Jessica Kaneakua

Director of Strategic Advancement and Communications

Born and raised in diaspora on Dakhota lands and freshwater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jessica came home to her ancestral piko in 2013. She moved to Molokai to do work in public health, then relocated to Hawaiʻi Island where she has since worked in education, community, and non-profit sectors. She received a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Macalester College, a Master of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peopleʻs Law through the University of Oklahoma. She is considering pursuing a JD with a focus on Native Hawaiian Rights in the near future but is prioritizing rest and joyful experiences with her ʻohana in the meantime. When not making good trouble, she can be found with her two keiki and her kāne enjoying the brackish waters of Hilo or up mauka on the slopes of Mauna a Wakea. She lives with her ʻohana in the moku of Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island.