Board Member
Momi Akana is the founder and Executive Director of Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers (KOKA). Initially opening in 1996 with 30 keiki and their parents, the program has grown to serve over 2,000 keiki and parents this past school year ('06 -'07) at 40 community sites on Oahu and Maui.
Momi was a speaker at the Native Hawaiian Education Conference in 2002, organized the first Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters Conference in Hawaii in 2003, expanded program services to the neighbor islands and the Women's Correctional Center in 2004, received the Hawaii's Outstanding Parent Friendly Business Award in 2005, received the Losos National Award for Excellence in 2006 and was chosen by the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Program this year as the recipient of a new residence and Community Center.
Momi has been an advocate for family-based education programs. She is a certified PAT (Parents As Teachers) and HIPPY (Home Instruction For Parents Of Preschool Youngsters) Program Supervisor. She has been the Project Director for six D.O.E. (Department Of Education) Native Hawaiian Education Act Grants, and several community-based and state grants. She has also served on the Voyager Charter School local school board and the Kalihi Neighborhood Board, the Honolulu Council of Ho'owaiwai Na Kamali'i and The Good Beginnings Alliance Oahu Council. She is currently serving on the Task Force for Children of Incarcerated Parents, the Eleu Group, and the FINE group of Early Childhood Administrators. Momi has two sons and two daughters who continually remind her of the pleasures and challenges of parenting, and her experiences add depth, perspective and delight to her understanding of child rearing.