21st Annual NHEA Convention
Due to Covid-19, the 2020 NHEA Convention will be held virtually on Friday, July 3, 2020, from 9 to 3 pm, using the Zoom platform. Thanks to our generous sponsors, Kamehameha Schools, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the University of Hawaiʻi, there will be no registration fee. However, you still must register to attend. Register TODAY.
The convention theme is – Hulihia, “complete change or turned upside down” pervasive in events and issues today. The topics related to this year’s conference theme hope to encourage and advance discussions, dialogue, and awareness among educators, its partners, and interested community members.
At this year’s conference we will be honoring 3 educators who exemplify the theme Hulihia. Each has contributed significantly to change their respective fields of education. This years Educator’s of the Year are Professor Kauka DeSilva, Kau’i Sang, and Malia Nobrega-Olivera. Please join us for this years NHEA conference – Hulihia!
Kauka de Silva is a Native Hawaiian ceramic artist and sculptor. His works express his ancestry and the Hawaiian environment through their motifs, colors, and forms and has been widely exhibited. Kauka is a professor of art at Kapi‘olani Community College and has played a vital role in increasing the number of Native Hawaiians working at the college and throughout the university system.
A master and leader of ceramics and sculputre, de Silva is an inspiration. His students say that he is friendly, patient and positive, genuinely encouraging, and willingly gives hit time to them. They add, “His ability to communicate inspires us to achieve our goals and some to pursueour student in art.” “Kauka has touched each of our lives. He is the essence of aloha.” Kauka started his career in 1988 at Kapiʻolani Community College and after 32 years retired this year.
Kauʻi Sang, Director – Office of Hawaiian Education (Hawaiʻi State DOE)
After an extensive recruitment process, Dawn Kauʻi Sang was selected as the first Director of Office of Hawaiian Education, which now falls under the Office of the Superintendent. Sang began her career with DOE in 1997 teaching at Waimānalo and later taught at two Hawaiian Immersion schools. In 2005, she became the Educational Specialist for the Hawaiian Language Immersion (Kaiapuni) Program. Sang was actively involved in the revision of Board policies 105.7 and 105.8 and the development of Board policy E-3. A graduate of Kailua High, Kauʻi earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in education from the UH-Mānoa.
Malia Nobrega-Olivera is from Hanapēpē Valley, Kona, Kauaʻi. She is currently the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement and also the Director of a program called Loli Aniau, Makaala Aniau (LAMA) (Climate Change, Climate Alert). Malia is a Native Hawaiian educator, kumu hula, salt maker, cultural practitioner, film maker, community organizer, and advocate of indigenous rights at all levels – locally, regionally, and internationally. Her experiences demonstrate her commitment to her people, language, and culture and to indigenous peoples worldwide. Ms. Nobrega-Olivera’s advocacy work has taken her to various international meetings such as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).