Andrea Dias-Machadoʻs commitment to social justice for the Lāhui Hawai’i has resulted in the creation of innovative, Hawaiian culture-based programs that served real needs and addressed gaps for Native Hawaiian learners, 'ohana and communities. She possesses 14 years of experience working in Hawaiian community education for Kamehameha Schools and more than 20 years in a variety of multi-sector leadership and direct service roles, respectively. Andrea is currently the owner and principal consultant of Huliau Aloha, LLC, providing high-quality, unprecedented services for organizations and businesses to achieve their mission and vision. "We must reclaim the brilliance of our kupuna through the proliferation of place-based Hawaiian Immersion Education," stated Dias-Machado. Andrea resides in the ahupua'a of Waiau with her husband Jason, son Zion Kahuliauokamana'olana and ‘ilio Maka’ala. Kahuliau is a 5th grader at Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Waiau.

La’akea Cumberlander is a proud advocate for a secondary cultural immersion program in the ‘Ewa Moku on behalf of her son, a haumāna at Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Waiau. She provides valuable knowledge to the team as she has a longstanding background in Native Hawaiian Education. La’akea possesses 21 years serving Hawai’i’s keiki with 16 years working with the Department of Education and the last 5 years at Kamehameha Schools, respectively. She affirms that our ʻōlelo makuahine is key to a thriving lāhui because an understanding of our ʻolelo Hawaiʻi allows for an understanding of ʻike Hawaiʻi in historical, political, spiritual and psychological contexts. Above all, she believes that it is essential for Kanaka Hawai’i to know who we are, personally and as a lāhui.

Dr. Umi Perkins is an alumni mākua of the Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Waiau with two of his three children having attended the program. He holds a PhD in Political Science with a specialty in Indigenous Politics and uses his knowledge and extensive experience in Native Hawaiian Education in his teaching career. Most notably, Umi has taught Hawaiian history at Kamehameha Schools for 20 years and at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa for 7 years. “Keiki don’t learn in a vacuum. Providing the infrastructure for their development, especially in language, is crucial to becoming fluent speakers and contributing members of the Hawaiian community,” he states. To this end, Umi’s work aims to spread knowledge of Hawaiian history to all ages within the Hawaiian community.

Davielynn Briones is a mākua to three keiki who are haumāna at various Native Hawaiian focused schools across the island of ‘O’ahu. Her oldest daughter attends Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Waiau. She has worked for Kamehameha Schools for 13 years doing various business and educational projects. Davielynn supports creating a secondary Hawaiian Immersion Education in the ‘Ewa Moku because she often wonders what the pathway to continued Immersion Education would be like for her keiki. Unfortunately, her and her kāne, Bryson, have learned that the options are very limited for their ‘ohana. Through lived experiences, she believes that this is an important issue to be brought forward and addressed for all of the keiki who will come after.

Suzie Leong is a dedicated mākua of two children, one of them an alumni haumāna of Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Waiau. She has committed herself and her ‘ohana to perpetuating Native Hawaiian culture and language as ‘ōlapa, dancers, with Hālau Nā Mamo o ka Upa’ika’uaua under the direction of Kumu Hula Lahela Igarta. Through hālau, the Leong ‘Ohana have participated in many community engagement activities such as volunteering at the lo’i and going to Mauna Kea. In terms of Hawaiian Immersion Education, Suzie feels that there is always more we can do to grow our collective vision of spreading Hawaiian culture and language to our ‘ohana. Thus, she hopes this project will create a pathway to ensure that ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i will be perpetuated further, and in doing so, will in turn, amplify Hawaiian Culture as well.

Dr. Kealani Cook is an Associate Professor in the Humanities Department at the University of Hawaiʻi, West Oʻahu where he teaches Hawaiian and Pacific history. His dissertation and his book, Return to Kahiki, focused on Native Hawaiian historical connections to other Pacific Island peoples. His current work focuses on histories of non-violent civil disobedience in Oceania. Originally from Waimea, Hawaiʻi, he now lives on Oʻahu in the Moku of ʻEwa and his two keiki attend Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Waiau. He believes that it is essential for the ʻEwa district to increase its capacity for both immersion education and Indiegenous-focused historical and cultural education from the pre-school to university level.