Literature is the connecting line of Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada’s most poignant moments.
She recalled the rush of pride and delight when the librarian hung her photo on the wall as the first student to finish the summer reading program. And it was among the shelves of Borders Bookstore that college-aged Pelayo-Lozada got to know her future husband.
Sixteen years later, Pelayo-Lozada worked her way up from library page to president of the American Library Association – the first Kanaka Maoli to hold the position.
“Our Hawaiian values of kuleana and kōkua really were ingrained in me so much,” Pelayo-Lozada, 40, said. “To make sure that we’re seen and represented in all of those spaces is extremely important to me.”
Born and raised in Torrance, California, as a youngster Pelayo-Lozada felt more drawn to reading than anything else. She danced for a couple years in her father’s hālau, The Kalani Islanders, but her resolve quickly faded. Instead, family pictures of Pelayo-Lozada often captured her with a comic or chapter book in hand – likely the Goosebumps or The Baby-Sitters Club series, her childhood favorites.
Her mother worked as a library technician at El Camino College. “My mom always brought us home stacks of books when I was a kid,” Pelayo-Lozada smiled.
Her maternal side is Haole, with some of her ancestors arriving in America before the Revolutionary War began in 1765. Meanwhile, her father – a travel agent – claims Hawaiian, Filipino and Portuguese ancestry.
Pelayo-Lozada’s paternal grandparents – both Kānaka ʻŌiwi – were born on Oʻahu, though they met in Oakland where her grandfather served in the military. After the couple wed, they moved to Santa Monica for her grandfather’s career in aerospace. Her grandparents later helped establish the ʻAhahui ʻo Liliʻuokalani Hawaiian Civic Club of Southern California and the Alondra Park Hoʻolauleʻa.
Pelayo-Lozada credits her grandparents with keeping her Hawaiian roots close. Every day after school, she spent time at their home with her two siblings and numerous cousins. As a fourth grader, “the library was the first place that I was allowed to go by myself,” Pelayo-Lozada said.
Growing up, her community was diverse, which made it easy for Pelayo-Lozada to embrace her identity. At Bishop Montgomery High School, “nobody questioned that I was Hawaiian,” she said. “It was pretty normal.”
While her Kānaka Maoli peers danced hula, Pelayo- Lozada ran cross country and worked at a fast-food stall in the mall. As a teenager, she hoped to one day be a veterinarian or an elementary school teacher.
After graduating high school in 2003, Pelayo-Lozada attended El Camino College for two years, joining the honor society and serving on its board. She also worked as an administrative assistant at St. Catherine Laboure Church and was employed at Borders Bookstore.
It was at the bookstore that a group of librarians first caught her attention, inspiring her to pursue that as a career path if teaching didn’t work out.
Borders was also the place where she first noticed a young part-Filipino man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. When she met Christian Hanz-Lozada, all the pieces fell together: They had similar styles and shared a love of music and literature.
“We called each other soulmates,” Pelayo-Lozada said.
She graduated with an associate’s degree in philosophy in 2005, pivoting from her pursuit of a teaching degree after realizing it didn’t suit her during credential classes. In 2006, she was hired as a library page.
“And that was the start of my library career,” Pelayo- Lozada said.
She then attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to obtain a bachelor’s degree in sociology. In a seminar course, she wanted her research to focus on Kānaka Maoli. She found a couple books written by ʻŌiwi authors, “but a lot of them are about our people, not by our people or with our people,” Pelayo-Lozada said. That inspired her to advocate for the lāhui.
She graduated in 2007 and soon afterwards married Christian at St. Catherine Laboure Church.
At 22, she began dancing hula with Kaulana ka Hale Kula ʻo Nā Pua ʻo ka Āina under Kumu Hula Randy Kaulana Chang – a commitment that lasted almost a decade.
She later returned to UCLA for her master’s degree, attending its library school program. Learning under prominent children’s librarians like Virginia Walter and Clara Chu, Pelayo-Lozada said her mentors helped her connect her culture, education, family and community to her work.
Her thesis explored how information is disseminated in the Hawaiian diaspora of Los Angeles.
After graduating in 2009, Pelayo-Lozada worked part-time librarian jobs for three years until 2012, when she secured her first full-time role as the children’s librarian at the Glendale Central Public Library. Two years later, Pelayo-Lozada was hired as a librarian by the city of Rancho Cucamonga.
In 2016, she moved to the Palos Verdes Library District to serve as the young readers librarian. She was promoted to adult services assistant manager in 2018 – a role she held until 2023.
Separately, Pelayo-Lozada led the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association as its president from 2016 to 2017 and as its executive director from 2019 to 2022. She became president of the American Library Association in 2022.
“It was a whirlwind year,” Pelayo-Lozada said. She gave 44 keynote addresses and panels, plus more than 80 interviews, across 10 states and four countries.
In 2024, the city of Glendale made her its assistant director of library, arts and culture. Last July, she moved to the position of acting director before taking over the job permanently in March.
Pelayo-Lozada and her husband now reside in San Pedro, though they often discuss moving to Hawaiʻi. “The further I go in my career, the more the calling is for me to potentially go [home] someday,” Pelayo-Lozada said.
But today, Pelayo-Lozada is focused on raising scholarship money for Pacific Islander women through the Hawaiʻi’s Daughters Guild of California. And while the couple remains close to their families on the West Coast, Pelayo-Lozada is figuring out her place in its Hawaiian diaspora community.
