Chanel Wong Chanel Wong, a Youth Development Specialist in Kīpuka Kauaʻi, merges her passion for education and social justice, with Native Hawaiian values. Before joining Liliʻuokalani Trust, she taught 6th grade on the Leeward Coast of Oʻahu, developed curricula for Native Hawaiian-focused charter schools on Oʻahu, and taught ʻāina education in the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia. She has a Bachelor’s in Ethnic Studies from Oregon State University with a focus on Asian American history. Her Master of Education in Teaching is through the Hoʻokulāiwi Center for Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. At LT, Chanel channels her desire to help Native Hawaiians “connect to ʻike kūpuna and ʻāina-based practices that help to strengthen their mauli ola and the ola of their communities.” When she isn’t serving kamaliʻi at LT, she is studying for a Doctor of Education degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, focused on indigenous wāhine leadership in ʻāina-based nonprofits and education. Soccer, reading, music are Chanel’s hobbies. She also enjoys Black Ferns Rugby, planting lāʻau, watching movies by indigenous writers and directors, and reading poetry — especially poems by Neruda. Originally from Wahiawa and Makakilo on Oʻahu, her ʻohana is also from Kōloa, Kauaʻi. Her sons, Kōlea and Kūhina, are Chanel’s pride and joy. She believes it was important for her to return to Kauaʻi and “raise them on their ʻāina kūpuna. Aloha ʻĀina.”