OUR TEAM
Laurie Au
Laurie has devoted most of her life to lifting up the voices of everyday people, first as a journalist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and now working alongside them through community organizing.
Laurie has experience in politics and government, serving as the Press Secretary for the 2010 campaign of Governor Neil Abercrombie and later as the Deputy Communications Director in the Office of the Governor. In her roles within journalism and government, Laurie strived to make elected officials and government more responsive, honest, and accountable to the public.
In 2014, Laurie received her Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she focused on community organizing, leadership development, and social entrepreneurship. Laurie has led and facilitated trainings on community organizing practices for groups ranging from senior-level public executives from around the world to youth activists.
A Pearl City High School graduate, Laurie grew up in Waipahu and also holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Kaipo Kukahiko
Born and raised in Kahaluʻu, Oʻahu, Kaipo’s family has played an integral role in his understanding of community work and community development. From youth mentorship programs out of KEY Project to their Kahaluʻu ʻUkulele Band, his parents have always been the inspiration for his values, work and efforts.
Kaipo is a social worker by training and a community activist at heart. He has spent the last 15 years in the non-profit sector supporting community-based organizations and their leaders with the goal of best serving their communities.
As a social worker, Kaipo has experience in youth counseling and mentorship, domestic violence intervention, group facilitation, and community building. In his early career, he was a Hawaiian immersion preschool teacher for several years and then spent 10 years as the Disciplinarian at the Academy of the Pacific. After graduating with his Master’s degree from the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work in 2012, he joined the Consuelo Foundation as a program officer. Kaipo then accepted the role of Executive Director of the KEY Project in his hometown of Waiheʻe, Oʻahu for four years. Most recently, he was the Program Officer for the HMSA Foundation, where he strived to shift the power of philanthropy toward community.
Alapaki Nahale-a
Born and raised in Hilo, Alapaki is a 1986 graduate of Kamehameha Schools and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Alapaki spent more than 30 years serving the community in a variety of roles including as director and chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the East Hawaiʻi commissioner, and as the CEO of the Global Resiliency Hub at ʻIole in Kohala on Hawaiʻi Island. He has held various roles at Kamehameha Schools, including senior director of community engagement and resources for Hawaiʻi Island. He also worked extensively for charter schools as president and executive director of the Hawaiʻi Charter School Network, director of Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School and director of Ka ʻUmeke Kaʻeo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School.
He served on a variety of community boards and commissions, including chairperson of the County of Hawaiʻi Cultural Resources Commission, member of the County Charter Commission, board member of the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island, board member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and former chair of the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents.
President Obama appointed Alapaki to serve on the Presidential Scholars Commission where he helped to set commission policy and select top high school scholars from around the country.
Andrew Aoki
Andrew is a civic and social entrepreneur who works as a facilitator, strategist, problem solver, and communicator. His career includes running youth development programs for the YMCA of Honolulu, analyzing state agencies for the Hawai‘i State Auditor, and overseeing grantmaking at the HMSA Foundation. He helped start several social enterprises including 3Point Consulting, College Connections Hawaiʻi, and Kanu Hawaiʻi. In recognition of his entrepreneurial public service work, Andrew received the inaugural 2002 Hoʻokele Award for nonprofit leadership.
From 2009 to 2010, Andrew oversaw media strategy, voter organizing and mobilization, policy development, candidate preparation, and other strategic elements for Neil Abercrombie’s successful gubernatorial campaign. He then served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor, helping to oversee the cabinet, designing public policy for the state, and advising the governor on all matters. Andrew resigned in October 2011 in search of more effective ways of bringing about social change in Hawaiʻi and co-founded Islander Institute with this mission in mind.
Andrew grew up in Moanalua Valley on Oʻahu and now calls Kailua his home. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University, a juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, and a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.