August 1, 2003 was my first day on the job as Executive Director of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. I wanted to start by properly grounding myself in this place, so on my lunch hour I went to the area just below Ulupō Heiau in Kailua, just behind the Windward YMCA, looking for Doc Burrows. […]
Get Outside Hawaiʻi!
If you’ve been in Hawaiʻi long enough, you’ve caught an episode of the popular television show, Outside Hawaiʻi. Delivered straight to your living rooms for over 20 years by host Jen Boneza and the familiar sound of that oh-so-catchy ukulele picking ditty, it remains local cable channel OC16’s highest rated program. Each segment reaches an average of 55,000 […]
Post-Secondary Transition Partners Announced
Our recent Request for Partnership sought to identify Hawai’i public high schools that wish to strengthen transition pathways to help students learn more about how to Enlist, Employ or Explore. We specifically looked for school partners who are deeply concerned about life after high school and eager to test innovative ideas targeting students, particularly 11th […]
Youth Voice Hawai’i 2024 Report
How might we better understand the experiences, aspirations and challenges faced by opportunity youth who are not enrolled in post-secondary education, enlisted in the armed forces or exploring long-term career opportunities after high school. ‘A’ali’i Alliance, in partnership with the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, provided a platform for young people to share their perspectives and […]
20-Year Oceans Lookback
I’d like to share with you about my own 20-year learning journey in helping the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation to deploying flexible philanthropic capital to help restore nearshore marine life populations in the Main Hawaiian Islands so that future generations can benefit and learn from this rich natural resource. I’ll bring to light the mistakes […]
E Alu Pu Turns 20: From a Meeting to a Movement
Twenty years ago, I was mired in graduate school at UH Mānoa, trying to figure out a whole lot more in life than just what I’d write for my MA thesis. As luck would have it, I’d stumbled into an internship with The Nature Conservancy’s (then) brand new Marine Program. With TNC, I began supporting the Miloliʻi community—learning […]
20-Year Education Lookback
The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation—founded in 1962 by Harold Kainalu Long Castle, who took a lot of his wealth from Kaneohe Ranch and gave it to this private foundation to make Hawaii a better place—is in a unique position to both think about ideas on public education improvement, and also provide funds to invest in […]
Scaling Opportunity
photo caption: students from Kailua, Kalaheo and Kahuku High Schools celebrate completion of internships with Hawaii Herald, Kuilima Farms, Makai Pet Hospital, Ōlelo Media and Pixar Animation, and Tofu Creative. My interest in education as a career was sparked while watching my grandmother teach French to seventh grade students in upper Manhattan. I was ten at […]
Middle School Transition Partnership Fund
The deadline for applications has passed and we are no longer accepting proposals. You can download the full RFP here our watch our informational video below. You can contact Maria Quidez should you have any additional questions. For many students, their time spent in middle school will be their shortest tenure at a public educational […]
Expanding Our Work in Middle Schools
Think back to your middle school years. How did you feel on your first day walking onto a new campus after spending seven years at your last school? Did you get lost trying to find each of your different classrooms? Do you remember how awkward it felt when the lunch bell rang and you couldn’t […]