This month Hawaiʻi has experienced devastating rainfall and flooding from severe weather systems, with stormwater runoff carrying sediment, mud, and other debris from land into coastal waters. These conditions can lead to murky, turbid waters and elevated bacterial indicators that pose health risks to people and ecosystems.
Hawaii Baptist Academy 8th graders Lydia Miyshiro, Kaila Brownfield, Lauren Quan, and Brandi Shinagawa dedicated their yearlong capstone project to Pacific American Foundation. Their school invited them to use their interests and passion to create a meaningful project that has measurable impact beyond the classroom. The girls decided to make handcrafted pikake jewelry and sold each piece as a fundraiser, donating all proceeds to The Pacific American Foundation in support of Waikalua Loko Iʻa. They presented the check to Uncle Herb at our most recent Lā ʻOhana workday.
Waylin Kaneakua found her way to the PAF ʻOhana through her children, and serendipity. She was dropping off her daughter for a day in the NALU studies summer program in July 2020, when she saw Derek drop his papers. She bent down to help, and he assumed she was a new hire. He asked her to help welcome and check the temperatures of incoming students, and she did. Then, she saw some girls goofing off and took it upon herself to scold em. The PAF ʻOhana knew that Waylin was exactly what we needed.
Recently at PAF, we have been thinking about circles, renewals, loops, and returns: the way that, in Hawaiʻi nei, you never meet someone just once; the way that some days have the flavor of past years; the way that, like moons, the world around us can wax and wane.
Aloha mai! This year, the Pacific American Foundation’s beloved Herb Lee stepped down as CEO and President (stepping into a new role of CEO Emeritus and remaining on our board). Retiring from the position, not the mission is his new motto, which lives alongside his usuals (aloha ʻāina and mālama ʻāina, being a producer not a consumer, lead with aloha, and so forth).
PAF (Pacific American Foundation) is a 501(c)3 publicly supported nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Pacific Americans.
EIN#54-1696134
© 2026 Pacific American Foundation
All Rights Reserved
Pacific American Foundation
45-231 Kulauli Street
Kaneohe, HI 96744
Mailing Address
The Pacific American Foundation
111 Hekili Street, Suite A 170
Kailua, HI 96734
Pacific American Foundation is a public charity 501(c)(3)
EIN#54-1696134
Pacific American Foundation
45-231 Kulauli Street
Kaneohe, HI 96744
Mailing Address
The Pacific American Foundation
111 Hekili Street, Suite A 170
Kailua, HI 96734
© 2026 Pacific American Foundation
All Rights Reserved