Kamehameha Schools has named Albert “Alapaki” Nahale-a senior director of regional strategies for Hawaii Island.
Kamehameha Schools has named Albert “Alapaki” Nahale-a senior director of regional strategies for Hawaii Island.
The new position is part of the Community Engagement and Resources Group, a new addition to the KS organizational structure. The group works to connect programs, services, lands and resources with communities KS interacts with and helps support.
Most recently, Nahale-a served as director of the Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School and currently serves on the Presidential Scholars Commission, appointed by President Barack Obama.
Nahale-a started in his new role Nov. 16 and oversees all CE&R operations for West and East Hawaii. As senior director, Nahale-a is tasked with facilitating the formation of the East Hawaii regional structure, a key action item of CE&R’s strategic goals for its Strategic Plan 2020.
“The goal is to ensure maximum relevance of KS functions and resources, relative to the realities and opportunities of the communities we work with,” said Ka‘eo Duarte, vice president of Community Engagement and Resources. “The KS ‘regional approach’ is meant to bring focus to our understanding of community strengths and challenges, build strong relationships and seek opportunities for collective impact.”
Before joining KS, Nahale-a spent more than 20 years serving the community in a variety of roles. He was the director and chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, East Hawaii DHHL commissioner, director of Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Immersion Public Charter School, chairman of the County of Hawaii Cultural Resources Commission, board member of Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. and executive director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network.
“I am excited and honored to join the CE&R ohana,” Nahale-a said. “I look forward to working with our team and the community to thoughtfully develop the best path to improving the well-being of our lahui.”
Born and raised in Hilo, Nahale-a is a 1986 graduate of Kamehameha Schools and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.