Bonnie Kahapea-Tanner
Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy & Mana Maoli
Honolulu, HI USA
"You have to know where 'home' is in order to know where you're going and how to get back."
Career Roadmap
Bonnie's work combines: Environment & Nature, Non-Profit Organizations, and Teaching / Mentoring
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Most of us are not pure Hawaiian, so trying to understand who I was and how my Hawaiian culture relates to the other parts of me was difficult. I had to go on a literal voyage and find my whole self.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis
University of Hawaii at Hilo
Graduate Degree
Counseling Psychology
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Doctorate
Organizational Leadership
California Institute of Integral Studies
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Grew up loving the water; in high school, she really developed her interest in paddling and kayaking.
2.
Went to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and was introduced to the art of traditional Polynesian navigation.
3.
While she was in Hilo, she watched the Hōkūleʻa—a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe—prepare for a voyage to Tahiti.
4.
She joined the crew that took legendary Polynesian navigator "Papa" Mau Piailug back to his home in Micronesia.
5.
She was also interested in education, and earned her master’s degree in transformative learning and change.
6.
Says that even as she was going through that master’s program, she was always trying to “stay close to the canoe.”
7.
Now teaches traditional voyaging and maritime skills at the Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy.
8.
Says her job blends her interests in sailing, traditional navigation, Hawaiian culture, and teaching people.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I don't know who I am.
How I responded:
Most of us are not pure Hawaiian, so trying to understand who I was and how my Hawaiian culture relates to the other parts of me was difficult. I had to go on a literal voyage and find my whole self.