MEET THE STORYTELLERS

Bernice Musrasrik is a Project Coordinator for Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services FQHC in Kalihi, Honolulu and has most recently completed a $2m HRSA virtual care project "Optimizing Virtual Care" through multiple domains in the organization that addressed virtual care needs, creating multiple channels of culturally relevant communications, monitoring medical/SDOH data systems and integration, assisting in the coordination of renovation efforts of main clinic to include telehealth rooms, and uplifting KKVʻs digital equity initiative. Bernice has worked in KKV for 8 years in various programs including ROOTS, Hui Hoaka, and Hoʻoulu ʻAina and in various capacities including food-systems building, SDOH support for community to clinical programs & departments, and highlighting the importance of land and culture in healthcare.

My name is Keliiolalo-Kimiko "Lalo" Ishiki-Kalahele and I am a kanaka maoli born and raised in Kalihi, Honolulu. I am currently serving the people of that community at Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services as Economic Agency coordinator and Co-lead of Hui Hoaka, KKVʻs SDOH needs arm. My professional focus is to empower the community and uplift personal stories by advocating for culturally grounded education and community lead social justice and development.

Dr. Jackie Ng-Osorio is a Native Hawaiian and the owner of Ng-Osorio Consulting LLC. For over 20 years, she has focused on achieving her mission of improving the well-being of Native Hawaiians through research and evaluation with academic and community-based partners. She has worked with education, health, and non-profit organizations that focus on ʻāina, culturally based education, nutrition, physical activity, and substance prevention. Through this time, she has had the opportunity to understand the greater context of well-being for Native Hawaiians as well as the greater community. Building upon these experiences, her goal is to continue to work with organizations to help them understand their impact on the community through the storytelling of their data while bringing an indigenous and culturally responsive lens to her evaluation work.

Though, what brings her here today is being the mother of two children, a 15-year old daughter and 9-year old son. It has been through parenthood that she has experienced the joys and challenges of raising these beautiful kids. Through their shared stories and gaining an understanding of their experiences, she continues to learn how to do better for them and with them. Right now, her focus has been on adolescent mental health and to help change systems so every kid and family can get the help they need. Jackie received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Creighton University, Master of Public Health from Emory University, and Doctorate of Public Health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi with her husband and two children.

Melody Halzel is a PhD student in Public Health with a focus on Community-Based and Translational Research at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. She currently works as a Graduate Assistant for the Mauli Ola Initiative, at the Ho’ola 'Āina Pilipili accessible community garden, located at UH Mānoa, College of Education. Melody has a graduate certificate in Disability and Diversity Studies from the Center on Disability Studies (CDS) and is currently a participant of the Health Equity and Disability Inclusion Leadership training program. She has a B.S. in public health from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an MPH from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health Specialization. Prior to her MPH, Melody served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in a rural community in Ethiopia. Her current research interests include health, wellbeing, and garden interventions that are accessible for older adults and people with disabilities, including people with dementia and their caregivers.

Dr. Summer Maunakea (Kanaka ʻŌiwi) is a passionate educator who centers ʻāina as teacher—emphasizing the importance of healing and aloha in educational spaces. Dr. Maunakea has experience in breaking down the walls of the classroom to support intergenerational ʻāina-based learning through family and community engagement. She is passionate about the presence of māla in schools to grow pilina necessary for educational transformation. Dr. Maunakea currently serves as an assistant professor of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Education and Leadership at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education. She instructs undergraduate through doctoral-level courses in place-based education, curriculum leadership, and Indigenous research methodologies. Outside of academia, Dr. Maunakea works alongside community-based non-profit organizations Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, Pilina Kaiāulu, and MAʻO Organic Farms supporting in various capacities to support curriculum and program design, culturally responsive assessment and evaluation, and teacher professional development. Summer serves on the non-profit boards of Ka Huli O Hāloa and ʻIKE Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Her research is focused on the role of ʻāina-based pedagogies in the healing and growth of kanaka-ʻāina relationships. She loves growing māmaki and Hawaiian varietals of ʻuala to give away to kumu! Contact smauna@hawaii.edu to connect on ʻāina-based learning, pono place-based education, teacher PD, program evaluation, Indigenous research methodologies, and school gardens!

Born in Mexico, raised in Lahaina, Pedro has worked in public health for the past two decades in advocacy, communications, and program development. He is currently the Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Hawaii and has previously led various successful public health programs and advocacy campaigns, including shepherding the passage of the Kupuna Caregivers Act, the first of its kind in the nation.

As the owner and founder of Social Marketing Hawaii, Pedro has provided strategic planning, training and technical assistance, social marketing, advocacy, and evaluation services to various private and public organizations in Hawaii. Previous clients have included the Hawaii State Department of Health, Caring Across Generations, AARP, PHOCUSED, and the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Pedro also dabbles in the arts, having performed in nearly all local stages, guest starring in national television shows, and had featured parts in movies for 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, and Netflix. He was recently featured as a storyteller on NPR's The Moth Radio Hour.