Noelani Kahapea

Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy
Regional Chapter Director, AAE West

Noelani Kahapea serves as the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Association of American Educators. In this role Noelani cultivates AAE's outreach to the broader education and labor reform policy community.

Prior to joining AAE, Noelani served as the Senior Policy Staff on education and labor policy for the Republican Study Committee in the House of Representatives under three chairmen: Rep. Bill Flores, Rep. Mark Walker, and Rep. Mike Johnson. She also served as the Senior Legislative Assistant to Hawai'i Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom.

Noelani grew up with a diverse educational background, as she attended both public and private schools and was homeschooled. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa with a degree in Political Science. As the daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin of teachers, she truly values teachers, admires the role they play in a child's education, and has a true passion for K-12 education policy.

In her free time, Noelani enjoys dancing hula and visiting Disney World. Noelani has also been cast as an extra in a few television shows and movies including Hawaii Five-0 and Jurassic World.

It is easy for Noelani to pick a favorite teacher: her mom, Debbie. Debbie not only taught public school for many years, she also homeschooled Noelani and her two siblings. She instilled not only a love for learning, but also many valuable life lessons that Noelani has finally admitted are priceless.