Erin A. Cech, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy), University of Michigan

I am an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy) at the University of Michigan. I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from UC San Diego, undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Sociology from Montana State University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Clayman Institute at Stanford. My research examines cultural mechanisms of inequality reproduction in the workforce broadly and STEM fields specifically. I am the author of two books, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality (2021) and Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering (with M. Blair-Loy; 2022) and my work has been covered by national and international news outlets including The New York Times, NPR, and the Guardian.

Candace Fujikane, Ph.D.

Professor of English, University of Hawai'i

I am a Professor of English at the University of Hawaiʻi. I co-edited with Jonathan Okamura Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawaiʻi (UHP, 2008). I recently published Mapping Abundance for a Planetary Future: Kanaka Maoli and Critical Settler Cartographies in Hawaiʻi (Duke UP, 2021). I have stood for lands and waters in Hawaiʻi for over twenty years. 

Diamond Tachera, Ph.D.

Project Scientist I, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

I am a kanaka ‘ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) born and raised on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. I completed my Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Department of Earth Sciences in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. I am currently a Project Scientist in the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory, co-director of the NSF NCAR Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences, and working on the NSF Rising Voices Changing Coasts hub project.

Camaron Miyamoto, Ed.D.

Director, LGBTQ+ Center at UH Mānoa

I am tenured faculty in the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success and the Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Queer+ (LGBTQ+) Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2002-present). I have been published by the Princeton Review, Peter Lang Publishing, the University of Hawaiʻi Press and have materials reprinted by Duke University Press relating to queer people of color. I am grateful that I continue to learn from my students at UH Mānoa and am fueled by the belief that we will create a better future through compassion, education, and a steadfast commitment to social justice.

Barb Bruno, Ph.D.

Specialist, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology, SOEST

I am a Faculty Specialist at the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP). My academic background includes undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Geoscience from Brown University, and MS and PhD degrees in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa. I spent the first part of my career studying planetary volcanism and applying mathematical methods to better understand volcanic processes on Earth and other planets. In the second part of my career, I developed a strong interest in geoscience education and broadening participation. I use the classroom and various training programs as a laboratory to conduct geoscience education research. My overarching goal is to attract diverse students and scientists to the geosciences and create an environment in which everyone can thrive. My broadening participation work has been recognized with the 2017 Dr. Amefil Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award, 2021 UH Presidential Award for Outstanding Service and 2023-2025 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Landing Academy Fellowship.

Lee Ellen Buenconsejo-Lum, M.D., FAAFP 

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health

Satoru Izutsu Endowed Professor, John A. Burns School of Medicine

I have held several Dean’s office leadership roles at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) since 2016 and served as the Interim Dean from January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. Before joining the Dean’s office, I was a faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. My leadership roles have been marked by a relentless pursuit of reducing health disparities in Hawai‘i and the US Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) jurisdictions. My scholarly activities continue to focus on this crucial mission, building health system capacity in the USAPI, focused on improving prevention and screening for cervical cancer, and maintaining a regional cancer surveillance system built under my leadership. I also help to oversee the RCMI Specialized Center Ola HAWAII, which advances minority health and health disparities research across UH Mānoa in partnership with communities across the state. Nationally, I have been involved in several initiatives to promote medical education that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist medical education, a testament to my commitment to a more equitable healthcare system. As a practicing Family Physician, I still have the privilege of caring for patients, some of them from 30 years ago.

Nicole Alia Salis-Reyes, Ed.D.

Associate Professor, College of Education, Department of Educational Administration

I, Nicole Alia Salis Reyes, was born in Honolulu and raised on different parts of Oʻahu and the U.S. continent. I currently live in Mānoa with my family and am an associate professor of higher education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In my research, I broadly consider how Indigenous peoples, especially Kānaka ʻŌiwi, and communities of color define postsecondary success for themselves and how institutions of higher education can better support these forms of success. I am particularly interested in thinking about what relationships between higher education and kuleana lāhui (nation-building) could and should look like.

Lani Teves, Ph.D.

Stephanie Nohelani Teves

Associate Professor and Chair, Dept of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, College of Social Sciences

I am Kanaka ʻŌiwi born and raised in Puʻuloa on the island of Oʻahu. I am a proud product of public education in Hawaiʻi. I attended Leeward Community College and UH Mānoa, where I received my BA and MA before attending the University of Michigan where I earned my Ph.D. I returned home in 2019 and live with my ʻohana in Honouliuli, Hawaiʻi. I currently serve as the Chair of the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where I teach courses on Indigenous feminisms and queer theory. I’m the author of Defiant Indigeneity: The Politics of Hawaiian Performance (2018) and co-editor of a special issue of American Quarterly called “We Are Not American…Still” (2024). I am completing an oral history project with Kanaka ʻŌiwi Māhū/LGBTQ Kūpuna, forthcoming from UH Press. I am a lead researcher with the NSF Catalyst Kaulike team.

Linda Voong, SHRM-CP

Executive Search Coordinator, Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence - Faculty Excellence

I hold a Master’s degree in Human Resources from the Shidler College of Business and have been with the University of Hawai'i since 2012. In my current role, I specialize in coordinating and facilitating executive recruitments for the Mānoa campus. With extensive experience in developing training programs and initiatives, my work spans the entire faculty work-life cycle, from recruitment to retirement. I also provide guidance on faculty personnel matters, particularly in relation to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.