Toni Marie Kaui

Name Toni Marie Kaui

Age 50

Town/Moku Nānāwale, Pāhoa, Puna, Hawaiʻi

Island Hawaiʻi Island

Social Media Handle @nahunaahi or @kumu_kaui

Nominated by Gabriel Victor Jr. Kalā Branco

Leadership Category Education

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

I am an educator, but I am really an architect of dreams. I provide secondary students in grades 6 through 12 with a plan to pursue their passions and interests while continuing to perpetuate their ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and their cultural practices. I dedicate my 20 years of knowledge, skills, and experiences of teaching pedagogy and practice to developing design-based curriculum allowing students to focus on their interests and passions. For example, students interested in engineering, but unsure about they type of engineering, e.g., civil, structural, mechanical, etc., would pursue a curriculum that allows them to focus on one type of engineering to learn more about it while also gaining competency in core content areas, e.g., sceince, technology, engineering, mathematics, visual arts, and social studies. In addition to these individual learning plans, the context of their curriculum supports a need of our community organization. My students currently work with two organizations, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō, an organization dedicated to fishpond revitalization and restoration, and Liko Nā Pilina, an organization dedicated to reforestation of Native Hawaiian plains forests. The curriculum I develop to support their interests and passions to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, visual arts, and mathematics (STEAM), also supports the needs of these organizations. For example, in Nā Hunaahi's first year, four of its students developed an educational board game for Hui Hoʻoleimaluō because the organization wanted to reach all students, not just the ones fortunate enough to take a field trip to the pond. My students designed and created a board game that Hui Hoʻoleimaluō could use in classroom visits. The only issue we have right now is being able to produce the game for them.

My work allows students to continue with their learning and perpetuation of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi but also pursue college and career pathways unavailable to them in traditional Hawaiian immersion schools, namely STEAM college and career pathways. Through my work, I give them opportunities to explore and investigate STEAM content, while still being able to continue learning and developing kiaʻi knowledge and skills for cultural practices they value.

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

When I think about why I do what I do, the Mauna is foremost in my mind, but I also think about Pohakuloa, Kahoʻolawe, and the multitude of other struggles our lāhui faced with regards to our battle to protect and defend against colonizers and from the damage they do and propose to do to our sacred lands, to our culture, and to our people. These thoughts remind me about the very minute number of Native Hawaiian scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians capable of defending and protecting our culture and our cultural practices from people wanting to capitalize on where we come from and everything that makes us who we are. This lack of representation of Native Hawaiians in these careers motivates me to give students early exposure and early opportunities to explore and investigate these college and career pathways. Research and personal observation illustrates the importance of early exposure to our Native Hawaiian children if our hope is to entice and encourage them to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers in order to protect and defend our lāhui in the years to come.

Our early exposure activities include the after school robotics programs my students and I operate for a small group of Hawaiian immersion middle and elementary school students. It also includes the third grade curriculum I am developing to pilot in an local HIDOE public school next school year. Through these activities, I hope to gain traction in developing a strong STEAM pipeline for Native Hawaiian youth who will return to continue to elevate our lāhui through their work and community building.

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

My mother showed and continues to show me that the most important quality of a leader is service to others, and while my mom would never consider herself a leader, I believe the people she works with would beg to differ. I strive everyday to be a servant leader for my students and their families, for my family, and for my lāhui. As a servant leader, I lead by example, which means working and learning beside my students, supporting additional needs of my students' families, and giving of my knowledge, skills, and experiences to community members who ask.

Humility goes hand-in-hand with servant leadership because when I serve others, I am more intent on celebrating their wins than my own. As someone serving others, I am usually behind them offering support or holding them up because honoring their accomplishments matters most to me. If I am unknown but making those I serve known, then I am doing my job as a servant leader because my accomplishments should be recognized as those people I helped achieve their dreams and reach their potential.

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

My haumāna and their ʻohana inspire me to be my best self. I became an architect of dreams to help my haumāna achieve their dreams, which is why they continue to inspire me to be better by improving my craft, my knowledge, and my skills every day. If I am not doing what is best for my haumāna every minute of my day with them, then what am I doing and why am I doing it?

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

Elevating

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

Solidarity