Ten-year-old Moorea Winter Feliciano is both a dancer and an Upcountry junior rodeo participant. Dancing ballet since she was three years old with the Alexander Academy of Performing Arts (AAPA), she is also a member of the nonprofit Maui Youth Rodeo Organization (MYRO). Ballet and rodeo make such a unique and unexpected combination. Yet, they have a few important similarities: both take time and dedication, both take a specific skill level, both take passion, both have levels of difficulty that humble you greatly, and both take hours of extra practice.
Feliciano explained, “I spend many hours after my schoolwork practicing both ballet and riding. I help clean the ballet studio in exchange for extra classes, and I am a teacher’s assistant to younger dancers. Also, I volunteer time to help set up for rodeo, and fundraise for both ballet and rodeo. For me, it is being part of something greater than myself. Also, the number of friends from ballet who are coming to my rodeo shows, and the rodeo friends who are coming to ballet shows, makes my heart so full.”
MYRO provides opportunities for children on Maui to participate in rodeo events throughout the year: riding, roping and more. Members practice good conduct, sportsmanship, and a commitment to good grades. Morag Rice Miranda, Maui District-Hawaii High School Rodeo Association representative, always announces Feliciano as, “an accomplished dancer, our ballerina rider.”
This year, Feliciano landed the ‘every little girl’s dream role’ of Clara in AAPA’s 2022 annual holiday tradition, The Nutcracker. She will dance the role on Saturday evening and the closing performance, besides other parts. “A lot of hard work must happen first,” she said. “Both dancing and rodeo help me to set big goals for myself and see them through. My motto is: If you believe you can, you will!”
Paul Janes-Brown, Maui Curtain Call, said, “At ten years old, Feliciano is a young lady to watch. She helped choregraph a wonderful contemporary dance performance in the 2022 AAPA performance of Sleeping Beauty. I look forward to seeing her perform the role of Clara in this year’s Nutcracker.”
I love the magic that happens onstage and at the rodeo!” The Nutcracker will be performed December 16-18 at Seabury Hall’s ‘A’ali’ikūhonua Creative Arts Center. Visit Eventbrite for Nutcracker tickets and www.mymyro.com for rodeo information.
Moorea Winter Feliciano, Member, AAPA and MYRO
A distinguished line-up of speakers and mentors joined the 5th annual EMER-GEN Program presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) at the 2022 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference. A joint initiative of AMOS and the Space Generation Advisory Council, over twenty leaders in the space industry supported the emerging generation of young professionals enthusiastic about careers in space. Forty-eight delegates met for EMER-GEN, with nearly half of these based in Hawaii, to help develop aerospace careers locally.
Maui resident Kalā Baybayan Tanaka offered the Celestial Navigation presentation. She is responsible for Education Direction and Program Implementation at Hui O Wa`a Kaulua, a sea-voyaging non-profit organization on Maui dedicated to the practice and perpetuation of Hawaiian canoe building, wayfinding and voyaging arts. She is also a UH Manoa STEMS^2 Masters student in Curriculum Studies. Tanaka introduced the EMER-GEN cohort to the Hawaiian Star Compass and other aspects of Hawaiian culture which pertain to leadership and communication. She inherited her love for the ocean and passion for sailing from her father, Pwo (master) Chad Kalepa Baybayan, who served as one of the lead captains and navigators of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage—Hōkūle`a.
“I shared Hawaiian lore, explored traditional navigational techniques and provided an intimate look at the relationship between the celestial bodies and history,” Tanaka explained. “Each of my own voyages taught me to be more in sync with my environment. I shared my passion for wayfinding and told the cohort stories of the stars that have led my way forward, and always guided my way home.”
Cohort member Rishin Aggarwal, Indian Space Research Organization, said, “Tanaka has a way of breaking down navigation so we could all understand it and also feel empowered by it. She said you do not have to be Hawaiian to be wayfinders and learn voyaging. You simply need a deep desire to learn. She also stressed the importance of teamwork, skills much needed by our EMER-GEN cohort, in our space industry careers, and daily life.”
Frances Zhu, UH Assistant Professor, Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory, added, “Tanaka shows the spiritual side of astronomy, wayfaring and voyaging. I am so inspired by her.”
In 2016, as captain and co-navigator alongside my father on the Hikianalia, I learned so much while sailing from Hawaii to Tahiti, thousands of miles, without modern instruments.
Kalā Baybayan Tanaka, Hui O Wa`a Kaulua
An inaugural evening event at the 23rd annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference, Women & Allies in Space Domain Awareness (SDA), was presented by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB). The featured speaker, Dr. Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, is Assistant Director for Space Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The goal was to empower the community of women and non-gender-specific SDA professionals and heighten the awareness of gender disparity within space-related careers. The technology industry has certainly diversified in recent years, but there is much more to be done before the space industry is completely inclusive.
“Only one in five space professionals identify as female or non-gender specific,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB President and CEO. “This statistic has only minimally fluctuated in the last 30 years. Change often starts with community advocacy and amplification of the issue. The Women & Allies SDA celebration seeks to achieve this goal.”
Uzo-Okoro noted, “Space is a source of innovation and opportunity for all Americans and our international partners. It is thrilling that a women’s group in SDA and Space Sustainability gathered at the AMOS Conference. On December 1, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration released its Space Priorities Framework at its inaugural National Space Council meeting which prioritizes U.S. benefits from space activities. We explained how our nation and all nations and people around the world benefit from space programs and missions.”
“We think about all the ways that space activities enable the U.S. and global economy,” Uzo-Okoro continued. “It provide us with data to enable everyday activities, weather prediction, preparedness, and response to natural disasters; track our space debris; and expand our international partnerships. Space sustainability affects all Americans, so equitable access and opportunity in the space sector is important. It is wonderful to see women leaders and future women leaders who enable and will continue to enable U.S. leadership in space science and technology around the world.”
Wilkins added, “MEDB is proud to offer this new event at the AMOS Conference. The promise of a shared experience and supportive career progression for previously underrepresented groups will be transformative for the space industry’s diverse future.”
Today, as we stand on the threshold of returning to the moon and exploring deep space, we need to ensure women and allies can contribute to making progress on both fronts.
Leslie Wilkins, MEDB President and CEO
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded of the grassroots community project started to reduce hunger during Covid-19 and beyond. Co-founded by Brad Kukral and Steven Calkins, the Hungry Homeless Heroes Hawaii (HHHH) uses quality excess food to fill the stomachs and hearts of Maui’s hungry rather than the landfills. Kukral and Calkins set up a food redistribution organization that receives food from community members and farms with surplus, besides growing their own food at Anuhea Chapel in Pukalani. Additionally, they have put together an all-volunteer team who garden, prepare nourishing meals and personally deliver them to the unsheltered on Maui.
In the midst of the pandemic, Kukral witnessed a homeless man get into trouble while trying to obtain food from a local grocery store. “This incident was the impetus of the project,” he explained. “The man was hungry and just wanted to eat, and was begging for help. So, the next day my friend Steven and I decided to cook and distribute meals. The operation increased literally overnight.”
Kukral continued, “The pandemic impacted the unsheltered community in its own unique way in terms of limited restroom facilities, the inability to comply with stay-at-home orders, and difficulties obtaining food. Through a Facebook network on Maui, we were able to collect donations and supplies. As the program grew, so did the area of response. Volunteers and donations rolled in from a variety of area businesses, organizations, and private citizens.”
Currently, the program can produce as many as 200 meals a day. However, a main ingredient that the homeless need is the feeling of not being abandoned. Kindness is as appreciated as food. “HHHH works with compassion to bring hope to the hopeless,” Calkins said. “Our future vision would be to take another step toward a permanent solution by galvanizing the community around this most dire issue. Ideally, we would like to find a self-sustaining property where families could come on a work-trade basis.”
In the meantime, the HHHH purpose is to feed the hungry with hope, one meal at a time. The staff have been mindful of sustainability and work to create an environment that recognizes, validates and enhances the dignity of everyone experiencing homelessness.
MEDB applauds all those in the community who serve to make sure no one goes hungry. We wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Dr. Leonard Sakai of Kula was recently honored by the Maui Non-Profit Directors Association. Nominated by Habitat for Humanity, Sakai was named 2022 Humanitarian of the Year. The citation reads, “Dr. Sakai earned this award for his volunteerism and dedication to give back to our community. Mahalo Leonard, for all of your hard work and helping families build strength and stability through shelter.”
Sakai is a retired general surgeon with concentration in colorectal disorders including colon cancer, and was affiliated with several hospitals in the area including Maui Memorial Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and was in practice for more than 20 years.
Recognized for his ‘can-do’ attitude and positive personality, Sakai is the guy everyone working at Habitat for Humanity enjoys being around. He regularly volunteers each week on construction sites. To date, he has contributed over 600 hours of his time across Maui, helping families at both the Kahoma Residential builds in Lahainaand Hawaiian Homelands in Kula.
Humbled, Sakai said, “I truly appreciate this award. However, I get back even more than I put in. I have been working with Habitat for Humanity for over five years. And I’ll try whatever jobs come my way. There are so many different jobs to work on while building a house. In a certain way, it reminds me of surgery: a crew of five or six people and a work crew accomplish what they are supposed to get done, together. At Habitat, we also need to work as a team. At the end of the day, building houses is a different kind of exhaustion than doing surgery, but also a rewarding one. Habitat for Humanity has been on Maui for over 2 decades. It is an amazing organization.”
Sakai added, “So now, I am a beginning carpenter! I am learning a whole new and useful trade. Besides, I read in AARP that it is useful for old people to learn new skills.”
People talk a lot about affordable housing. The business model that Habitat has works very well. It actually created the affordable housing model.
Dr. Leonard Sakai, Maui Non-Profit Directors Association ‘Humanitarian of the Year’
