Missed the Dear Aloha event in Portland or wanted to know who was there? We’ve put together a curated list of Pacific Islander mental health practitioners , along with the nonprofits that attended. Check them out here!
Participating Non-Profits
Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona Hawaiian Civic Club of Oregon and SW Washington (KALO HCC)
Our focus here at KALO is to empower those in the diaspora to recognize that our relationship with ʻāina goes beyond the shores of Hawaiʻi —beyond the Pacific. Knowing that our ancestors were, in fact, voyagers, we are able to see the connections and relationships that were built with other Indigenous communities around the world.
Understanding that culture is health, KALO strives to bring practitioners to the continent to help re-activate what we already know had been instilled in us generations ago. (Re)learning what it means to be Pacific Islanders in a space where we are not the majority creates even more of a challenge when it comes to understanding who we are as a Native Hawaiians living in the diaspora. In partnership with the Oregon Health Authority, METRO, Meyer Memorial Trust Foundation, Papa Ola Lokahi, Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition, Oregon Food Bank, and so many others, KALO has been able to sustain a mala kalo (taro garden), host a cultural workshop at least once a month, create accessible preventative care programs and resources, and in 2022 was successful in opening Oregonʻs first Pacific Islander focused community center that offers culturally specific programs and food distribution.
Ke Kukui Foundation
Ke Kukui Foundation is a culturally based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves Oregon and Washington. With the ever-growing population of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the Pacific Northwest, our organization focuses on providing and creating cultural resources and opportunities to the community. We continue to work towards fulfilling our late founder, Deva Yamashiroʻs mission to preserve and to share traditional Hawaiian culture through educational programming consisting of music, dance, language, and other traditional arts.
UTOPIA PDX
Our mission: to provide sacred spaces to strengthen the minds and bodies of QTPIs – Queer and Trans Pacific Islanders in Oregon and SW Washington – through community organizing, political engagement, and cultural stewardship.
The history, stories, and strength of Queer and Trans Pacific Islanders is deeply embedded in the roots of our culture and language. European colonization of the Pacific Islands resulted in the suppression of our culture and practices, including the inclusion and expression of Queer and Trans people. We hold the creators of our islands, our ancestors who created our roots to the land and ocean, and our elders who have fought for inclusion and visibility in our spirits as we do this work.
Our Panelists:
Leialoha Kaʻula, from Hawaiʻi Island: Cultural educator, Kumu Hula, and Executive Director of Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona (KALO Hawaiian Civic Club of Oregon). Her work with KALO helped pass the Oregon Pacific Islander Student Success Plan, a historic bill designed to improve educational outcomes for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students. She currently resides in Aloha, Oregon.
Eileen Aguon Martinez, MSW, CSWA, is dedicated to providing specialized treatment for individuals, couples, and youth facing challenges in mental health recovery, including depression, anxiety, and complex trauma. She focuses on areas such as racial identity, women's wellness, body image issues, grief and loss, intercultural relationships, life transitions, ancestral and intergenerational trauma, career counseling, and gender and sexual identity therapy. As an Indigenous/Intersectionalist Ecofeminist, Eileen is committed to advocating for human rights and the issues of social and racial justice, equity, and equality for all. Her approach is founded on unconditional positive regard and emphasizes decolonization, aiming to encourage self-empowerment.
Cris Romento, from Oʻahu: Kanaka filmmaker focused on stories of contemporary Hawaiʻi. Thirty years after her ʻohana was “priced out of paradise,” she returned to Oʻahu to reconnect with her roots and make DEAR ALOHA. On a festival run, it recently won Best Short Documentary at the International Oceanic Documentary Film Festival in Tahiti and was nominated for Best Made in Hawaiʻi Short at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. It has screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals across North America and Oceania. Cris is a Firelight Media Impact Campaign fellow and recipient of the Courageous Filmmaking Grant from the Seattle International Film Festival.
Steven Tonthat, from Maui: Multimedia arts and culture producer at OPB’s flagship arts program “Oregon Art Beat." Before moving to Oregon in 2018, he worked as online producer at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii’s biggest daily newspaper, where he covered breaking news, worked as a videographer and managed the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s social media platforms. Steven graduated from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in English and broadcast journalism and again in 2012 with a master's degree in composition and rhetoric.
Post-screening Resources
Asian American/Pacific Islander Therapists
These practicioners focus on supporting generational trauma and providing care through a cultural lens. While this list is a starting point, we encourage you to explore what feels right for your own healing journey.
Our panelist, Eileen Aguon Martinez
Oregon | Available online only
My name is Eileen and I am a biracial clinician of Chamorro (Pacific Islander) and Mexican descent originally from Anaheim, California. It is my mission to provide specialized treatment for children, youth, & adults in areas of mental health recovery (depression, anxiety, OCD, phobias, body-focused repetitive behaviors, & complex trauma), racial identity challenges, relationship issues, intercultural relationship navigation, life transitions, ancestral/intergenerational trauma, and somatic therapy. I am committed as an ally to human rights and the issues of social/racial justice, equity, and equality for all.
Taouea Vitousek
Oregon | Available online only
Are you managing anxiety, depression, change, or other issues on your own? Asking for help is hard! I offer a safe space to help you process and unpack what is weighing you down. My background comes from work at a domestic violence shelter, inpatient psychiatric unit, and integrated Behavioral Health in the Primary care office. I see our mental health and "body health" as all connected. I have a strengths-based, approach to helping people find what they need to add back in their lives to feel better!
I offer the space for you to identify barriers or motivational issues so you can engage and show up in your life how you want to. I incorporate Hula at times to support movement, self-esteem building, and grounding. We all do the best we can managing our mind and wellness. Self-care is not selfish! If you are interested in working together please contact me via e-mail or leave a detailed message on 541-604-8431. Open to new clients with Cigna, Aetna, Quest Behavioral Health, Carelon BH, and Regence BCBS of Oregon (and Massachusetts). Moda coming in April. Mahalo!
Kalena Kaopuuokalani Lanuza
Oregon, Washington, California, and Hawai'i | Available online only
Aloha mai kākou! My name is Kalena Kaopuuokalani Lanuza and I am a doctorally prepared, Certified Family and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Certified Lactation Counselor. As an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, I offer Reproductive Mental Healthcare to clients in Hawai'i, California, Oregon & Washington. I specialize in pregnancy, postpartum, peri & post menopausal mental health and offer medication/ herbal & supplement management in conjunction with brief supportive therapy & lactation counseling to those in need. As an Indigenous provider (Kanaka Maoli- Native Hawaiian), I work to bring the wisdom of my kūpuna (ancestors/ elders) with me into relationship with the people that I serve and try to use the Native Hawaiian concepts of aloha (love), ha'aha'a (humility), kōkua (to help) and lōkahi (harmony/ unity) to inform my work. In addition to assisting Kānaka Maoli wāhine (Native Hawaiian Women) experiencing reproductive mental health challenges, I also serve the greater community and work to make sure I have an inclusive practice where all women feel safe and welcome to heal. Let’s work together to help you regain balance. Schedule your FREE 10 minute consultation today.
Kapu Waiaʻu Dancel
Oregon | Available online only
I'm a Kanaka ʻŌiwi, mixed heritage, queer wahine that hails from Maui. I'm passionate about working with QTBIPOC and relationships (of all kinds). Many of my clients feel stuck when it comes to issues connected to being Indigenous, BIPOC, Queer and/or holding Mixed Identities. Additionally, I work with many clients that come from a background of spiritual wounding and have a desire to get "unstuck" and/or deconstruct. I also am passionate about working with relationships, meeting romantic partnerships and friendships where they're at. I believe that we all exist in context and that we adapt in ways to best survive in the environments that grow us. I believe being aware of our adaptations and how they manifest in here-and-now grants us greater agency in deciding how we want to engage in this life. I'm here to support you having deeper awareness, choice and freedom in how you live.
Casey Chow
Oregon and Washington | Available online only
As a 2nd gen Asian-American born to immigrant parents, my cultural identity has been one of depth and confusion. Holding values from my parent’s home countries, mixed with my American values; it has widened my understanding of mental health from a cultural lens. I'd like to provide a space for those exploring their identities and culture and how it has played a part in your upbringing and development. I understand family values are important, but sometimes can conflict with our own individual goals and experiences. In the space, I hope you can feel comfortable to casually show up as you are.
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What is the Hawaiian Diaspora? And why should we care?
Kiliona Palauni's story on returning home from the Hawaiian Diaspora.
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