Nāpua Greig Nakasone Announces Candidacy for Upcountry Council Seat

Nāpua Greig Nakasone. Courtesy photo.

By Maui Now Staff

Maui kumu hula, educator, business owner and award-winning performer, Nāpua Greig Nakasone, announced her candidacy today for the Upcountry Maui County Council seat representing Pukalani, Kula and ʻUlupalakua.

“I am excited about the opportunity to serve the residents of Maui,” said Greig-Nakasone in a press release announcement.

“My family and I are deeply invested and indebted to this community, and I want to do all I can to be an active participant in preserving what is great about Maui, making it an even better place to live, work and raise a family,” she said.

As a cultural specialist and educator at Seabury Hall, Greig-Nakasone works with high school students to develop curriculum and programs to provide hands on learning about Native Hawaiian history, language and performing arts.

Greig-Nakasone also serves as a board member for the Waiohuli Hawaiian Homestead Association and was a commissioner for the State Land Use Commission from 2010–2013.

In addition, she is a business owner, serving as the co-founder, owner and operator of Hālau o Ka Ua Makanoe (Chiba, Japan), Hālau o Naleihiwa (Sapporo, Japan), and Pihana Productions, LLC.  She also spent the last two decades managing the non-profit Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka o Uka.

In her announcment, Greig-Nakasone said this candidacy “fulfills a lifelong commitment to public service.” Crediting her parents for exposing she and her siblings to campaigns at an early age, Greig-Nakasone said she “maintains a deep sense of respect for the political process and the rich history of our islands’ government.”

“I am grateful for the groundwork laid by my parents, their peers and those who came before them to create opportunities for our generation and beyond,” said Greig-Nakasone, whose mother, Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey serves as the Maui representative on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees.

“I hope to channel their lessons, coupled with my own life experiences to bring a new perspective to the Council, working to bridge varying opinions to find solutions together,” she said.

Greig-Nakasone, 41, resides in Waiohuli with her partner, Kūkini Suwa.  She has four children: Kainalu (Nikki), 26; Kala’iākea, 17; Ka’ilihiwa, 15 and Kahiau, 2.

She is the daughter of the late Jay Nakasone, a former administrator of Maui Intake Service for the State of Hawai’i and OHA Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey.