Kauanoe Kamanā
Dr. Kauanoe Kamanā is a founding member of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo and serves as its President. She was born in Honolulu and raised in Kalihi and Kalamaʻula, Molokaʻi. She is the director of U.H. Hilo’s P-20 Hawaiian medium education laboratory school Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. As a teacher and administrator, she works with students, teachers and families to re-establish the vibrancy of Hawaiian language and culture in Hawaiʻi. Kauanoe believes that we all have a role in carrying the legacy of Hawaiian language into the future.
Pila Wilson
Dr. William H. “Pila” Wilson is a founding member of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo. Pila was born in Honolulu after his parents came to Hawaiʻi during World War II. Pila teaches at Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani Hawaiian Language College at U.H. Hilo. His professional expertise includes Hawaiian grammar, the history of the Hawaiian language, and language revitalization. Pila has played a key role in developing state laws for education through Hawaiian and in establishing U.S. federal policies to protect and promote Native American languages.
Larry Kimura
Larry Lindsey Kimura grew up in Waimea, South Kohala during the 1940’s with his grandparents being among the last native Hawaiian speakers of their community. He has taught Hawaiian language for over 40 years at the University of Hawaiʻi and continues his work at Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language at U.H. Hilo.
He is a co-founder and current board member at the ʻAha Pūnana Leo.
Keawe Lopes
Dr. Keawe Lopes is a professor at Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at U.H. Mānoa and the coordinator of Ka Waihona A Ke Aloha, Ka Papahana Hoʻoheno Mele. His intimacy with the Hawaiian language serves as a foundation in his hālau, Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe, which he opened with his wife in 2005. Keawe is also a recording artist and Nā Hōkū Hanohano nominee in both the Hawaiian Language Album and Haku Mele Song Composer categories.
Kīʻope Raymond
Kīʻope is a tenured faculty member in Hawaiian Language Studies at Maui Community College; where he is also currently the Humanities Department Chairperson. Although he was born in Lahaina, Kīʻope, his wife Lisa Schattenburg-Raymond, and children now reside in Kula, Maui. Kīʻope has twice been a member of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo board: 1986-2004 and 2011 to the present. Both of Kīʻopeʻs children attended the Pūnana Leo o Maui.
Hulilauākea Wilson
Hulilauākea Wilson is a native Hawaiian language speaker.
He is a Pūnana Leo graduate and also a graduate of Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu class of 1999, the first class in over 100 years to be educated completely through the Hawaiian language.
Hulilau is a graduate of Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani and a former Teacher Aide at Pūnana Leo o Hilo.
Our Executive Team
Ka‘iulani Laehā
Ka‘iulani Laehā is the chief executive officer of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the Hawaiian language. Ka‘iulani joined the organization in 2018 assuming a newly-created executive leadership role to help guide the organization’s strategic growth.
Building on the ʻAha Pūnana Leo’s 38 years of work to reestablish a 100% Hawaiian language medium education, Ka‘iulani is leading the organization to sustain and expand its foundational program, the Pūnana Leo preschools, and create innovative platforms to further normalize ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in our daily lives.
Kaʻiulani’s role builds on her previous experience in senior non-profit management as well as her diverse background in youth programming and fund development. Her professional qualifications stem from field experience as a peer leader in youth education programs and eventually led her into managing the Pacific Links Hawaiʻi Foundation as an executive director. Just prior to joining ʻAha Pūnana Leo, Kaʻiulani served as the development manager for Kupu, one of Honolulu’s most distinguished nonprofits that mentor Hawai‘i’s youth to become good stewards of our culture and environment. In all of her professional roles, Kaʻiulani has held a sincere dedication to preparing younger generations for a productive and fulfilling life in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Ka‘iulani was born and raised in Kuliʻouʻou and later moved to Kahaluʻu, where she and her husband are now raising their keiki. She is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in finance as well as a Master of Business Administration.
Kaʻiulani was fortunate to grow up at a time when ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi was once again being used and heard in pockets of Hawaiʻi, greatly attributed to the efforts of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo’s founders and pioneers of the Hawaiian language movement. Her aloha for ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi along with the desire to learn was piqued at a very young age and she began her path to fluency in her early teens. Kaʻiulani was drawn by the continued relevance of our language and is now engaged in ensuring the legacy of our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, the core of what makes Hawaiʻi special to us all.
K. Sean Kekina
K. Sean Kekina is the chief operating officer of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the Hawaiian language. K. Sean joined the organization in 2019 assuming a newly-created executive position as the ʻAha Pūnana Leo was embarking on a strategic growth trajectory.
Working alongside CEO Kaʻiulani Laehā, Kekina is charged with streamlining administrative processes, procedures and systems, ensuring efficacious operations and laying a solid foundation for organizational growth and impact. K. Sean comes to ‘Aha Pūnana Leo from the private sector where he worked with premier Hawaiʻi businesses, managing and developing both internal and external stakeholder relations that contributed to the growth and success of overall operations. His experiences in developing organizational capacity, fiscal management and team leadership serve as a critical foundation for his new role as the organization’s COO.
Kekina’s drive to see the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo become a solid, well-oiled business operation is eclipsed only by his passion to have our ʻōlelo and moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi thrive for generations to come. As the nonprofit leading the Hawaiian language movement, K. Sean sees the long-term viability and sustainability of the business operations of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo as fundamental to ensuring the continued forward progress towards the collective vision of “E Ola Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.”
K. Sean was born and raised on the north shore of Oʻahu in Waialua and now resides with his wife in Honolulu. He is a graduate of ʻIolani Schools and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a master’s degree from Chaminade University of Honolulu.