Senior Scholar Kekuhi Kanae Kanahele Keali‘ikanaka‘oleoHaililani is the executive director of the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation, coordinator of I Ola Haloa,Title III, a federally funded educational program, and an instructor in the Hawaiian Lifestyles Program at Hawai‘i Community College. She and her sister Huihui Kanahele-Mossman are kumu hula of Halau o Kekuhi, which was founded by the ancestors of Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele and Nalani Kanaka‘ole, whose lineage can be traced to the very beginnings of hula, the Pele clan itself.

Kekuhi holds a B.A. in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and a M.Ed. from Heritage University. She is also a doctoral student in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, with a focus on Hawai‘i Primal Religion and Sacred Ethno-ecology at Union Institute and University. Her professional and community service include: past and current board memberships in Na Maka Haloa, the Ka‘u Learning Center; cultural consultancies to Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission and the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana, Kupuna Council for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and the Folk Alliance Conference.

Among her many accomplishments, she is also an award-winning performing artist, with three audio recordings: Hahani Mai (1996 Punahele Productions), Kekuhi (1999 Mountain Apple Company), and Honey Boy (2002 Mountain Apple Company). In 1999, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the Na Hoku Hanohano Music Award.