In this series, executive director Sheri Daniels celebrates someone special in the Papa Ola Lōkahi ‘ohana each Monday.
Meet Donna-Marie Palakiko!
Donna is honored to be part of the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program (NHHSP) ‘ohana. Joining the scholarship program in September has been an easy transition, as she is an alumna of the program, and member of the advisory board. She fulfilled her service obligation at the O‘ahu-based Native Hawaiian Health Care System Ke Ola Mamo, and continued to provide leadership there. Donna has more than 15 years of Native Hawaiian community-based program management and research experience.
After a long academic journey, Donna recently received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her dissertation was on Native Hawaiian Caregivers' Cultural Perspective of Pediatric Asthma Management.
Donna's collective experiences motivate her to provide peer support to Native Hawaiian students, which she is able to do at NHHSP Operations Coordinator. Outside of the office, she is an active member of St. Augustine by the Sea Parish, a student of Halau Hula ‘O Maiki, and member of ‘Ahahui Ka‘iulani. In her free time, Donna travels, of course, because life is meant to be adventures filled with experiences!
