Halena Kapuni-Reynolds is the Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History & Culture at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and works remotely from his hometown of Hilo. He was born on Hawaiʻi Island and raised in the Hawaiian Home Land community of Keaukaha and the rainforest of ʻŌlaʻa,  where he developed a lifelong passion for learning more about Hawaiian language, history, and culture. When he is not busy at work or serving his community, Halena enjoys learning old Hawaiian songs and composing new mele Hawaiʻi.