Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 7, 1 July 2014 — AHU ISA, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AHU ISA,

Lei (Leina'ala) I Honolulu, O'ahu I Kamehameha (one semester), Waipahu High School (grad) ( Honolulu, O'ahu I Hilo, Hawai'i, and Moloka'i

1. First of all, HOW would I set policy? By Listening to the People! I believe OHA exists for the people ... by the people.This was learned from being a State Representative and being on our Hawai'i State Board of Education for eight years, and, visiting many of our public schools and Charter schools on our seven neighbor islands with a S2 Billion budget ... even Ni'ihau! It broke my heart to see our Hawaiian children, homeless and living on the beach. They would go to school, eat breakfast and run back to the beach because they were bullied, teased. So sad! Priority should be to care for our keiki. Quality Education is the key to their future! My priority is to carry out the 0HA's Mission: The OHA mission is the betterment of conditions for all Hawaiians and to provide Hawaiians with the opportunity for a better life and future. 2. My experiences range from being raised in public housing, living with my Hawaiian grandparents who spoke only Hawaiian, prayed in Hawaiian, but forbade their mo'opuna to speak the language. I was only allowed to speak the Queen's English! It was forbidden to speak Hawaiian in school. That's why I value EDUCATION! Being a Professor at Hawai'i Pacific University gave me the opportunity to work with students from all over the world. I studied very hard to obtain my Ph.D. while raising my two children at Kamehameha Schools as a single parent. I was responsible for the Bill whieh first funded our Hawaiian lmmersion Schools. I also served eight years on the State Board of Education as the Vice Chair and got to visit our 285 public schools, helped set up Charter Schools and even privileged to visit Ni'ihau graduation. I bring all of this to OHA and intend to add Value for all of you. Mahalo Nui Loa!