Staff

Paris Smith

Paris Smith was born in Utah and raised throughout the U.S., spending multiple years in Wyoming, Colorado, and California. She has always loved the outdoors and spent her childhood hiking, birding, and identifying local flora. She became passionate about anthropology in high school and was able to take courses in anthropology at her local community college while finishing her high school diploma. She graduated with an A.A. in the Liberal Arts at Cuesta College and has continued her education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where she will obtain her B.A. in Anthropology with a specialization in archaeology.

Paris has a focused interest in Pacific and East Asian archaeology and hopes to pursue a PhD in archaeology and the social sciences. She has other interests in botany, ecology, and philosophy. Outside of her work at Keala Pono, she is participating in research with Dr. Seth Quintus at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and hopes to keep working in Hawaiian archaeology. She is passionate about protecting cultural resources and hopes her work at Keala Pono can benefit the local community.

Ronan Cook

Ronan Cook was born in the San Fransisco Bay Area and went through his childhood years with an endearing love for history and social science. It was this passion that led him to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to pursue a double major in anthropology and journalism, where he continues to work on his degrees. Ronan has spent time in the Marquesas Islands working at the Te Ana Peua community-run museum on the island of Tahuata, where he was a museum tour guide. When he’s not busy with Keala Pono, Ronan is an avid reader of all genres and also helps out as a writer for the UH Mānoa newspaper, Ka Leo.

Elizabeth Pestana-Chandler

Elizabeth Pestana-Chandler realized an innate passion for the natural sciences and indigenous cultural
lifeways early on and began her studies in Anthropology at Leeward Community College before receiving
a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, focused on Pacific Islands Archaeology, from the University
of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Self-guided and academic studies include travels in North Africa (including Syria
and Egypt) where she performed in a Polynesian cultural dance review in Cairo; and Rapa Nui in
participation of an archaeological field school research project concerned with dating East Polynesian
settlement. Thus, her career in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeology began in 1997 with
mentorship in qualitative and quantitative laboratory analyses and all levels of field
studies–archaeological monitoring, inventory survey, data recovery, etc.–as well as Native Hawaiian
community outreach efforts in the capacity of CRM specialist. Liz comes to the Keala Pono
Archaeological Consulting ʻohana with 27 years’ experience in Hawaiian CRM archaeology.

Jacob Flores

Jacob Flores was born and raised in Wahiawā on the island of Oʻahu. After graduating from
Leilehua High School, He worked for several years in Retail before realizing that his passion lay
elsewhere. He attended Leeward Community College in the Fall of 2019, where his love for
archaeology would flourish. Jacob would pursue an AA in Social Sciences until he transferred to
the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Fall of 2021 to earn a BA in Anthropology. Jacob is
interested in various topics from atmospheric science, geology, and the archaeology of Hawaiʻi.
In December of 2023, Jacob graduated with a BA in Anthropology from UH Mānoa.

Kehvinn Tsuru

Kehvinn (pronounced Kevin) Tsuru grew up in Wailuku, Maui and then later in Aiea, O’ahu. He
received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University in Los
Angeles, CA. He has over 20 years of professional accounting experience mainly focusing in
manufacturing dairy accounting with Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii for 19 years. In his spare
time, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife Rose, daughter Kiana, son Kenny and pug
puppy Rocky.

Cathleen Dagher

Cathleen Dagher has been involved with Cultural Resource Management (CRM) and Archaeology in Hawaiʻi for 30-plus years. Ms. Dagher has been employed by several CRM firms and the Bishop Museum, where she performed archaeological fieldwork on all of the Hawaiian Islands. She has prepared and written all types of archaeological plans and reports, as well as Cultural Impact Assessments, for projects on all of the islands. In addition, Ms. Dagher worked at the State Historic Preservation Division for more than twelve years where she served in several capacities, including eight years as the Assistant Maui Archaeologist and five years as the Geographic Information System Assistant. Ms. Dagher received an Associate Arts degree in Art History, from Sacramento City College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, with an emphasis in Archaeology, from the University of California, Davis. In her free time, Ms. Dagher enjoys cooking, gardening, and playing with her dog.

Ashley Atkins

Ashley Atkins is currently a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She has a MSc in Forensic Anthropology from Liverpool John Moores University (2016) and BA in Anthropology from Lee University (2015). As an undergraduate student she studied abroad in Japan, focusing on Japanese culture, and participated in archaeological fieldwork in Tennessee and osteological training at the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility. During her MSc she excavated a medieval cemetery in England, worked with the forensic experts of the Carabinieri in Italy, and completed her thesis research with the skeletal collections housed at the Museum of London. Her dissertation focuses on the origin of modern Japanese using Neolithic skeletal remains. Her interests are biological anthropology, human origins and migration, human variation, paleopathology, and forensic anthropology.

Tiffany Brown

Tiffany Brown received her A.A. Degree in Psychology and spent the following three years working with UNICEF throughout New Zealand and Fiji. It was during these years that she found her passions for both travel and cultural studies. After returning to the United States, she redirected her education to Anthropology and soon received her B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University. During her studies, Tiffany took part in an archaeological field school which focused on the Paleo-Indians of Northern New Hampshire. Three months following the conclusion of her field school, she relocated to Hawai’i to pursue a career in archaeology. She has since worked on archaeological monitoring and surveying projects as well as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) surveying and mapping on O’ahu, Maui, and Hawai’i Island. In addition to her experience with UNICEF, Tiffany has worked with charities such as Easter Seals, where she taught children with disabilities, and Lifeshare, where she served as a life coach for juveniles on probation.

Ilikea McElroy

Ilikea McElroy grew up in Waimānalo, O‘ahu and attended Kamehameha Schools where he became interested in business and computer science. He received an Associate’s Degree and Business Certificates from Windward Community College, and is a licensed real estate agent specializing in O‘ahu’s North Shore region. He excels in network security, robotics, digital forensics, software development, and cryptography, and serves as Keala Pono’s webmaster and IT specialist.

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.