About Us

Chad Kālepa Baybayan
Founding Board Member

Born on the island of O‘ahu and raised in Lahaina, Maui, Chad Kālepa Baybayan was an active participant in the Polynesian voyaging renaissance since 1975. He served as captain and navigator aboard the iconic double-hulled voyaging canoe, Hōkūle‘a, as well as the Hawai‘iloa and Hōkūalakaʻi.

Kālepa graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language in 1997, and followed it with a master’s degree in Education from Heritage College. In 2007, Kālepa was one of five Native Hawaiian men initiated into the order of Pwo, a 2,000-year-old society of deep-sea navigators, by their teacher, Master Navigator Mau Piailug, on the Micronesian island of Satawai.

From 2009, Kālepa served as Navigator-in-Residence at Hilo’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i where he shared his knowledge of wayfinding through the development of curriculum materials, activities and outreach to engage people of all ages. He also participated in 18 legs of Hōkūle‘a’s Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage that began in 2014 and returned home in 2019. On April 8, 2021, Kālepa passed away. He lived a life of purpose, commitment and generosity that has inspired generations of youths to find their own paths forward as they navigate the world around them.

Sam Kalanikupua King
Founding Board Member

Sam is a Native Hawaiian attorney born and raised on O‘ahu. Sam graduated from Punahou School in 2002 and Georgetown University in 2006. After working in Washington D.C., Iraq and Afghanistan, he returned home to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Law School, graduating cum laude in 2013. Sam served as a clerk for Hawai‘i Supreme Court Justice Richard W. Pollack, became an associate at Case Lombardi & Pettit, where he practiced real estate development law. He is now in-house counsel for a major health insurer.

Sam’s family roots run deep in Hawai‘i. Sam is a descendent of the chiefs of Maui and O‘ahu, who were defeated by Kamehameha at the battle of Nu‘uanu. His family served in the court of Queen Lili‘uokalani, and in the government installed after her overthrow. King’s great-grandfather and namesake was the first Native Hawaiian governor of Hawaii, his grandfather was the legendary federal judge Samuel P. King, and his parents are both respected attorneys of long standing in Honolulu.

Amber Imai-Hong
Executive Director

Amber Imai-Hong is an Avionics Engineer and Outreach Specialist. Born and raised on Hawaii Island, Amber developed skills in robotics, astronomy, and tinkering while attending Waiakea High School which lead her to join a small satellite team in her freshman year at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she majored in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Electrophysics. She graduated with her Bachelors of Science in 2012 and has been working with the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory on spacecraft design, development, testing, operations, and community educational outreach. Over the past 14 years, Amber has worked on eleven satellite projects, three suborbital payloads, and has mentored several student teams who worked on the development of testing systems and spacecraft components. In May 2020, she became the Program Manager for the Artemis CubeSat Kit with the goal of developing a low-cost educational satellite kit for community college and undergraduate students with no formal aerospace program. In July 2021, she won one of the Governor’s Emergency Educational Relief Grants to bring the satellite kit to middle and high schools across Hawai`i.

Makana Silva
Board Member & Mentorship Director

Makana was raised on the West Side of Oʻahu in Mākaha. He graduated from Kamehameha School Kapālama in 2014. He went on to attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he worked under Dr. Sarah Post studying solitons and their dynamics and received his Bachelor of Science in Physics in 2017. Makana received his Doctorate in Physics from the Ohio State University, where he conducted research under Dr. Christopher Hirata studying perturbative effects on black hole systems. Makana has accepted a Postdoctoral position at Los Alamos Research Lab. When he is not doing physics, he enjoys strongman and playing games.

Leinani Lozi
Volunteer Outreach Coordinator

Leinani Lozi is the volunteer Outreach Coordinator for ʻOhana Kilo Hōkū, Hawaiʻi Community Outreach Specialist for the Thirty Meter Telescope Project, cultural advisor to the International Lunar Observatory Association Hawaiʻi and occasional Planetarium Operator at the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi. Leinani is passionate about indigenous knowledge systems, native plant restoration and providing education opportunities for Hawaiʻi keiki.  She was born and raised on the island of Oʻahu and has lived in Hilo since 2013 where she graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She leads educational and cultural programs for various audiences and venues including ʻOhana Stargazing and Journey Through the Universe. Leinani incorporates Hawaiian language and culture in all of her engagement materials. She has worked in astronomy outreach since 2015 at the international Gemini Observatory  and the Maunakea Visitor Information Station where she’s gained insight into the ecosystem and moʻolelo of Maunakea.  Leinani is a part of Hālau Leimanu under the direction of Leilehua Yuen and volunteers regularly on Hawaiʻi Island including planting trees on Maunakea, removing invasive plant species from the Volcanoes National Park and caring for Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens.