Nā limahana
Zachary Alakaʻi LumCO-FOUNDER,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
Uʻilani Tanigawa LumCO-FOUNDER,
DIRECTOR OF CULTURE AND ADVOCACY 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.
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 an Assistant Professor of Law 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.
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. |