First and foremost, Kaiwipunikauikawekiu Lipe is a mother, daughter, sister, aunty, and wife. And while all of her grandparents are now deceased, she is a granddaughter, nonetheless of Hawai‘i and of her many human ancestors. In particular, her mother’s family comes from Hawai‘i, China, and Europe. Her father’s family comes from India via Fiji. Kaiwipunikauikawekiu is also the daughter of other genealogies, including that of her traditional hula school, and that of mentors including but not limited to educators and community leaders from South Texas at the Llano Grande Center; Cleveland, Ohio, at the National Rites of Passage Institute; and MA‘O Organic Farms in Wai‘anae, Hawai‘i.
Kaiwipunikauikawekiu’s familial roles in each of these genealogies guide her commitments everyday. In terms of titles, she is the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s inaugural Native Hawaiian Affairs Program Officer as well as the director of its Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Center. She is also a 2019–2020 Obama Leader with the Obama Foundation’s Asia-Pacific Leaders Program. She holds a Bachelor’s in Hawaiian Studies, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, and a PhD in Education Administration.
