Aiko Yamashiro
Executive Director
Aiko was raised in Kāneʻohe and her families were raised in Kāneʻohe, Puʻunēnē, Yanbaru, and Agaña Heights. She has taught decolonial Pacific literature and community-engaged poetry at University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa as well as in partnership with community organizations. She has worked as a graduate assistant for the Center for Biographical Research and an ʻukulele teacher at Roy Sakuma ʻUkulele Studios, and coedited The Value of Hawaiʻi 2: Ancestral Roots, Oceanic Visions (UH Press, 2014) and The Value of Hawaiʻi 3: Hulihia (UH Press, 2021). Her PhD research was about the annual community poetry event Nā Hua Ea, and friendship and decolonial love in contemporary literature of Hawaiʻi.
Devin Makizuru
Hawaiʻi History Day Program Director
Devin Makizuru was born in Honolulu and was raised in Kapolei. He received a B.A. in Geography and an M.A. in Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Devin is the lead coordinator for the History Day program. He hopes that through the History Day program, young scholars will become engaged in the process of discovering, learning, and understanding history, and that they will take an active role in shaping a brighter future. In his free time, Devin enjoys traveling, reading, and volunteering.
Michele Mitsumori
Director of Community Partnerships
Michele was born in Honolulu and raised under a covering of Hilo rain. Graduating with a B.A. in English literature from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Michele taught English literature, writing and English as a second language in Hong Kong and Japan. She has served at nonprofits in many roles, with over a decade in development, and loves when missions, visions and strategies of different partners overlap and reinforce. She volunteers locally in areas such as recycling/reuse and civics, and relaxes by contemplating hāpu’u and raising caterpillars.