Nā limahana
Zachary Alakaʻi LumCO-FOUNDER,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
GAUHAR TURSUN-KYZY TYULEMISSCHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Uʻilani Tanigawa LumCO-FOUNDER,
DIRECTOR OF CULTURE AND ADVOCACY 
G. Maxwell MukaiDIRECTOR OF STRATEGY AND GROWTH
THERESIA HOWEDIGITAL OPERATIONS MANAGER,
KLL PARTNER |
Zachary Alakaʻi Lum of Haʻikū, Heʻeia, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu, is a lifetime student, educator, and practitioner of mele Hawaiʻi. A graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and a current Ph.D. student in Political Science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Zachary is the executive director of Kāhuli Leo Leʻa, a Hawaiʻi 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to catalyzing aloha ʻāina through mele and other cultural practices. He is the former director of choral music at the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus, where he promoted the value of mele in education and as a powerful tool for self-efficacy. He is a Grammy-nominated, 21-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winning producer, musician, and mele practitioner. In addition to his work with the group Keauhou, he has produced albums––including Kūhaʻo Maunakea (2019), Lei Nāhonoapiʻilani: Nā Mele Hou (2020), Huliāmahi, Vol. 1 (2020), Kāwili (2021), Mele Hoʻopulapula Vol. 1 (2021)––as well as live and virtual events aimed at education through mele, including Hawaiian Airlines May Day and Mele Huliāmahi. He belongs to Hālau Nā Kamalei o Līlīlehua, a hula school under the direction of Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehionāpuaikawēkiuokalani Cazimero. Zachary is driven by his passion to promote mele and aloha ʻāina as a means of composing lāhui.
Gauhar Tursun-Kyzy Tyulemiss is Kazakh (tribe Argyn, line Qarakesek, of the Middle Horde). She holds a MA in Education and a professional certificate in Project Management. She has 19 years of experience in grants, project, compliance, and operational management. Since 2015 she has worked as a COO of another Native Hawaiian managed and serving organization. As Senior Grants Manager at the University of Washington, she managed a portfolio of multi-million, multi-year federally-funded grants (Russia, Mozambique, East Timor, Sudan, Cote DʻIvoire, Columbia, etc.). She also worked as a Contracting Officer's Representative at Tripler Army Medical Hospital/U.S. Department of Defense. In the last seven years, she helped establish several localized social enterprises in Hawaiʻi and the Marshall Islands, which resulted in job creation and retention and the economic sustainability of Indigenous start-ups. Since 2010, she brought in over $32 million in funding to support initiatives on workforce development and apprenticeship, Native Hawaiian education, housing, environmental stewardship, agriculture & aquaculture, and community development in Hawaiʻi and Pasifika.
Originally from Makawao, Maui, U‘ilani is a licensed attorney and graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law with certificates in Native Hawaiian Law and Environmental Law. She is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Maui and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge where she earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Hawaiian Studies. Her thesis examined hula’s role in society and in particular, its performance in Japan as a cultural, social, economic, and political mechanism. Uʻi first began law school as an Evening Part-Time student while working as a Trustee Aide at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. During her time as a law student, she was a Research Assistant for the Environmental Law Program, a Staff Editor for the Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, and an extern with the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations. Uʻi is a hula practitioner and is currently a Legal Fellow at Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law. She serves on various boards including Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT), Maui United Way, and ʻIhikapalaumaewa Foundation. Uʻi now resides in ʻĀhuimanu, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu, with her husband, Zachary, and son, Kuaola Kamaleiokauhale.
G. Maxwell Mukai, a native of Waiʻalae Iki, Oʻahu, finds his passion at the intersection of Hawaiian culture and economic development. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, with a Bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration (Marketing) degree from Pepperdine University. He has served in various positions in high-impact organizations such as Kamehameha Schools, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and more recently, as the Program Manager of Kūhana, a business development program for Native Hawaiian business owners presented by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. Max's expertise in business development drives Kāhuli Leo Le'a's programming that enhances the economic sustainability of cultural practitioners and Hawaiʻi's Creative Industries at large.
Theresia Howe holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration & Marketing. She is an award-winning web/digital marketing communications professional. Her work includes creating and executing digital strategies for client websites, blogs, social media, electronic marketing, and online reputation management both nationally and internationally.
She specializes in e-commerce start-up and management, digital media sales, product development, compliance and testing requirements, online business strategy, and product launch. She brings decades of experience in web-enabled enterprises, which will support both creative artists and end-user experiences and customer services in the virtual environment. She most recently has led the development of the MELE, a streaming platform for Hawaiʻi's creative content. |