Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 9, 1 September 2012 — INAUGURAL ʻAHA WAHINE INSPIRES, EDUCATES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INAUGURAL ʻAHA WAHINE INSPIRES, EDUCATES

A panel of women leaders of three Hawaiian-focused trusts - Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools, left; Claire Asam, Trustee of the Oueen Lili'uokalani Trust; and Colette Machado, Chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs - were awe-inspiring Native Hawaiian role models at the 'Aha Wāhine - Kūhinapapa held Aug. 1 7 and 1 8 at Leeward Community College. Several hundred attended the conference designed to empower and inspire wāhine, whieh was entirely run by and attended by women. The two-day event promoted Native Hawaiian-owned businesses, offered health screenings and featured workshops on health, finance, land, oeean, aquaponics, leadership, filmmaking, Hawaiian values, culture, the arts, 'ohana and mueh more. As conference co-founder Mehanaokalā Hind told Ka Wai Ola in June, "To share eaeh other's successes ean only empower our families and communities and our nation." The inaugural 'aha was proudly sponsored in part by the Ōffice of Hawaiian Affairs. - Photo: Francine Murray