serves as Director of Koʻolau ʻĀina Momona and teaches Hawaiian language at Punahou School.
Koʻiahi Pūnua
Lei
Koʻiahi Pūnua is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and is currently pursuing a degree in Sustainability and Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, driven by her passion for sustainability and protecting Hawaiʻi’s natural beauty.
A third-generation lei maker and the fifth generation to live on her family’s property in Kāneʻohe, Koʻiahi continues her family’s traditions while working toward a future rooted in cultural and environmental stewardship.
Kalena Zimmerman
Lei Hulu
Kalena Zimmerman was born in Lāhaina, Maui, and raised between Kahului, Maui, and Panaʻewa, Hawaiʻi. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi and earning her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in New York City, Kalena returned to Hawaiʻi and now calls Honolulu home.
Passionate about making education accessible to all, she has worked in both college and K–12 admissions and currently serves as a systems analyst at Kamehameha Schools.
Kalena began practicing lei hulu two years ago as a way to strengthen her connection to her culture and lāhui. She hopes to continue this hana noʻeau and share her ʻike with others. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, baking, and volunteering with ʻāina-based initiatives.
Kola Scanlan
Visual Arts & Cultural Education, Kapa
Aloha, my name is Kola Scanlan, and I am from Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. I am an artist, maker, and art kumu who believes that creating with our hands helps us connect to ourselves, each other, and the places we come from.
My art is guided by ʻike Hawaiʻi, mālama ʻāina, the wisdom of kūpuna, and the many people who inspire and guide me. As a lifelong learner, I continue to grow through making, teaching, and learning from kūpuna, mentors, and my students.
Through art, I hope to create meaningful experiences that bring people together and strengthen our connections to culture and community. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue learning and sharing what I learn with others.
Nākoa Goo
Bio coming soon