Dr Halena Kapuni-Reynolds of the National Museum of the American Indian & Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, United States, has joined The 11th IAFOR International Conference on Education (IICE2026) and The 6th IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities (IICAH20206) panel for ‘Defunding Education: Challenges and Implications’.
Ms Rosie Rowe, Leadership in Disabilities & Achievement of Hawai’i, United States, and Dr Mary Therese Perez Hattori of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, United States, have also been chosen to discuss this topic.
To participate in IICE/IICAH2026 as an audience member, please register for the conference via the conference website.
The panel presentation will also be available for IAFOR Members to view online. To find out more, please visit the IAFOR Membership page.
Speaker Biography
Halena Kapuni-Reynolds
National Museum of the American Indian & Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, United States
Dr Halena Kapuni-Reynolds was born on the island of Hawai'i and raised in the Hawaiian Home Lands community of Keaukaha and the rainforest of ʻŌlaʻa. As the Associate Curator of Native Hawaiian History and Culture at the National Museum of the American Indian, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution, he works on an array of projects centered around exhibitions, public programs, and public service. Dr Kapuni-Reynolds also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities, where he has contributed to the establishment of the Pacific Islands Humanities Network (PIHN) and provided leadership for the organization during a time of crisis and change. In addition to these roles, Dr Kapuni-Reynolds has served as a board member for the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, the Hawaiʻi Museums Association, the Council for Museum Anthropology, and the Piʻilani Hawaiian Civic Club of Colorado.
Abstract
Defunding Education: Challenges and Implications
Since January 2025, the Trump administration has enacted a sweeping range of policy shifts through anti-DEI executive orders and the termination of existing funding commitments in many areas, including education, the arts, and the humanities. Members of this panel will share how their organisations have been negatively impacted by these policies, challenges they have faced, and implications for academia.
