By Nāpualokelani Kamakele
NaHHA is proud to share an article from one of our Lamakū Hoʻokipa – Beacons of Hospitality – who exemplify the value of mālama and are making meaningful impact as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.
In 1998, I left Hawaiʻi with my then husband, as a 21-year-old mother with an infant child, bound for a duty station in North Carolina. My story wasn’t the typical “priced out of paradise” narrative, but over time, as the cost of living climbed, returning home felt increasingly impossible. Frankly, I didn’t want to.
I built a career in Washington, D.C., navigating the “K Street Old Boys Network,” yet remained rooted in my kuleana. I stayed connected through hula and service as a board member of the Hawaiian Civic Club and the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association East Coast Region. My three children were raised to be proud Kānaka, even thousands of miles from Hawaiʻi.
After a divorce in 2016 and a devastating house fire in 2021, I reached a turning point. I stepped away from the corporate world to pursue a lifelong passion: sharing our culture through food. From years of feeding colleagues’ full spreads of kalua pig, shoyu chicken, poke, and more, Pua’s Plate Lunch was born.
The business grew through grassroots energy. Within three years, I built a loyal following, catering for Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office and the Washington Commanders’ training camp. My food truck became more than a kitchen, it was a classroom, a place to share culture and kuleana.
In 2025, I started making plans to come home. Today, just a few months into my return, I am still adjusting to island life while leading a branch office for an independent elevator company.
As I have throughout my career, I continue to hold space for other wāhine, ensuring opportunities for growth and advancement, paying forward what was once shared with me.
To my Kānaka in the diaspora: e hana kou leo. Use your voice. Educate, perpetuate, and advocate. Never let your zip code define your identity.
To my Kānaka at home: e hana kō kākou leo. Let’s create pathways and hold space for those seeking to come home. If you are in leadership, ask yourself how you can help “bring our people home” in sustainable ways. It must be more than a phrase; it’s time to hana ka lima.
Nāpualokelani Kamakele is a mother and community leader whose journey has spanned decades on the continent and recently returned her home to Hawaiʻi. Balancing her professional work with kuleana to ʻohana and community, she is strengthened by her commitment to serving others. As an entrepreneur and now general manager with Centric Elevator, she creates space for wāhine while championing pathways for kānaka to hoʻi i ka piko.
