Jonathan brings 24+ years of experience as an educator. His teaching journey began at a small inquiry-based school on Oahu, Epiphany School, where he learned how student interest can drive education. In his multi-age grade 1 and 2 classroom, students asked questions, researched individually and collaboratively, and presented topics of interest to ohana and community members. 

Chanel is an educator with over 14 years experience in the DOE, Charter Schools, and ʻĀina Educational Based Nonprofits. She believes that education can be utilized as a tool for social justice, sustainability, and the health and wellbeing of the people of Hawaiʻi. Her foundation as a kumu and as a kanaka rests in her aloha for ʻāina.

With a lifelong passion for alternative education and six years of middle school teaching experience, Adriana is thrilled and honored to be a Namahana founding kumu. Adriana believes in creating an inclusive, engaging classroom that amplifies student voice and centers around the values of kindness and curiosity, and the practices of reflection and metacognition.

Makaela Weathers grew up on the windward side of Oʻahu, between Kailua and Kāneʻohe, where her deep love for the ocean began at a young age. That passion led her to pursue a degree in Marine Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with a specialization in shark ecology. She spent two years conducting shark research at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology.

Rachelle Ricardo was born on O’ahu and began her teaching career in the fall of 2000, interestingly enough, at the public elementary school she attended as a kindergartener. She brings with her 25 years of classroom experience, having taught in a variety of schools, both public and private in Hawaii, California and even Paris, France.