School leader - Bio

Dr. Kapua Lililehua Chandler, Namahana School Leader

Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education and Organizational Change, University of California Los Angeles 

Master of Arts, Higher Education and Organizational Change, University of California Los Angeles

Master of Education, Educational Administration, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science & Mathematics, University of Portland

Graduate, Kamehameha Schools

As Namahana’s first School Leader, Dr. Kapua Chandler brings a wealth of knowledge, history, and talent to the position. Born and raised in Kīlauea, Kapua is a kupaʻāina and lineal descendant of Koʻolau and Haleleʻa. In 2018, Kapua joined the Kauaʻi North Shore Community Foundation to plan and implement the community engagement process for creating a north shore charter school. This process led to the development of Namahana School’s values, mission, vision, and educational model. 

Academically, Kapua completed her Ph.D. program from UCLA in 2020 in Higher Education and Organizational Change. Her research focused on fostering success for Native Hawaiian and rural students – more specifically, how leadership and ʻāina-based education impacts rural communities. It has always been her intention to return home to Kauaʻi to work with Kauaʻi youth to broaden their access to higher education. Her doctoral research investigates and evaluates best practices and processes to develop Indigenous models of higher education, with a goal of creating an Indigenous institute of higher education on Kauaʻi. Kapua has collaborated with the Kauaʻi Community College to understand the issue of access to higher education, reviewing data and holding focus groups to understand local patterns of access for the North Shore community. She is particularly interested in how concepts of place play a role in the higher education experiences of First Nations’ Peoples of the Pacific, and how Indigenous communities can increase educational opportunities through ʻāina-based education. 

Kapua’s work is informed by a network of Native Hawaiian scholars, tribal colleges in the United States and Māori institutions – many of which she has visited to interview faculty, administrators, students, and community members on their efforts to develop educational opportunities through an indigenous worldview. For seven years, she served as a kumu (teacher) at the Waipā Foundation, using ʻāina-based learning principles with month-long student cohorts to study elements of the ahupuaʻa (land division) system on Kauaʻi. 

“The North Shore of Kaua‘i is my home in every sense of the word,” says Dr. Kapua Chandler. “Generations of my kūpuna are in this place, on kuleana lands in Koʻolau and Haleleʻa. Because of the foundation that they built in order for me to be raised here and feel such deep aloha for this place, I want to help perpetuate that for our future generations. I want to make sure that this place is cared for, as my kūpuna did, so that future generations can also call it home.”

Since 2018, Kapua has provided high level leadership in Namahana’s organizational development process. She has been a passionate spokesperson for Namahana School, engaging our communities, facilitating key partnerships, working closely with ʻāina-based educators, the school’s governing board, and Big Picture Learning to develop a school model that is reflective of and responsive to the needs of our community. Because of her belief in the innate promise of all children, Kapua is driven to help transform education so that all types of intelligence can be valued and honored. This includes providing diverse educational experiences such as those outlined in the Namahana School model, which broaden access for children from different backgrounds and enable them to express their true potential.

Kapua is also deeply involved with her community, where she is a well-known local leader. She serves on the Hanalei Canoe Club Steering Committee and as the ʻOhana Council Chair for the Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana. She actively volunteers and supports a number of community nonprofits and associations including: Nā Kiaʻi Nihokū, Hanalei Initiative, Kīlauea Neighborhood Association, and the Waipā Foundation. She is also a haumana (student) of Hālau Hula o Keʻalalauaʻe o Makana and has kuleana for the maintenance of Ke Ahu o Laka, a sacred site dedicated to the traditional hula arts.

Kapua enjoys many ʻāina-based practices with her ʻohana, including tending to her family’s orchards, fishing, hunting, working in lo‘i (taro fields), paddling, ʻulana lauhala (lauhala weaving), and lei. As a researcher, leader, and genealogical descendant of the community, Kapua is the ideal inaugural School Leader for Namahana.