Meet Our Principal & Vice Principal

Aloha PES ʻOhana! I am Karrin Hauanio and I am privileged to have been selected to serve the community as Pāhoa Elementary School's newest Principal in September of 2024. I was raised in Keaukaha but have lived and raised my children in Puna for almost 30 years. I spent the first 13 years of my career serving as a general/special education teacher, district resource teacher, and vice principal in the Hilo-Waiakea Complex Area. In 2017, I moved to Kea'au Middle School and spent 5 years there as the Vice Principal. I also served 2 years as the District Educational Specialist for Alternative Learning in the Kaʻū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area before coming to Pāhoa Elementary. 

Aloha! I am Catherine McPherson-Tampos and I have served as Vice Principal at Pāhoa Elementary on and off for 10 years. I have lived on the Big Island since 1997 and have worked as an educator in Puna since 2000 after earning my Masters in Education degree in 1999. I started as an English teacher at Keaʻau High School and then became Vice Principal there in 2004. I have been an educational administrator ever since. In 2007, I joined the PES team as Vice Principal. In 2011, I became the District Educational Specialist for Special Education for the Kaʻū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa Complex Area before returning to Pāhoa Elementary in 2020 as Vice Principal. 

karrin.hauanio@k12.hi.us