Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 2, 1 February 2023 — Meet Lili'uokalani Trust's Newest Trustee: Mahina Eleneki Hugo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Meet Lili'uokalani Trust's Newest Trustee: Mahina Eleneki Hugo

V E 'ONIPA'A KAKOU V ^ BE STEADFAST *

Na Ellise Fujii Unuhi 'ia e Justin Santos

Enā hoa makamaka, he wahi ho'olauna kēia no ka luna ho'oponopono waiwai hou 'o Mahina Eleneki Hugo ma kā mākou papahana, 'o ka Lili'uokalani Trust. 'O Mahina Eleneki Hugo ka luna ho'oponopono waiwai he 18 ma ka papahana. He kama 'o Mahina Eleneki Hugo

no ka aina kaulana 'o Kailua, O'ahu. He 'i'ini kona e kāko'o a kōkua aku i nā keiki o ko kākou lāhui Hawai'i ma nā 'ano hana like 'ole. I ko Mahina Eleneki Hugo ulu a'e 'ana, nui kona kalena i ka pā'ani pōpa'ipa'i. Ua ulu ho'i kona aloha i ka pā'ani pōpa'ipa'i 'ana i kona wā papa 'ehiku ma ke kula waena. Ma muli o ka 'oikelakela o kona pā'ani pōpa'ipa'i 'ana, ua makana aku ke kula nui o Hawai'i ma Mānoa

iā ia i kālā kōkua no ka hele 'ana aku i ke kula nui. I kona wā ma ke kula nui, ua pā'ani 'o ia ma ke kime pōpa'ipa'i, 'o ke kime Rainbow Wāhine. Ma muli o ko Hugo mākaukau no ke alaka'i 'ana, ua hā'awi 'ia ke kūlana 'o ka luna ho'oponopono waiwai iā ia. Ma mua o kēia, 'o Hugo ka po'okula o La Pietra Hawai'i. A laila, ua lilo 'o ia i Executive Director of Youth Development no ka papahana. 'O kona lawelawe 'ana ka mea i ho'omākaukau aku iā ia i kona kūlana ma ke 'ano he luna ho'oponopono waiwai 'o

Lili'uokalani Trust. Ma hope o ke alaka'i 'ana o Thomas K. Kaulukukui 'Ōpio 'o ia i holomua ai, nona ke kuleana ko'iko'i he 25 makahiki ka lō'ihi i ka loli 'ana o ka Trust i mea e waiwai ana. Hana pū 'o ia me Claire Asam lāua 'o Robert "Bob" Ozaki. 'O ke alaka'i, he loina o ka Hawai'i. A no laila, he 'i'ini ko mākou e paipai ai nā keiki e kūlia i ka nu'u, e ho'okā'oi, a e ho'omohala i ka no'ono'o ma nā 'ano hana like 'ole. Na Hugo e a'o aku a hō'ike aku i nā keiki i ke alaka'i. Ma laila ke ola a ma laila e hua ai ke alaka'i no ko kākou lāhui Hawai'i. Ma ka lā 1 o Pepeluali o ka makahiki 2023 ana 'o ia e komo ai i loko o ka Papa Luna Ho'oponopono Waiwai LT. ■

All kamali'i are destined for great things. For one young 'Ōiwi girl who was raised in Kailua, O'ahu, her future would include serving the lāhui in ways she could never have imagined. Growing up, Mahina Eleleki Hugo was an accomplished

student-athlete whose highly decorated volleyball career is the stuff of loeal legend. She fell in love with volleyball in the seventh grade and because of her outstanding ability, was later offered a full ride to the University of Hawai'i. She was a member of the Rainbow Wāhine team that clinched the 1987 NCAA DI Womens Volleyball Championship.

Hugo's on-court leadership skills made her a natural fit for roles serving youth. She was Head of School at La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls and later joined Lili'uokalani Trust as the Executive Director of Youth Development. Her lifetime of service has prepared her for a role as a Trustee of Lili'uokalani Trust (LT). She succeeds Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr. whose 25-year tenure was vital to engineering a hnaneial

and strategic shift of the Trust. She will serve alongside Claire Asam and Robert "Bob" Ozaki. Future Lili'uokalani Trustees are growing up right now, perhaps heading to a sports practice or participating in an LT after-school program. They are looking up to trailblazing leaders like Hugo and learning life lessons that will serve them, and the lāhui, well into the future. Hugo joins the LT Board of Trustees effective Feb. 1, 2023. ■ Both Ellise Fujii and Justin Santos are on stajfat Lili'uokalani Trust at Kīpuka Lili'uonamoku.

Mahina Eleneki Hugo - (ourtesy Photo