Kau'ionalani Nishizaki
Name Kau'ionalani Nishizaki
Age 37
Town/Moku West Side
Island Oʻahu
Social Media Handle none
Nominated by Kimberly Moa
Leadership Category Mauli Ola - Health, Personal & Family Development
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.
Currently the Director of Native Hawaiian Health with the Queen's Health Systems providing leadership in the development and implementation of strategic and innovative clinical, community, research, and workforce development initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians and further the mission of the Queen's Health System to honor Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV.
I was born on island of Maui and raised on the West Side of `Oahu where I currently reside (in Ewa Beach) with my husband and two keiki.
I am graduate of UH Mānoa with my Master’s in Social Work and Bachelor’s in Psychology. I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and proud licensed social worker (LSW) with experience developing culturally responsive programs and treatment interventions in health and mental health settings. Prior experience as a clinical therapist in a residential and acute facility and as a medical social worker in a community-based primary care clinic (Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center) with underserved individuals with complex co-morbid conditions and psychosocial needs has shaped my passion for holistic, culturally responsive approaches in medicine that incorporate ancestral knowledge and practice to promote healing and meet the needs of those most vulnerable.
In 2019, as Manager of Native Hawaiian Health I led the successful implementation of the new Native Hawaiian Health Strategic Plan, Kahua Ola. Key accomplishments in two years as Manager and now Director include the following:
the development of seven culturally responsive clinical pilot programs on O'ahu and Hawai'i Island in primary and specialty care for Hawaiians experience chronic illness and psychosocial challenges. This included the development and integration of Ola Hou I Ka Hula (hula to manage hypertension) at two clinical sites in partnership with Kumu Hula on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island as well as advocacy and support for the development of The Queenʻs Mobile Vaccination Clinic (at the request of community) to serve Native Hawaiians and other underserved communities.
I oversaw the establishment of over 85 community partnerships to foster community grants and donations supporting community capacity building, ʻāina connectedness, food insecurity and food sovereignty, culturally-based research, cultural education, cultural practice, spiritual connectedness, and access to care;
led the implementation of 22 health care training and education activities in partnership with cultural practitioners highlighting cultural and ancestral knowledge and promoting community participation in internal activities at Queens
supported and advocated for funding for over 74 health scholarships for Hawaiians students seeking education in the health care field;
participated in community coalitions like NHPI Hawaii 3R COVID-19 Coalition to promote systemic change to address long-standing health disparities for Hawaiians.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?
This past year, I had the privilege of serving as co-lead for the Social Support and Recovery Committee through the NHPI Hawaii COVID-19 3R Coalition and as a member of both the Data Committee and the Testing, Tracing, Isolation and Vaccine (TTIV) Committees to reduce the impact of COVID-19 through collective partnership with over 50 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander serving organizations. This has allowed me to not only forge important relationships with the NHPI community, but has allowed me to advocate as a community liaison and translator internally at Queens to highlight community needs and advocate for public health interventions such as the development of the Queen’s Corps (sending volunteers to provide aide at mobile vaccination pods), as well as to advocate for the development of the first Queens Mobile Vaccination Clinic. During this time I have had the privilege of canvassing and outreach to Native Hawaiian and underserved communities to better understand health needs, concerns, and provide education on accessing COVID-19 care.
In addition, I have had the privilege of working directly with key community partners, such as KUPU, Maoliola Keʻehi, Maʻo Farms, Waimanalo Learning Center MALAMA Aquaponics Program, Lāʻau Kū Makani - Hoʻoulu ʻĀina and others to actively support the development and grant writing process and internal advocacy to ensure funding for critical community efforts that promote health and wellbeing for Hawaiians.
Personally, I also have the privilege of volunteering and playing music with the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Ewa Beach to distribute food, basic needs and supplies to local families and children in need, homeless outreach and wound care, and offering aide to individuals struggling with addiction, substance abuse, history of incarceration, trauma, and human trafficking.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.
Two key mentors in my life, Aunty Lynette Paglinawan and Uncle Likeke have taught me that leadership (as well as serving as a helper or healer for your family or community) first begins with yourself. Living in a Hawaiian way is an active, daily pursuit which entails working to be pono emotionally, spiritually, and through my own actions (regardless of how challenging). I try to utilize hawaiian values such as haʻahaʻa, akahai, lōkahi, ʻoluʻolu, and ahonui to live with aloha an build pilina in my personal and professional life.
As a leader, a woman, a mom, a wife, a sister, a friend, and an advocate I've learned that honesty with real and genuine regard for others is one key to building and fostering meaningful relationships. I've learned that resilience is often built through adversity "getting thrown off your horse and still finding the strength to get back up and keep trying" which I've experienced. I value and regard transparency and authenticity which I believe is critical to fostering trust. I do my best to be humble acknowledging that as a human and as a leader, I make mistakes but it takes great courage to admit these mistakes, admit when you're wrong, or working alongside others to try to repair something that was lost. I try to establish mutual respect by listening and giving voice to others. This has allowed me to foster engaging discussions, generate ideas, hear new perspectives, see from a diverse lens, and foster innovation and change through empowerment of the strengths others display.
I also recognize daily that if not for Ke Akua, my ancestors, kupuna, and the giants whose shoulders on which I stand, my mentors, and organizations like Papa Ola Lokahi (who if not for the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program) I would not be where I am today. Any success is not my own it's shared with a team or others as a collective. I recognize and live with kuleana. And my connection to my ancestors, to my community and 'ohana, and to my next generation gives me guidance as a human and leader continuing being pono and giving back to uplift others.
I try to express these qualities by practicing mindfulness and being fully present with whoever I am with whether at work or at home because relationships are at the core of everything in life.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?
My grandparents both grew up very poor without an education raising many children and facing hardship and discrimination. However, they were resilient and gave my parents life and 'ike that I now cherish and hold dear today.
My parents were the first generation to attend college and worked tirelessly to afford me with this same gift. They showed me unconditional love through my own hardship and taught me what resilience looked like as I watched my mom battle and survive cancer twice. This has given me a passion for helping to meet the "needs of those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" and truly align my work with this social work mission.
In college, my mentor Kaleo Patterson was the first to introduce me to the social work field through the lens of restorative healing. He highlighted the 'ike of indigenous people across the world who actively fostered peace in their societies through traditional practice. Understanding social work and community through this lens is the reason I decided to become of social worker.
Papa Ola Lokahi gave me a gift of a scholarship and of being a part of their family has led me to the health field and urged me to use my skills to give back and mentor other students in in the same way.
Aunty Lynette and Uncle Likeke have given me a true gift of their legacy of ho'oponopono, their 'ike, and their stories. This has guided me in my life as a human, a leader, and a professional. I cherish this gift.
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?
Voice
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?
inequity