IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Administrator, Maui Emergency Management Agency
Photographs by Savannah Dagupion
Growing Up in Kahului
I grew up in Kahului, poor in resources but rich in aloha. I was the youngest of 10 children, and my mom worked three jobs to raise us. She taught me work ethic, compassion and how to overcome challenges.
I was blessed to have many mentors in my life who cared for me and helped guide me along the way. Being received into their homes shaped my life and work in the fire department and Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). I could protect those families – and their children – as they once protected me, returning the aloha.
Language, Hula and Service
When I was five, I heard a pule (prayer) in Hawaiian by Reverend David Kaʻalakea, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I hoped one day I could speak the language.
When I was 20, I had the opportunity to dance hula at the Royal Lahaina Lūʻau under the direction of Kumu Hula Frank Kawaikapu Hewett, someone I deeply admired and respected. While learning hula was not my greatest passion or highest priority, learning the Hawaiian language was.
During that time, I was persistent in asking if he would teach me ʻōlelo (language). At first, he was hesitant, but I continued to ask. Eventually, my persistence paid off, and after our hula lessons he began teaching me one-on-one. Those moments became incredibly special to me, and I was deeply honored to have the opportunity to learn from someone I respected so much.
Over the next three months, I was asking thousands of questions and studying on my own. One day at the beach, he spoke Hawaiian, and I didn’t understand a single word. I was frustrated that I had put in so much work and had zero return.
That night at the Royal Ocean Terrace, he spoke Hawaiian again. Except that time, I immediately understood him. It felt like opening from darkness to light. For whatever purpose, God gave it to me, like He was saying, “This belongs to you, this is now yours, you better take care of it.” It took me three more months to become fluent.
I pursued Hawaiian language and hula as a passion and the fire department as a career – I got in at 22.
Hula eventually meant as much as the language to me. Through one-on-one training for many years, I was able to engage in hula in a way most people never do. We were into the details of each word, motion and vision, which put me in a spiritual space. I was taught that I’m not dancing for an audience. I’m dancing for my ancestors.
Frank adopted me at 28. My dad is a poet, professor, kahuna (spiritual leader), kumu hula (hula teacher) and haku mele (composer). I am fortunate that my understanding of language comes from those realms.
Then came the opportunity to ʻūniki (graduate in hula). I flew to the Big Island every other month for two years and went through rigorous training. At the same time, I was studying to be a fire captain. I got promoted to captain and completed ʻūniki in 2008.
Leadership and Kuleana
In 2009, I created a system to run the training division, modeling it after the ʻōlelo noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb), “ʻIke aku ʻike mai, kōkua aku kōkua mai, mālama aku mālama mai, aloha aku aloha mai; pela iho la ka nohona ʻohana” – recognize and be recognized, respect and be respected, help and be helped, care for and be cared for, love and be loved; that is the way the family survives.
Hoʻopili (to mimic) makes the Maui Fire Department successful. Everything is taught through demonstration, not lectures. That reflects another ʻōlelo noʻeau: “Ma ka hana ka ʻike” – through doing we find understanding.
In 2017, I was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. I was able to beat it through prayer – not surgery or chemotherapy – and retired in 2019.
Being the MEMA administrator was never a goal for me. I was retired and happy. In 2023, there came the responsibility to return and serve the community. My initial thought was no. My family had sacrificed through my firefighting career. I did not want to ask them to do it again.
I went into prayer for two months. Because God saved me in 2018, I decided I would go through the hiring process, and if selected, that’s God saying yes.
The ahupuaʻa system and kuleana (responsibility) are rooted in collective survival. Individuals take care of their kuleana. Once those resources are managed, they can be shared to protect one another. Within MEMA, building relationships and connecting community is easy because it’s the way Native Hawaiians have thrived.
My leadership is set around high standards. I see the world as full of threat and risk, and I take that seriously. I’m not losing anybody. The community expects expertise and professionalism, so our standard has to reflect it.
Whenever there was a problem, my dad would say to look toward the kūpuna and their words captured in ʻōlelo noʻeau. The first ʻōlelo noʻeau I learned from my dad was “I ka ʻōlelo ke ola, i ka ʻōlelo ka make” – in our language is life, in our language is death.
