Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1 September 1983 — Betty Kawaohilani Ellis Jenkins: New Kupuna [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Betty Kawaohilani Ellis Jenkins: New Kupuna

It frequently happens that a loss to one organization is a gain to another but it happens perhaps less often that such a loss ean be a gain to both organizations. This is precisely what has happened in the hiring of Betty Kawohilani Jenkins as the new Kupuna Coordinator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Betty retired this summer from her long career in the Department of Education, working most recently in the renowned Halau o Hale'iwa at Hale'iwa Elementary School as the originator and chief teacher in the project.

by Lokomaika'lokalmai Scakenberg Hawaiian Studies Specialist Department of Education Betty is not the type of person who ean sit around idle as many people in the Hawaiian and general communities know. When she saw that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was advertising for a person who could work with and advocate for the kupuna in the puhlie school Hawaiian Studies Program, she immediately applied for the job. Several Hawaiians were interviewed for the position but Betty's experience, quick wit, intelligence and poise under questioning convinced the interviewing eommittee that she was po'okela, the best one for the job! Since beginning her one-year contract in late August, Betty has been quite busy learning the ropes of the OHA routine plus traveling to the Leeward District, Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i to help Staff Developer Noelani Mahoe and myself conduct workshops for kupuna, teachers and community persons. Her teacher experience coupled with her sensitivity to the needs and desires of kupuna such as her own mother, Kupuna Nalani Ellis, make her an invaluable asset to the continued effective implementation of a Hawaiian Studies Program in the elementary schools that all of Hawai'i ean be proud of.

Betty Jenkins, OHA's new kupuna coordinator.