Lehua Kamalu

I am a voyager, captain, and navigator of traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoes. My work is based in Honolulu, Hawaii where I was raised on the beautiful Koʻolau (windward) side of the island. I have been a member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 2009, where I was trained in the art and practice of non-instrument wayfinding, and where I currently serve as the Voyaging and Partnerships Director. I have completed over 15 voyages and in April 2022, proudly lead elite crew from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti, traveling 2,300-nautical miles to Tahiti in just 17 days. I was fortunate to be one of the first graduating classes of Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pūʻōhala, one of the first Hawaiian-language immersion schools established in Hawaiʻi. I am a National Geographic Explorer, Emerson Collective Dial Fellow, MIT Media Lab Directorʻs Fellow, and a member of the First Nations Futures Fellows, which supports Hawaiian, Alaska Native, and Maori emerging leaders. I also attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and hold a Bachelorʻs of Science in Mechanical Engineering.