Hoʻoikaika Annual Conference 2025

We Are All In This Together/E Alu Like Kākou:
Stories of Strength and Resilience

He ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani kākou. We are wind-resistant ʻaʻaliʻi plants.

Mary Kawena Pukui, for the entire Hawaiian proverb, please reference ʻŌlelo Noʻeau No. 507

Thursday, September 25, 2025

8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The King Kamehameha Golf Club

2500 Honoapiʻilani Highway
Wailuku, Maui

Travel Scholarships

Financial support for airfare and ground transport may be available for attendees from Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi on a reimbursement basis.
Please answer the related questions in the registration form to be considered for this scholarship.

In a world where crises can divide or unite, we choose connection and collaboration. The 2025 Hoʻoikaika Annual Conference invites us to reflect on the ways our communities, families, and colleagues come together in times of hardship – not only in the face of disaster, but also in the quieter struggles of everyday life. This year’s theme, “We Are All in This Together/E Alu Like Kākou: Stories of Strength and Resilience,” honors the acts of support, teamwork, and perseverance that sustain us.

Rooted in the belief that healing and progress are collective journeys, this gathering will explore how unity in purpose fuels our ability to rise—again and again. This is especially relevant as Hoʻoikaika Partnership celebrates twelve years of hosting annual conferences. Through storytelling, cultural grounding, and practical strategies, we will:

• Reflect on how individuals and communities have lifted one another through challenging times;
• Celebrate the power of collaboration and family engagement in our workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods; and
• Expand our understanding of resilience not as something we face alone, but as a shared experience that binds us and makes us stronger, especially through life’s transitions.

Whether you’re a seasoned provider or just beginning your journey in service to children and families, this conference is a chance to recharge, reconnect, and remember that none of us stands alone.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer

Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer is the fifth daughter of Emma Aluli and Harry Meyer who grew up on the sands of Mokapu, Kailua, and Hilo Palikū of Hawaiʻi. The Aluli ohana (family) is a large and diverse group of scholar-activists dedicated to Hawaiian education, justice, land reclamation, health/healing, cultural revitalization, arts education, transformational economics, food sovereignty, prison reform, Hawaiian philosophy and most of all, music. Her background is in Indigenous epistemology and its role in world-wide awakening as she is committed to the process aloha-pono will play in this evolution. Manu has also been a wilderness instructor, athlete/coach, and experiential educator. Professor Aluli Meyer obtained her doctorate in Philosophy of Education from Harvard (Ed.D. 1998) exploring Hawaiian epistemology, and has been an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Manulani spent five years in Aotearoa/New Zealand as the lead designer/teacher for He Waka Hiringa, an innovative Masters in Applied Indigenous Knowledge at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Aunty Manu is currently the Konohiki for Kūlana o Kapolei at UH West Oʻahu. She is dedicated to “Niu Now” – a cultural agroforestry movement helping plant uluniu – coconut groves – throughout Hawaiʻi. Her two books – Hoʻoulu: Our Time of Becoming (2001); and Hoʻopono: Mutual Emergence (2024) can be found at Native Books Hawaiʻi.

Keynote Speaker: Loea Pūlama Collier

Loea Pūlama Collier sees the evolution in Hawaiian education as more than just a growth in the number of schools and students. “I became [an immersion] teacher at Pā‘ia Elementary because I had a Hawaiian-language degree,” even though she felt unprepared. She says the quality of instruction she received was high, but the practice time was not what it is for today’s students. “After four years, they’re busting out those higher-level sentence patterns that took me years to learn. They’re more proficient in the range of the Hawaiian language, from classical to colloquial. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The Hoʻoikaika Annual Conference is one of the primary ways we build our capacity as health and human service providers. To become a sponsor or join the conference planning committee, please contact Hoʻoikaika Coordinator Deb Marois.

DRAFT AGENDA

Registration/Check In/Continental Breakfast

Opening Pule/Oli

Warm Up & Introductions
Emcee: Luana Kawaʻa

Opening Keynote: Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer & Loea Pūlama Collier

Break

Panel 1: The Kāne Perspective: Stories of Resiliency
A discussion regarding how our kāne have tackled and worked through challenges they faced during times of crisis or hardship. Hear how their resiliency persisted through adversity, how they strengthened their ‘ohana through collaboration, teamwork, and community engagement. Moderated by Paul Tonnessen.

Pule & Networking Lunch
Pule: Mia Sado-Magbual

Honoring Paul Tonnessen
Join us in acknowledging Paul’s many years of service to the Maui community in advance of his retirement in May 2026.

Panel 2: The Provider Perspective: Balancing the Professional and Personal Hats
A discussion regarding the challenges of how fellow professionals mālama themselves while separating personal feelings and or situations from their professional role. Hear how their collective experiences in working through their desire to meet the needs of the community they serve and love and the needs of their ‘ohana can strengthen community resilience. Moderated by Michele Navarro Ishiki.

Break

Group Reflection & Closing Keynote: Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer & Loea Pūlama Collier

Closing Remarks/Oli

Evals & CEUs

Mahalo to Our Generous Sponsors