About Keoni Kuoha — Candidate for Hawaiʻi State House, District 12

Maui Is Home

I was raised in Waimānalo Homestead with my two brothers. My father was Hawaiian, his parents from Keʻanae, Maui and Kahaluʻu, Kona. My mother is from Washington State, with family in Canada and Norway.

In 2007, I moved to Makawao with my partner, Maui Kumu Hula Pueo Pata. But Maui has been home for longer than I’ve had a house here. I’ve worked in loʻi from Kahakuloa to Kīpahulu. I’ve removed invasive species from Puʻukukui to Waikamoi. I love this ʻāina.

A Daily Practice

Growing up in a Hawaiian family and community, our cultural practices were simply part of life. Extended family gathered regularly. We sang and played music. We spent time in the ocean and native forests. And we were regularly instructed, often sternly, in what our elders expected of us.

I was born the year Hōkūleʻa first sailed to Tahiti. And I’ve had the honor to sail aboard Hōkūleʻa for over three decades, voyaging throughout Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific, and learning the ways of our Polynesian and Micronesian cousins.

I have studied chant, ceremony, and hula from masters of these disciplines: John Keola Lake, John Kaʻimikaua, and Pueo Pata. I’ve also had the fortune of learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and it has become central to how I see the world. My cultural practice is a daily practice. Ceremony is a regular occurrence in my life. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Keoni preparing an offering of lāʻī — Daily practice

Keoni carrying bundles of lāʻī and kalo — Gathering for ceremony

Keoni gathering lehua blossoms — In the forest

Keoni playing music with family and friends — Kanikapila with ʻohana

Keoni with his hālau in ceremonial regalia — Hālau

Education & Career

Experience Creating Positive Impact

I graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, and I earned a bachelor’s degree in government and international relations at the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Hawaiian Studies at UH Mānoa. I’ve also completed doctoral coursework and part of a dissertation in organizational and educational leadership at the University of Southern California.

Today I work as a community engagement strategy consultant, helping organizations and agencies connect with community. My projects include community engagement for fiber optic cable landing sites from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi, increasing connectivity for rural communities and resiliency for all of us; and stakeholder engagement for the Kakaʻako Makai Area Plan and the ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures Policy Playbook update. Much of this work involves listening carefully to communities, understanding what they need, and helping institutions respond.

Community Engagement Strategy Consultant, self-employed
Director, House Maui Initiative and Community & Economy Sector, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation
Interim Executive Director, Maui AIDS Foundation
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Papahana Kuaola
Native Hawaiian Program Coordinator, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
Faculty teaching Social Sciences, Research & Writing, and Spanish, Kamehameha Schools Maui
Lecturer in Hawaiian Studies & Language, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu Community College, and Chaminade University
Native plant nurseryman, supplemental stevedore, grounds maintenance, busboy

Keoni celebrating with a student at graduation — Celebrating our haumāna

Keoni leading a community meeting outdoors — Community engagement

Keoni in a hard hat and safety vest on an infrastructure site visit — Building resilient infrastructure

In Service to Community

Current

Board Chair, Lele Aloha
Co-Founder, Board Member and past Vice-Chair, Hoʻōla iā Mauiakama Long-Term Recovery Group
Member, Governor’s Green Fee Advisory Council
Member, Hawaiʻi State Geothermal Working Group
Member, Community Energy Team, Upcountry Energy Resilience Project
Member, Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
Member, Polynesian Voyaging Society

Past

Participant, Indigenous Geothermal Exchange, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Chair, Housing & Employment Committee, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs
Vice-Chair, Maui County Charter Commission
Board Member and Strategic Planning Committee Chair, Hui No Ke Ola Pono
Board Member, Maui AIDS Foundation
Member, Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club
Member, Hawaiian Communities Climate Resilience Working Group
Member, Hawaiian Culture Committee, Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance