WINCART

Dearest Community Members,

It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of Kawen Toagamau Segaula Young, Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Alliance, on Monday, September 27, 2021, after a long battle with heart disease.

Among the founding board members of the Alliance in 2008, Kawen valued the power of collaboration and spent a lifetime building and nurturing cherished professional and personal relationships. She would then connect the right people and resources to advocate for and provide much-needed services to the Pacific Islander community both in the U.S. and in the territories.

Kawen was a legendary community leader, held in the highest esteem by everyone from fellow community organizers to legislators to her beloved friends and family. Whether she was discussing Pasifika with the President in the Rose Garden, burning the midnight oil to secure a federal agency funds for a project, running an immigration clinic for our Tongan and Samoan families, coordinating mobile health screenings for one of dozens of events, rounding up volunteers for the Help Samoa tsunami relief effort, or testifying before lawmakers on issues from data disaggregation to redistricting, Kawen believed wholeheartedly that our Pacific Islander community deserved the very best, and she worked every day to try to deliver.

A daughter of Samoa to her core, Kawen launched her career of service with the Samoan Federation in Carson, Calif., and shortly thereafter moved to the Office of Samoan Affairs. Her path led her to the office of the late U.S. Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, where over 18 years she served as a Scheduler, Case Manager, and Staff Assistant to Legal Counsel. She became an encyclopedia of protocols and policymaking and leveraged that knowledge to help our Pacific Islander community- and faith-based organizations gain ground. Her humble but determined approach to collaboration won her appointments to such critical bodies as the U.S. Census Bureau Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders and the AANHPI Health Initiative Committee.

In addition to serving as Executive Director of the Alliance at the time of her passing, Kawen was also Lead of the SoCal Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team and served on numerous councils and boards, including:

• LE GaFa: Leadership and Education through Gagana Fa’a Samoa Advisory Council
• UCLA Department of Medicine Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Board
• LA Community College District Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on API Affairs
• CA Office of Emergency Services, Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, Community Partner, Vaccinations
• Charles Drew Univ. COVID-19 Vaccine Prevention Network Community Advisory Board
• UCLA Clinical and Transitional Science Institute Community Engagement in Research Program
• P50 Epigenetics Community Education and Outreach Council
• California Community Foundation Citizenship Taskforce
• Advancement Project CA Workgroup
• AANHPI Health Initiative Committee

The Alliance is forever indebted to Kawen for her thoughtful leadership, unwavering faith, boundless generosity, and larger-than-life vision. She will be missed terribly and remembered always.

Kawen’s network was broad and far-reaching. Please forgive us for anyone we have missed in this correspondence and help us share this heartbreaking news with those who knew her. Funeral arrangements will be forthcoming.

In Community,

The NHPI Alliance Board of Directors

‘Alisi Tulua, President
Travis B. Wells, Vice President
Si’u Nancy Glass, Treasurer
Rita Scanlan, Secretary
Dr. Sheri-Ann Daniels
Charlene Lui
Neil Pilcher
Kelani Silk
Daisy Demapan

--
“We should not be defined by the smallness of our islands, but by the greatness of our oceans. We must wake up to this ancient truth and, together, use it to overturn all hegemonic views that aim, ultimately, to confine us again; physically and psychologically. It is time to create things for ourselves; to create established standards of excellence that match those of our ancestors’.”
Dr. ‘Epeli Hau’ofa

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7716262260957/WN_52Bncu0_TbWwURZfIwAoVQ

Join the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (PI-CoPCE) with partners Monday, May 17 at 2:00 pm HST / 5:00 pm PDT / 8:00 pm EDT for Episode 26 of Koviki Talk—a limited podcast series on all things Pacific Islanders, COVID-19, and seeking wisdom to learn more about how the Pacific Islander community is responding.

Carl Johnson and Annette “Nackie” Fiso-Moli of PolyByDesign talk with Fahina Tavake-Pasi about the National Tongan American Society located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Register now on Zoom: https://bit.ly/KovikiTalk-Zoom
You can also watch the episode LIVE on Facebook:
• Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (-CoPCE)
• Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team ()
• PolyByDesign ()
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities ()

Join the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (PI-CoPCE) with partners Monday, May 3 at 2:00 pm HST / 5:00 pm PDT / 8:00 pm EDT for Episode 25 of Koviki Talk—a limited podcast series on all things Pacific Islanders, COVID-19, and seeking wisdom to learn more about how the Pacific Islander community is responding.

Carl Johnson and Annette “Nackie” Fiso-Moli of PolyByDesign talk with Triple J Kaminanga, Juanita Monessa Kim Yasu & Joseph Seia about the Pasifika Narratives: Chuukese Community.

Register now on Zoom: https://bit.ly/KovikiTalk-Zoom
You can also watch the episode LIVE on Facebook:
• Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (-CoPCE)
• Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team ()
• PolyByDesign ()
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities ()

Save Your Seat »

We are excited to share our new Woven with Elders: Pacific Islander Vaccine Toolkit with you!

This free toolkit provides beautiful graphics, easy-to-read fact sheets, and responses to frequently asked questions regarding COVID-19 vaccinations in order to protect our Pacific Islander communities, especially our treasured elders. We encourage you to use and share our toolkit components that will be translated into various Micronesian, Polynesian, and Melanesian languages.

Download Toolkit » https://pi-copce.org/download/woven-with-elders-pacific-islander-vaccine-toolkit/

Join the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (PI-CoPCE) with partners Monday, March 22 at 2:00 pm HST / 5:00 pm PDT / 8:00 pm EDT for Episode 21 of Koviki Talk—a limited podcast series on all things Pacific Islanders, COVID-19, and seeking wisdom to learn more about how the Pacific Islander community is responding.

Carl Johnson and Annette “Nackie” Fiso-Moli of PolyByDesign get to know the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition, including Lisia Satini and Jake Fitisemanu.

Register now on Zoom: https://bit.ly/KovikiTalk-Zoom

You can also watch the episode LIVE on Facebook:

• Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (-CoPCE)
• Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team ()
• PolyByDesign ()
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities ()

Join the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (PI-CoPCE) with partners today, March 15 at 2:00 pm HST / 5:00 pm PDT / 8:00 pm EDT for Episode 20 of Koviki Talk—a limited podcast series on all things Pacific Islanders, COVID-19, and seeking wisdom to learn more about how the Pacific Islander community is responding.

Carl Johnson and Annette “Nackie” Fiso-Moli of PolyByDesign get to know the Northern California Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team, including Kekoa Lopez-Paguyo, Ruth Talamoa, Tino Felise, and Luci Latu.

Register now on Zoom: https://bit.ly/KovikiTalk-Zoom

You can also watch the episode LIVE on Facebook:

• Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (-CoPCE)
• Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team ()
• PolyByDesign ()
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities ()

Join the Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (PI-CoPCE) with partners today, March 8 at 3:00 pm HST / 5:00 pm PST / 8:00 pm EST for Episode 19 of Koviki Talk—a limited podcast series on all things Pacific Islanders, COVID-19, and seeking wisdom to learn more about how the Pacific Islander community is responding.

Carl Johnson and Annette “Nackie” Fiso-Moli of PolyByDesign get to know the Inland Empire Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team, including Francine Blacksher, David Utuone, and Asena Filihia.

Register now on Zoom: https://bit.ly/KovikiTalk-Zoom

You can also watch the episode LIVE on Facebook:

• Pacific Islander Center of Primary Care Excellence (-CoPCE)
• Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team ()
• PolyByDesign ()
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities ()

Sharing our Talk Story Series from the SoCal PICRT and Lead, Heidi Quenga. Please join us for this -- STOP Anti-Asian Violence" tomorrow, March 3rd at 6:30 PM PST. An invigorating conversation with two faith leaders with Pacific Islander and Asian roots dialogue about history, justice and faith.

See our flyer below and register for this virtual event bit.ly/stopantiasianviolence or FaceBook.com/KutturanChamoru.