Laʻakea was born and raised on the island of Oʻahu and currently resides in Puʻuloa, ʻEwa. She recently earned her B.A in Anthropology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is an alumni of our Wahi Kūpuna Internship program with the 2017 cohort in Waiawa, Oʻahu. Outside of her work, she and her ʻohana care for ʻāina in Waiawa where they encourage ʻāīna based education and hold space for their community.