Charter School Commissioner Noa

Mrs. Keolani Noa was born and raised in the ahupuaʻa of Kuliʻouʻou, where her ʻohana has resided for seven generations. She is deeply committed to preserving Hawaiʻi’s traditional practices, promoting higher education, and fostering cross-cultural learning and understanding. Mrs. Noa is the recipient of the Ellison Onizuka National Award and has been inducted into the NEA’s National Women’s Historical Biography. She is a Hawaiian visionary and co-founder of the UH-Manoa STEM Maile Mentoring Program and Project ʻOlona, which integrates lāʻau lapaʻau with chemistry research. Her contributions include co-authoring STEM publications and designing the Model of Understanding: Unlocking the Mind to Academia by Merging Moʻolelo with Science.