Kamehaʻililani Waiau
Name Kameha‘ililani Waiau
Age na
Town/Moku Papakōlea Homestead
Island Oʻahu
Social Media Handle na
Nominated by Aukahi Austin Seabury
Leadership Category Education
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.
Aloha kāua.
Eia au la o Kameha‘ililani Waiau
Eia au la o ka mo‘opuna aloha na Phyllis me Samuel.
Eia au la o ka hiapo kaikamahine na Aileen me Clifford.
Eia au la he mamo na ka ‘ohana Halemanu, Cidade, Ka‘ululā‘au, Wright, Kipi, a me Waiau.
Eia au la he wahine Hawai‘i, he keiki ‘āina ho‘opulapula no uka o Papakōlea i ke alo o Pu‘u‘ōhi‘a e kī‘ei ana i ka nani o Kewalo i ka moku o Kona.
Eia au la he aloha ‘āina, he kumu mauli ola, he hope kahu, he hoa aloha ‘ōlelo makuahine.
Eia au la o hanakeaka, o mo‘olelo kūpuna, o mele oli, o mo‘okū‘auhau, o kū‘ē, o kōkua.
Eia au la o hoa pili, hoa paio, hoa noi‘i, hoa kāko‘o, hoa kahukahu, hoa aukahi, hoa ‘Āpi‘iali‘i.
Eia au la he kaikamahine, he kaikuahine, he kua‘ana, he kaikaina, he māmā nui, he ‘anakē, he hoa lāhui aloha.
Eia au la o Kameha‘ililani Waiau.
Aloha kāua.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?
I am so blessed and honored to serve as Hope Kahu at Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau, LPCS in Ha‘ikū. In the summers I teach a course on Pilikānaka through a Mauli Ola lense for Kahuawaiola an ‘ōiwi teacher training program at Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikōlani at UHHilo. And for the last 5 years, I have been working to support and be the best cheerleader-board member for Mā‘ilikūkahi ‘Āina Momona Academy and our Ko‘olau families through KAMA.
These three kuleana are ko‘iko‘i to me and my personal goals of creating and holding space for kanaka to grow, explore, learn, ho‘oulu, be energized, make mistakes, ho‘oikaika, thrive, and try again, lanakila, and a‘o hou a manamana akula. I love working for our lāhui in small ways that when kui ‘ia together like a lei, can become impactful, beautiful, and ‘a‘ala inspiring.
This work is important to me because I was blessed (continue to be) to have many pu‘uhonua in my life since bebe time. Certain people, places, and spaces that supported and guided me and my mākua along the way in big and small ways, that contribute to my sense of justice, my aloha for all things ku‘una Hawai‘i, and my attempts to be gracious, fierce, nurturing, fabulous, curious, daring, inquisitive, and maluhia all at the same time both for others and for my own holomua.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.
I admire and aspire to emulate the following qualities of leadership; maiau, kelakela, kolohe-kupu‘eu, hilina‘i aku, ākea ka no‘ono‘o, kahukahu i ka mauli ola, kū i ka pono, hānai aloha.
I have a ways to go but I see glimmers of these attributes and these qualities when I am healthy and focused and mālama my mauli ola too. Thats when I feel I best express these admirable qualities. I hope to engage these qualities daily in all the aspects of my life, including those times when I am not the alaka‘i or the kumu or the board member. Becasue being a leader also means I have to know when and whom to follow, support, walk beside, hang back and kilo, jump in and hana alu like too. i find I am most successful when I hana pū and share the ‘auamo of kuleana and when I engage my ‘ohana, kaiaulu/kauhale and friends in the process.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?
My maternal grandparents (Phyllis & Samuel) and my mākua aloha (Aileen & Clifford) are my first kumu and in their very different ways have modeled for me their love and respect for learning and for contributing to the well being of their families and their work communities. Many kumu and community members have guided me and continue to be mentors and lālā of my support system too. All of my siblings and my plethora of cousin-siblings who love, challenge, support and counsel me offer so much aloha and paipai, I know that I am blessed to enjoy their kāko‘o. I am so grateful that my friends and colleagues offer endless aloha and a‘oa‘o too!
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?
Aloha ‘Āina
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?
Aloha ‘Āina