Keliʻikanoe Mahi

Name Keliʻikanoe Mahi

Age 48

Town/Moku Kona Hema

Island Hawaiʻi Island

Social Media Handle @hiki.ola, hikiola.org

Nominated by Tiare HewLen

Leadership Category Education

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

I was born and raised on Oʻahu, but now live where my grandmother was born and raised, in Kona Hema, Hawaiʻi Island. After 23 years in the DOE focusing on Hawaiian language education and revitalization, COVID provided me an opportunity to pivot my career and in June 2020 I started working for a non-profit organization focused on native Hawaiian reforestation in Kealakekua Uka. I am responsible for engaging and educating the community about our efforts of reforestation.

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

The work I do is important to the community so that: keiki can learn about native plants and animals that dwell in the uplands; keiki can have outdoor educational place-based and ʻāina based experiences; our community can learn and participate in reforestation efforts; and our community members can have access to learning about native Hawaiian plants and animals.

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

I admire the leader that can adapt and find balance in the various approaches of leadership with an outcome of a successful organization. There is a wide spectrum of leadership styles and I admire the leader that can comfortably flow between them for the success of the organization. As an example, a leader may need to gather input from the organization at times and make decisions with everyone's manaʻo in mind. Yet at other times, a leader may need to make a unilateral decision for the organization. A different approach may be necessary for each context. So to me, the leader that can find the appropriate approach, who can adapt to the given context and communicate it successfully to the members of the organization is admirable.

I reflect on my past leadership experiences and believe I possess the potential but still need to hone the ability to navigate "flowing" between the various approaches. There are so many valuable experiences that shape each and every one of us throughout our lives. No one truly "arrives" at perfection, rather, we all keep growing and strengthening ourselves.

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

My grandmother Agnes Kaʻōhiʻanohomalu Paris Smith has inspired me. She was a beautiful part-Hawaiian woman who was raised very American by her ʻohana. I want to make all my kupuna proud by revitalizing our language and culture once again.

All of my kumu who have taught me through the years have also added to my life and inspired me to do what I am doing. They have collectively taught me through example and instruction and I want to do that for the future generations.

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

reforestation

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

addiction