IAFOR > The IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii > IICE2023 > Speakers

Speakers

The IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii (IICE) is a multidisciplinary conference held concurrently with The IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities in Hawaii (IICAH). Keynote, Featured and Spotlight Speakers will provide a variety of perspectives from different academic and professional backgrounds. Registration for either of these conferences permits attendance in both.

This page provides information about presenters. For details of presentations and other programming, please visit the Programme page.

Plenary Speakers

  • Chris Blake
    Chris Blake
    Polynesian Voyaging Society, United States
  • Mark K. Ellis
    Mark K. Ellis
    Polynesian Voyaging Society, United States
  • Catherine Fuller
    Catherine Fuller
    Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hawai'i, United States
  • Linda Furuto
    Linda Furuto
    University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, United States
  • Darwin Kaneaiakala
    Darwin Kaneaiakala
    Cultural Practitioner, United States

Spotlight Speakers

Previous Speakers

View details of speakers at past IICEHawaii conferences via the links below.

IICEHawaii2022 IICEHawaii2021 IICEHawaii2020
IICEHawaii2019 IICEHawaii2018 IICEHawaii2017
IICEHawaii2016
Chris Blake
Polynesian Voyaging Society, United States

Biography

Chris Blake currently serves as the Director of Pacific Innovations with the Office of Teaching and Learning Innovations at Kamehameha-Kapālama. In this role, he works to examine the wisdom of our ancestors and integrate it into our present knowledge to help us to navigate into the future. Chris has been an educator in the hui ʻepekema (Science) i ke kula kiʻekiʻe ma Kamehameha-Kapālama since 2000 and has been the High School Science Department Chair since 2010. Currently, he is the kumu (teacher) of Papa Kilo Hōkū (Celestial Navigation) which takes many of the components of non-instrument traditional navigation and sailing and provides a hands-on opportunity to learn from navigators and captains from the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

Chris has been working with the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 2012, connecting with Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia with the Mālama Honua -World-Wide Voyage in 2014-2017. He has continued his growth and development with Nainoa Thompson and Bruce Blankenfield with voyages to Ka Houpo o Kāne (InterTropical Convergence Zone) in May 2021 and the voyage to Papahānaumokuākea in June 2021. In 2022, he was selected for the crew on Hōkūleʻa as it voyaged on the ancient searoad of Kealaikahiki to Arutua, Rangiroa and Papaʻete in Tahiti.

Mark K. Ellis
Polynesian Voyaging Society, United States

Biography

Mark K. Ellis was born, raised, and currently lives with his ʻohana in Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu. He is a husband and father of four children. Mark is a crew member and student of navigation with the Polynesian Voyaging Society. He is a past Fellow of the First Nations’ Futures Institute at Stanford University. Mark received an undergraduate degree in Organisational Development and a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Design. He is currently a Sr. Instructional Designer with Kamehameha Schools.

Catherine Fuller
Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hawai'i, United States

Biography

Catherine Fuller is a sixth grade teacher at 'Iolani School in Honolulu. She is also a crew member on the Polynesian Voyaging Society's canoes Hõkūle'a and Hikianalia, and has held multiple roles on the canoes including navigator and captain. Catherine brings the lessons from her experiences to her students through the examination of the values, practices and decisions required to create a sustainable world. Her interests include outrigger canoe paddling, photography and reading.

Linda Furuto
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, United States

Biography

Dr Linda Furuto is from Hau‘ula, O‘ahu and a professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to joining UHM, Dr Furuto was an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Head of Mathematics and Science at University of Hawai’i West O‘ahu, and a middle and high school mathematics teacher in Fiji, Japan, Los Angeles, and Boston. Dr Furuto completed her PhD at UCLA, her master’s degree at Harvard University, and bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University. She is the director of the world’s first degree program in ethnomathematics, which received an official add-a-field licensure in ethnomathematics from the Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board. Dr Furuto has been part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 2007 and is an education specialist connecting voyaging on the ocean and land through ethnomathematics, access, equity, and STEM education.

Darwin Kaneaiakala
Cultural Practitioner, United States

Biography

Darwin “Kaleolani” Kaneaiakala is a native Hawaiian cultural practitioner from the island of O’ahu. He was born, raised, and still resides in the Ahupua’a of Kāne’ohe on the Windward side. He practises Polynesian sailing, Lua (The Art of the Hawaiian Warrior), and mahi’ai (farming). Learning the art of ku’i kalo (smashing taro) from Daniel Anthony over eight years ago, he discovered the health benefits of kalo, a staple food of the Hawaiian people. He passes on his cultural knowledge by sharing food and teaching others to ku’i.

Cultural Presentation (2023) | Hawaiian Cultural Presentation: Poi Pounding