Dr. Merritt was raised in the ahupua‘a of ‘Aiea in the moku of ‘Ewa and lives in her family home that was built by her father and uncles. The ‘āina that feeds her spans from the mountains of ‘Aiea ridge to the waters of Pu‘uloa where she enjoys hiking on ‘Aiea Loop Trail and swimming at Fort Kamehameha Beach with her husband and their son. She walks in the professional footsteps of her mother, a social worker and pioneering supporter of culturally-based substance misuse and mental health treatment programs.
At the University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu, she is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Health Science. Her current work draws on concepts and theories from medicine, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and public health to reduce Native Hawaiian health inequities within a social justice framework. Her work addresses how social and cultural environments are embodied within individuals and shows how they manifest as the unequal distribution of disease between populations. She is specifically interested in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease through community interventions that aim to address the cultural, historical, and social determinants of disease.
Dr. Merritt was a Queen’s Health System Health Equity Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine from 2017-2019. She earned a Doctor of Science degree in Society, and Human Development, and Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
She is also the recipient of the Harvard University Native American Program’s 1665 Caleb Cheeshateaumuck Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Harvard University Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Dr. Fang-Ching Sun Memorial Award for Work with Vulnerable Populations from the T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Kayla is a recent BA Public Health graduate from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Born in Honolulu and raised in Ahuimanu, she is nourished by the Ko‘olau mountains. Kayla’s public health interests include education, health communication, and cultural humility. In her free time, she enjoys creating art and studying her genealogy reaching Laos, Japan, and Okinawa.
Kawena is a General Creative Media major at University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu, who is also set to graduate in the Spring (2024). Prior to her time at UHWO, Kawena obtained her AA in Liberal Arts at UH Pālamanui on the Island of Hawaiʻi, where she is originally from. Throughout her time at UH, Kawena has come to further appreciate her heritage, specifically her Hawaiian and Filipino origins. Similarly, through her creative media courses, Kawena has also taken an interest in film and UX design. In 2023, Kawena had the pleasure of assisting Marion Ano of Wahine Coder and the ʻohana at ʻAha Pūnana Leo in designing an ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi mobile app. In the near future, Kawena aspires to use all of her skills to bring life to the communities and causes that she finds deep value in.
Carrie is a third year Applied Science major at the University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu. Born in Honolulu and raised in Nānākuli, she is sustained by the Palikea mountains. Set to graduate in Fall of 2026, Carrie plans to achieve her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy where she hopes to implement health promotion and prevention into the lives of others. When she is not working, you can find her drawing or writing poetry as well as spending time with loved ones.
Benjamin is a second-year Master of Public Health student specializing in Epidemiology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Born and raised on Oʻahu, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Health from UH Mānoa in the spring of 2024.
He also currently serves as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Hawaiʻi Health Data Warehouse and as the Public Health Research Lead Intern with Breast Cancer Hawaii. His research interests focus on the impact of cancer in Hawaiʻi and on applying machine learning approaches to epidemiologic methods.
Looking ahead, Benjamin plans to pursue a PhD in Epidemiology and continue advancing research on cancer in Hawaiʻi.
Burke is a lecturer in Indigenous Health Sciences at the University of
Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu. She currently teaches courses in the Bachelorʻs of Applied Science in Hawaiian and Indigenous Healing program. Her research areas include social determinants of health, health equity, cultural safety, social justice and ancestral connection which she pursues in the Department of Social Work at the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she leads the Māpuna Lab in serving the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Behavioral Health Administration of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health. An evaluator by trade she holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in public health, social and behavioral health sciences from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Community-Based and Translational Research. Burke is of Hellenic (Peloponnese), Irish (County Mayo), French (Île-de-France), Bavarian and Romanche ancestry and was given a love for the role of plants in public health by her grandfather and her great grandmother. As a settler transplant she is passionate about our plant ancestors and how we can overcome plant blindness by connecting with our genealogy and caring for the land and water system that feed us through practices she learned on the ʻili ʻāina of ʻOuaua and Māluawai in the ahupuaʻa of Kalihilihiolaumiha from aloha ʻāina leadership at Ho’oulu ‘Āina.
Kaela was born and raised on O’ahu. She grew up in Kalihi where her grandmother resides. She then later moved to Mānana (Pearl city) in her later childhood. She attended Moanalua elementary through high school. She then continued her education at the University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu where she graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Indigenous Health and Healing in spring 2023. This is where she found her passion and life calling. Kaela’s senior project was titled ‘ĀINA (Addictive Intervention Native Approach) where she aimed to look at the relationship Native Hawaiians have with ‘āina and how being displaced from their ‘āina is directly linked to contemporary substance misuse amongst Native Hawaiians. She began to understand that in order to heal the displacement felt by Native Hawaiians, they need to return to ‘āina. Through interviews and research, it was evident how effective ‘āina based treatment is. She has remained passionate about healing the lāhui and serving underserved indigenous communities by educating and supporting those looking to reconnect with their roots and heal ancestral trauma.
Dr. Merritt was raised in the ahupua‘a of ‘Aiea in the moku of ‘Ewa and lives in her family home that was built by her father and uncles. The ‘āina that feeds her spans from the mountains of ‘Aiea ridge to the waters of Pu‘uloa where she enjoys hiking on ‘Aiea Loop Trail and swimming at Fort Kamehameha Beach with her husband and their son. She walks in the professional footsteps of her mother, a social worker and pioneering supporter of culturally-based substance misuse and mental health treatment programs.
At the University of Hawai‘i-West O‘ahu, she is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Health Science. Her current work draws on concepts and theories from medicine, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and public health to reduce Native Hawaiian health inequities within a social justice framework. Her work addresses how social and cultural environments are embodied within individuals and shows how they manifest as the unequal distribution of disease between populations. She is specifically interested in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease through community interventions that aim to address the cultural, historical, and social determinants of disease.
Dr. Merritt was a Queen’s Health System Health Equity Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine from 2017-2019. She earned a Doctor of Science degree in Society, and Human Development, and Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
She is also the recipient of the Harvard University Native American Program’s 1665 Caleb Cheeshateaumuck Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Harvard University Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Dr. Fang-Ching Sun Memorial Award for Work with Vulnerable Populations from the T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Kayla is a recent BA Public Health graduate from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Born in Honolulu and raised in Ahuimanu, she is nourished by the Ko‘olau mountains. Kayla’s public health interests include education, health communication, and cultural competency. In her free time, she enjoys creating art and studying her genealogy reaching Laos, Japan, and Okinawa.
Kawena is a General Creative Media major at University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu, who is also set to graduate in the Spring (2024). Prior to her time at UHWO, Kawena obtained her AA in Liberal Arts at UH Pālamanui on the Island of Hawaiʻi, where she is originally from. Throughout her time at UH, Kawena has come to further appreciate her heritage, specifically her Hawaiian and Filipino origins. Similarly, through her creative media courses, Kawena has also taken an interest in film and UX design. In 2023, Kawena had the pleasure of assisting Marion Ano of Wahine Coder and the ʻohana at ʻAha Pūnana Leo in designing an ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi mobile app. In the near future, Kawena aspires to use all of her skills to bring life to the communities and causes that she finds deep value in.
Carrie is a third year Applied Science major at the University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu. Born in Honolulu and raised in Nānākuli, she is sustained by the Palikea mountains. Set to graduate in Fall of 2026, Carrie plans to achieve her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy where she hopes to implement health promotion and prevention into the lives of others. When she is not working, you can find her drawing or writing poetry as well as spending time with loved ones.
Benjamin is a second-year Master of Public Health student specializing in Epidemiology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Born and raised on Oʻahu, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Health from UH Mānoa in the spring of 2024.
He also currently serves as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Hawaiʻi Health Data Warehouse and as the Public Health Research Lead Intern with Breast Cancer Hawaii. His research interests focus on the impact of cancer in Hawaiʻi and on applying machine learning approaches to epidemiologic methods.
Looking ahead, Benjamin plans to pursue a PhD in Epidemiology and continue advancing research on cancer in Hawaiʻi.
Burke is a lecturer in Indigenous Health Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu. She currently teaches courses in the Bachelorʻs of Applied Science in Hawaiian and Indigenous Healing program. Her research areas include social determinants of health, health equity, cultural safety, social justice and ancestral connection which she pursues in the Department of Social Work at the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she leads the Māpuna Lab in serving the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Behavioral Health Administration of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health. An evaluator by trade she holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in public health, social and behavioral health sciences from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Community-Based and Translational Research. Burke is of Hellenic (Peloponnese), Irish (County Mayo), French (Île-de-France), Bavarian and Romanche ancestry and was given a love for the role of plants in public health by her grandfather and her great grandmother. As a settler transplant she is passionate about our plant ancestors and how we can overcome plant blindness by connecting with our genealogy and caring for the land and water system that feed us through practices she learned on the ʻili ʻāina of ʻOuaua and Māluawai in the ahupuaʻa of Kalihilihiolaumiha from aloha ʻāina leadership at Ho’oulu ‘Āina.
Kaela was born and raised on O’ahu. She grew up in Kalihi where her grandmother resides. She then later moved to Mānana (Pearl city) in her later childhood. She attended Moanalua elementary through high school. She then continued her education at the University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu where she graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Indigenous Health and Healing in spring 2023. This is where she found her passion and life calling. Kaela’s senior project was titled ‘ĀINA (Addictive Intervention Native Approach) where she aimed to look at the relationship Native Hawaiians have with ‘āina and how being displaced from their ‘āina is directly linked to contemporary substance misuse amongst Native Hawaiians. She began to understand that in order to heal the displacement felt by Native Hawaiians, they need to return to ‘āina. Through interviews and research, it was evident how effective ‘āina based treatment is. She has remained passionate about healing the lāhui and serving underserved indigenous communities by educating and supporting those looking to reconnect with their roots and heal ancestral trauma.
Kākuhihewa is the 15th aliʻi ‘aimoku (ruling chief) of O‘ahu famously named in the mele “Kaulana Nā Pua.” Kākuhihewa was a kind and friendly chief who was born in Kūkaniloko and raised in the ‘Ewa moku. His primary endeavor was farming, and it is said that his abundant harvests on O‘ahu could be smelled from Kaua‘i.
Today, there is a state office building named after him in Kapolei.