Gael Kanakaokai Jr

NAME Gael Kanakaokai Jr

AGE 39

TOWN/MOKU Waianae

ISLAND Oʻahu

NOMINATED BY Dr. Scott K. Parker

Leadership Category Mālama ʻĀina - Environmental Sustainability

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

I work as the Natural Resource Manager for The Nature Conservancy's Maui Terrestrial Program. I have the awesome kuleana of protecting the imperiled resources stewarded by the Conservancy in the Waikamoi, Kapunakea, and Kānepu'u Preserves on Maui and Lāna'i. It's both passion and career, truly the greatest privilege to make a living doing what my kūpuna would be proud of.

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

We conserve and protect some of the best examples of near pristine ecosystems. In engaging our communities through internship and volunteer programs we can best reconnect to our lands, waters, and native life to recapture kuleana and instill kānaka presence in the places that need it most.

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

Above all, Aloha. Leading with Aloha establishes legacy beyond what I can accomplish on the ground with my own two hands, and it is the future leaders who will carry forward the work I believe is truly worthwhile.

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

My father was the gateway for me to connect with 'āina. He took me to the most difficult to reach places of my home island and was the genesis of my passion for mālama 'āina. Although innately ocean people, he taught me how special the life forms on the land are, and more importantly, why we need to protect them in order to protect the ocean.

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

Mālama

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

Kuleana