E Komo Mai – Welcome!

Carolyn Melenani Kuali`i 

Co-Founder / Chief Creative Director / Board Member

Carolyn Melenani Kualiʻi is a multidisciplinary arts and culture professional, cultural preservationist, and Indigenous curator of Native Hawaiian, Mescalero Apache, and Mexican heritage. Raised by her maternal grandmother, Kaena Kualiʻi, she is grounded in a lineage of Indigenous knowledge, traditions, and values that informs both her identity and professional practice. Her work centers on advancing Indigenous narratives through curation, oral history, and digital storytelling, with a focus on supporting cultural practitioners, emerging artists, and honoring ancestral legacies.

Carolyn has curated and produced numerous significant projects, including Heʻe Nalu: The Art and Legacy of Hawaiian Surfing at the Heard Museum; the social marketing campaign HISstory, HERstory, THEIRstory, OURstory: Storytelling as Resilience; Continuous Thread: Celebrating Our Interwoven Histories, Identities and Contributions at the San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery; and the Ancestral Ink Symposium in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Moana Swan

Co-Founder

Moana is Māori of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Porou iwi of Aotearoa. As a Polynesian cultural specialist, Moana has worked extensively with traditional artists across the Pacific to support the preservation and presentation of Indigenous art forms. Moana also served as producer of the Lahaina International Canoe Festival, a key initiative in the revitalization of traditional canoe building throughout the Pacific.

Sekio Fuapopo  

Board Member

Sekio was born in Utulei, Tutuila, American Samoa, and raised and educated in San Francisco. He brings to Kuaʻāina extensive expertise and networks within Pacific Island communities, along with longstanding relationships with cultural masters from across the Pacific and the Pacific Northwest.

After serving in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, Sekio pursued higher education through the GI Bill, earning a Master of Arts in Painting from California State University, Sacramento, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. He continues to work as a practicing artist, drawing inspiration from Samoan traditions and Indigenous ways of navigating the world through stars, winds, and song. Sekio also serves as an advisor to Samoan Solutions and Camp Unity, a community-based Samoan youth organization in San Francisco.

Paul Kealoha Blake  

Board Member

Paul was born on Maui and raised on Oʻahu. He brings to Kuaʻāina extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, media production, and emerging technologies. A Hawaiian videographer, musician, and cultural activist, Paul has collaborated on numerous media projects both nationally and internationally. He is the co-founder and former co-director of the East Bay Media Center in Berkeley, California, an organization dedicated to providing technical training and media access, with a particular focus on communities of color.

Paul was a pioneer in the camcorder and personal computer video movement, leading the first production and post-production organization to offer integrated video and computer workstations. He developed specialized training programs to equip independent producers, organizations, and people with disabilities with skills to navigate new media technologies. With support from the California Arts Council and the Vanguard Foundation, he helped launch and sustain programs such as African Connections, Pacific Wave, Barrier Free TV, Video 99, and Berkeley MuzikTV. Paul also served as co-curator of the Berkeley Video & Film Festival.

Jeanette Acosta 

Board Member

Jeanette is a Filipina and an adopted daughter of a Chumash family. She brings to Kuaʻāina extensive experience in the performing arts, integrating artistic practice with Indigenous land-use and ecological knowledge. A lifelong musician, Jeanette began her career as a child prodigy performing throughout Europe and later studied music at the California Institute of the Arts and UCLA. She has performed as a keyboardist with artists including Taj Mahal and John Trudell, and composed music for television series such as Falcon Crest and Murphy’s Law, earning an Emmy Award nomination for her work.

Jeanette’s professional background also includes work at MBST Entertainment, where she managed the careers of John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Mindi Abair, and assisted with the business affairs of Woody Allen, The Beatles, the Estate of George Harrison, and the Estate of Frank Zappa. Her life journey has led her to the practice of Kundalini yoga and meditation, and she is currently a certified permaculture designer and instructor specializing in maritime culture, herbalism, ethnobotany, and biodynamic principles. Her work emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between humanity, the earth, and the sky.