Ulu Lahui Foundation

Growing the Nation

Our Mission
To promote and support the socio-economic advancement of the Native Hawaiian community in the Hawaiian Islands and abroad through educational programming, workforce development, and sustainability initiatives.
Our Vision
The vision of Ulu Lahui Foundation (ULF) is to provide IT/STEM educational programs and support for schools, teachers, community centers and other non-profit organizations in the state of Hawaii. Our target demographic is the underserved, economically and socially disadvantaged Native Hawaiian communities with a focus on developing and supporting early IT/STEM education. While this is our target population, we would welcome and provide support to all children, teachers and communities in an effort to increase awareness and accessibility to the IT/STEM fields.
Our Leadership Team
Chairman of the Board

Sherry (Hali'a) Hester

Secretary of the Board of Directors

Mahealani Austin

Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Jonathan Marstaller

Interim Executive Director

Dr. Josiah Hester

Initiatives

PLACES Education

Focused on advancing place-based and culturally revitalizing educational opportunities through professional development, innovative curricula, and essential infrastructure, resources, and AI productivity tools.

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Kumu Connect

A lesson plan generator that creates standards-aligned, culturally relevant STEM lessons, in English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi—co-designed with Hawaiian immersion language teachers and built to expand access where mainstream tools fall short.

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AI for Hawaiʻi

In-person workshops with teachers and educators to co-creating ʻāina-based AI curriculum for Hawaiʻi classrooms. Workshops focus on building a foundational understanding of AI, developing lesson plans, and identifying cultural alignment in AI.

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News

ULF Won a $1.25M NSF Grant to Build Community‑Led Hazard Monitoring Network in Hawaiʻi

 ULF Won a $1.25M NSF Grant to Build Community‑Led Hazard Monitoring Network in Hawaiʻi 150 150 Ulu Lāhui

HONOLULU & ATLANTA— Hawaiʻi faces increasing hazards, from water contamination and wildfires to flooding, hurricanes, tsunami, and drought. These threats strain local response capacity, especially when specialized testing and equipment…

ULF & UHT Team Up to Prepare Native Hawaiian Students for a World of AI

 ULF & UHT Team Up to Prepare Native Hawaiian Students for a World of AI 150 150 Ulu Lāhui

HONOLULU — Earlier this month, Ulu Lāhui Foundation (ULF) and partner Ulu HI-Tech (UHT) were awarded a grant through the AI Education Project (aiEDU) to co-create artificial intelligence (AI) curricula…

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Contact us to learn more or to partner together.

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