Fourteen local leaders have been selected for Cohort X of the Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum’s Omidyar Fellows program, including nine with strong University of Hawaiʻi ties:
Noe Goodyear Kaʻōpua—UH Mānoa professor; BA Hawaiian Studies and Political Science, 1996
Michelle Jaime—Kapiʻolani Community College, AA Liberal Arts, 1998; UH Mānoa BA Psychology, 2001
Ryan Kanakaʻole—UH Hilo BA Political Science; William S. Richardson School of Law JD and Certificate in Native Hawaiian Law
Kuʻulani Keohokalole—UH Mānoa BA Ethnic Studies; BA Women’s Studies
Olin Lagon—Honolulu CC; UH Mānoa BBA Multidisciplinary and International Entrepreneurship/Accounting, 1995
Noʻeau Peralto—UH Mānoa MA Hawaiian Studies; PhD Political Science in Indigenous Politics
Kaipo Perez III—UH Mānoa BS Marine Biology, 2009; PhD Zoology, 2013
Rebecca Soon—William S. Richardson School of Law JD and Certificate in Native Hawaiian Law, 2016
Babā Yim—UH Mānoa BA ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, 1996; MA Education and Teaching, 1999
Cohort X begins in October 2025 with an 18-month curriculum that includes orientation, monthly sessions, three retreats and discussions with community, business and government leaders.
A new feature, the Immersive Huakaʻi, will allow each fellow to design a personal learning experience to strengthen connections with local communities. The cohort will eventually join the Forum of Fellows, an active network of 131 leaders, to advance meaningful, long-term change in Hawaiʻi.
“These leaders have answered the kāhea (call) for their community,” said Cheryl Kaʻuhane Lupenui, Omidyar Fellows Cohort X lead. “Their immersive journey now unfolds as they join together learning important practices that will guide their leadership for a thriving Hawaiʻi.”
