Brigitte Ululani Russo

Name

Nominated by

Age

Town/Moku

Island

Leadership Category

Brigitte Ululani Russo

Kainoa Kaulukukui-Narikawa

47

Kapahulu

Oʻahu

Education

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.

Aloha, I am an 8th grade science teacher and department head at Waiʻanae Intermediate. I am also a PhD student at UH Mānoa in Curriculum Studies & Instruction.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?

I am passionate about teaching our ʻōpio about Hawaiian culture. Majority of my students are Native Hawaiian, yet they know little to no ʻike kūpuna. Therefore, I teach students about moʻolelo of Waiʻanae and Hawaiian practices. I also believe it's important to connect my students with their community through mālama ʻāina and discussions of environmental justice issues in Waiʻanae.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.

The qualities of leadership I admire are the ability to inspire others and unite to achieve a common goal. It feels empowering to find others with similar goals as you. One of my biggest goal is to hoʻoulu lāhui. One way I try to do this is through teaching. I try my best to inspire my students by using ʻike kūpuna that continuously inspires me. I am endlessly learning from my ancestors and my students. I am fortunate enough to be a leader in my science department by co-creating a curriculum that is grounded in ʻike kūpuna, mālama ʻāina and pilina. Having coworkers that see the value behind teaching our students about their culture to develop a sense of Hawaiian identity is empowering. As a teacher, I am in a leadership role, however, some of my favorite days revolve around my students being leaders. For example, during our mālama ʻāina field trips my students become the leaders by restoring and reviving our ʻāina. I often find myself standing back in awe at their drive and leadership. I hope that one day I can inspire them to also hoʻoulu lāhui.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?

My biggest inspiration has been my mother, Natalie Kekahiliokalani Oana-Russo. She was a teacher at Hālau Kū Māna. I would often be jealous of the lessons she taught to her students and try to learn as much as I could from her. Talking story with her students always inspired me to positively influence our ʻōpio like she did.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?

Holomua

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?

Kūʻē