Categories: Ethnographer

Kalena McElroy

Born and raised on the windward side of Oʻahu, Kalena McElroy left the islands to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology and European Studies at UCLA. Immediately after graduating, she continued her education in Spain where she received a Master’s in Arts and Cultural Management. Kalena has over six years of professional writing experience and co-authored numerous archaeological reports for projects spanning the Hawaiian Islands. She has also conducted cultural impact assessment interviews with members of the local community and participated in various archaeological surveys. In her spare time she shares cultural insights on her travel blog, Lost And Abroad.

Gina Pualani McGuire

Gina Pualani McGuire received her MA in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Her thesis focused on using narrative research and landscape-scale analysis of heritage, ecological, and operations for the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to inform the future of a visitor program. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Geography at UH Mānoa to bring together ethnography and geospatial analyses on the eastern slopes of Hawaiʻi Island. Growing up on a native plant conservation farm in Olaʻa, Hawaiʻi Island gave her an appreciation for the natural world, deep connection to place, and community-based management. Although she completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and has studied and worked in Queensland, Australia, her desire to give back to Hawaiʻi continues to guide her work. Her interests include bringing Indigenous voices and epistemologies to the forefront of research and management, using geospatial tools to visualize and analyze data, and rural community relationships with terrestrial and coastal ecosystems.