ABOUT US
Hui O Waʻa Kaulua (“Assembly of the Double Hull Canoes”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 1975 on the island of Maui to practice, perpetuate and educate the community on Hawaiian canoe building, wayfinding, and voyaging arts. The Hui (assembly or organization) is the only non-profit on the island of Maui that uses a traditional sailing waʻa kaulua (double hull canoe) for educational purposes, offering hands on experience and a traditional system of mentoring utilizing knowledge that has been passed down through Pwo (master navigator) Mau Piailug from the tiny island of Satawal, Micronesia.
The building and birth of these waʻa exemplifies the many hours of labor and love from not only the Hui, but the whole Maui community. Hui O Waʻa Kaulua works closely with The Polynesian Voyaging Society in education, exploration, and preservation of voyaging arts. As ʻohana (family), the Hui gratefully receives mentoring and supports the endeavors of all of Hawaiʻi’s great voyaging canoes.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom
Amy Hānaialiʻi’s success as a recording artist speaks for itself and is evidenced by a multitude of awards and acknowledgements, including 6 GRAMMY® nominations for Best Hawaiian Music Album & Best Native Roots Music Album.
Hānaialiʻi’s talent emerges from a disciplined classical training, fused powerhouse vocals, and honoring her family’s worldly heritage and rooted ancestral responsibility.
Amy’s albums have garnered 18 Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards – Hawaiʻi’s equivalent to the GRAMMY® awards.
Amy has played for the Dalai Lama, two inaugural balls in D.C. for President Obama and the first entertainer ever to perform in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, China. Amy has played for sold-out crowds in Europe, Japan and all across America and French Polynesia. Hānaialiʻi’s Friends and Family album showcased a stunning duet with country music legend Willie Nelson. Alongside and recording with the best, Amy also has performed live and opened for renowned artists like Earth, Wind and Fire, Carlos Santana, Boz Scaggs, Diana Krall, Joe Cocker, Michael McDonald and many more.
She has played to sold-out shows at the following world-renowned venues: Blue Note Jazz Club New York and Japan, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Stern Grove, The Cutting Room, and numerous performances with orchestras in opera Houses worldwide.
Her diverse success and cultural responsibility, provide clear recognition by Hawaiʻi’s music community and fans with universal acceptance. All of Amy’s albums have validated commercial success by consistently placing her at the top of the World Album Billboard charts.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from United States International University- School of Performing and Visual Arts in San Diego, Amy spent time with her paternal grandmother, International Hawaiian superstar – Jennie Nāpua Woodd.
Undoubtedly her world-famous falsetto training and strict pronunciation lessons gave Amy beloved respect of Hawaiian Culture and Music, making her grandmother Nāpua one of her most influential people in her life.
Woodd, one of the original Royal Hawaiian girls in Waikīkī or Tūtū (grandmother) as Amy affectionately calls her, helped shape the entertainment scene of Hawaiʻi as a Kumu Hula/Choreographer in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and NYC.
Woodd worked on every Pacific-themed motion picture in the 1940ʻs and 1950ʻs and her choreography defines that cinematic genre. Also, Woodd while performing on Broadway and the Lexington Hotel in New York City, Tūtū met Amy’s grandfather Lloyd B. Gilliom. He himself a musician who played trumpet and steel guitar with the likes of Sammy Kaye, Tommy Dorsey and other notable bands of that era—joined Woodd to build a rich tradition of Hawaiian Culture on both coasts of America.
Amy sits on 3 Native Boards, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts and Hui O Waʻa Kaulua.
Aside from the music community, Amy has garnered accolades from the Pacific Business News as their “40 under 40 Businessperson of the Year” award, recognizing not only her talent but also her business acumen needed to market her talent.
Recently, she has launched 3 vintages of wine under her wine company Hānaialiʻi Wines with her 2013 Merlot earning a 90 from Wine Spectator, The LA Wine Festival and 5 Gold medals.
Amy has been a director with Hui O Waʻa Kaulua since 2014 and the acting President since 2019. She often shares about the Moʻokiha O Piʻilani with her audiences during performances all over the world..
Vice President – Brad Scott
Brad Scott is from the North Shore of Oahu. He was raised in Kahuku and graduated from Kahuku High School in 1993. In 1994, he started working in Kaneohe Bay as a deckhand and later as a captain aboard various sailing vessels. He attained a USCG (US Coast Guard) Masters Certificates from Pacific Maritime Academy. He expanded his maritime career into larger vessels in Honolulu Harbor by operating work vessels and tugs. He was certified as a Pilot for submarines with Voyager Atlantis Submarines and as Ship Boarding Agent (Inchcape Marine) responsible for logistics of arriving ships & security boarding with the USCG, US Customs, and US Immigration.
In 2004, he joined the International Longshore and Warehouse Union as a laborer for Hawaii Stevedores Inc, where he became a Steward for 6 months and then was elected to the Executive Board and Chairmen of the Safety Committee. In 2016, he was promoted to Foreman and transferred to Maui where he was elected as Vice Chairmen of the Maui Longshore (ILWU).
In his personal life, he loves spending time with his keiki (children), Kamaehu, Tahiata and Temana and sailing around Hawaii and the South Pacific. He has been involved in grappling Martial Arts his entire life rising to the rank of Judo Belt, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and Wrestling Coach at Kamehameha Kapalama (2006-2017).
He joined Hui O Waʻa Kaulua in 2019 after participating in the Hui’s crew training program. He then became a crew member and is now a Board member currently serving as Vice President. He is passionate about the ocean has always been involved in the Maritime Industry and interest in Polynesian Navigation. He is so honored to be a part of the Hui and for the opportunity to share Polynesian Navigation with Maui Nui.
Secretary – Puaonani “Pua” Turqueza
Pua is from Lanaʻi and has been involved with canoe paddling for over 15 years. She loves the ocean and the deep meaning it holds for the Polynesian people. She has been involved with different events from assisting with Maui Nui, Paddle for Life and Lanaʻi High School Paddling team. She felt the calling to assist with spreading what she loves and is passionate about.
In 2019, Pua was invited to the crew training for Hui O Waʻa Kaulua. The experience and deep knowledge that she gained is what led her to becoming a board member of Hui O Waʻa Kaulua. Currently she also volunteers on the Lanaʻi City Lions Club as the LEO Advisor, Hawaii Community Foundation Lanaʻi Community Benefit Funds and Hulopoʻe Beach Park Council. Pua also holds a position as manager of Bank of Hawaii Lanaʻi Branch.
Treasurer – Clifford R Libed
Clifford’s initial contact with the Hui came at a request from our Kapena Timmy Gapero and Collie Boy Eldredge. It was when their only sailing canoe in existence was the Moʻolele. He stayed on until the Moʻokiha O Piʻilani was on the drawing board for construction and they were able to get a grant for the construction of the canoe.
Throughout the years, he kept tabs on the Hui and rejoined them as a board member in 2018. He then was elected treasurer in 2019.
His current community board experience includes the following:
Commission of Children and Youth County of Maui: Commissioner
Maui Redevelopment Agency: Commissioner and Elected Chairman
Commission of Culture and Arts Maui County: Commissioner
Iao Theater: President of the Board of Directors
Maui High School: Head Coach Outrigger Canoe Padding
Kihei Canoe Club: Head Coach
Na Kai Ewalu Canoe Club: Head Coach
His has work experience with At Risk Youth and communities through his position as State Public Housing Manager for Maui County. The communities he served included Kahekili Terrace, Makani Kai Hale, Piʻilani Elderly, Ka Hale Mua (Molokaʻi) and David Malo Circle.
He received a NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) National Award for the “Sport Fest” project he founded. The project included all public housing residents throughout Hawaii. The project theme was "Succeed and Believe" which received a commendation from Governor Cayetano.
Cultural Advisor – Clifford J. Naeole
Born on Maui, Clifford presently serves as The Hawaiian Cultural Advisor to The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. He has held this position for 24 of his 29 years of employment at that location. He is also the chairperson for the annual “Celebration of the Arts”, which has existed for over 25 years.
As a former council member on The Maui/Lanaʻi Islands Burial Council, he is well aware of the kuleana (responsibility) associated with The Honokahua Preservation Site located in Honokahua.
Clifford was a past president of The Native Hawaiian Hospitality Assn (NaHHA) with its mission being to re-connect the “hosted to the host.”
He is the owner of Hoʻohaliʻa Consulting and has studied hula and protocol with the late Kumu Hula Charles Kaʻupu of Halau Hula Maui Nui A Kauhi A Kama and Kumu Keliʻi Tauʻa.
He was has been honored by “Meeting Professionals Intl. Aloha Chapter” (MPI) as the Cultural Person of the Year and by Hui O Waʻa Kaulua (Maui’s Polynesian Voyaging Club) with their Legacy Award.
Clifford has been a Cultural Advisor and Director for Hui O Waʻa Kaulua since 2018.
Cultural Advisor – Kumu Micah Kamohoaliʻi
Kumu Micah Kamohoaliʻi descends from a Native Hawaiian family deeply rooted in their culture and traditions. He was born and raised in Puʻukapu, Waimea on the slopes of Mauna Kea of Hawaiʻi Island. He is an accomplished and a renowned Kumu Hula, a Hawaiian expert and historian. His traditional dance school, Hālau Nā Kīpuʻupuʻu is celebrated for being a powerhouse of energy, truly one the most authentic in Hawaiʻi. They have received highly acclaimed honors for their presentations that have toured in many countries around the world.
Kumu Micah Kamohoaliʻi holds university degrees in Performing Arts, Hawaiian Studies and Language, Anthropology & Archaeology in Cultural Heritage Management. He is the owner and creator of Dezigns By Kamohoalii, a Hawaiʻi based clothing company inspired by his family’s extensive ties to the art of bark cloth kapa making. In addition, he is well-regarded in Hawaiʻi for being a native Hawaiian scholar, archaeologist, teacher, historian, genealogist, cultural expert, artist, and famed storyteller. He has worked in many mediums such as lei making, feather work, photography, printing, painting, film production, Hawaiian music, and most famously his work in reviving old customary practices of the Hawaiian kapa bark cloth. His works of art have been featured around the world, notably in Vogue magazine, the New York Times, The New York Botanical Gardens and The British Museum of London.
He is a well-known cultural leader and practitioner and continues to lead ceremonies, educational excursions, and conducts native Hawaiian practices and protocols throughout Hawaiʻi, as his family has done for many generations. His extensive knowledge and creativity is what makes him so sought-after. He has worked with many native non-profit organizations and has sat on community and county boards for culture, arts, education, medical, and energy & community development. He continues to teach around the world sharing the native stories, fashion, and the dance of his people.
Kumu Micah Kamohoaliʻi has been a crew member of the voyaging canoe Makaliʻi for many years, where he started sailing at the age of 13 under the tutelage of his uncle Clayton Bertelmann. This developed his love for voyaging, ocean education and has been his solid canoe foundation. Although he doesn’t sail as much these days, he continues to teach Waʻa curriculum at crew training for different canoes of Hawaiʻi.
Micah has been a Cultural Advisor and Director for Hui O Waʻa Kaulua since 2021.
