Details

Dates: December 2-4, 2021
Location: Virtual
​Website: https://2021hlaconference.weeblysite.com/
Planning Committee Chairs: Joyce Tokuda, Joy Oehlers + HASL's Meera Garud, Caitlin Ramirez, and Violet Harada
Theme: Perspectives. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as an inflection point for library patrons, one that makes libraries reaffirm their commitment to be responsible and responsive to those communities’ perspectives, ontologies, and especially their desire to be heard, valued, and supported. This year, we look through diverse lenses to consider perspectives newly developed or that have been long hidden from view.

Keynote Speakers

Rlene Santos Steffy
Journalist, Ethnographer, Documentarian

Rlene Santos Steffy is a woman of many talents. A respected journalist, she is also recognized as an esteemed ethnographer and documentarian. She is considered the leading oral history practitioner in Micronesia and was appointed as a research associate at the University of Guam’s Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center. Among her many accomplishments, Rlene produced the history of Guam from 1521 to 1898 in 36 half-hour video episodes. After retiring as a newspaper columnist in 2020, Rlene created a series on the wildlife of the Mariana Islands and produced a second documentary on Guam’s governor, Paul McDonald Calvo. For her professional and academic achievements, Rlene was conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters at the Fanuchånan 2020 commencement ceremony at the University of Guam.

Solomon Enos
Native Hawaiian Artist, Illustrator, and Visionary

Solomon Robert Nui Enos is a Native Hawaiian artist, illustrator, and visionary. Born and raised in Makaha Valley (Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi), Solomon hails from the well-known Enos ʻohana. Solomon has been making art for more than 30 years and he is adept at artistic expression in a wide variety of media including oil paintings, book illustrations, murals, and game design. A self-described “Possibilist” Solomon’s art expresses an informed aspirational vision of the world at its best via contemporary and traditional art that leans towards Sci-Fi and Fantasy. His work touches on themes like collective-consciousness, ancestry and identity, our relationship with our planet, and all through the lens of his experience as a person indigenous to Hawai’i.

Jocelyn Howard
Chief Executive Officer
We Are Oceania

Josie Howard is currently the Chief Executive Officer for We Are Oceania, a nonprofit foundation that advocates for Micronesians and Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i. She attended the Community College of Micronesia, then transferred to UH Hilo where she studied biology, anthropology, and Pacific Island Studies as one of the first Micronesians migrating under the Compact of Free Association Treaty. She also received a master’s degree in social work from UH Mānoa. In her wide ranging community service, Josie has worked with the DOE and various private agencies including Goodwill Industries’ Imi Loa Program. She founded the Young Voyagers, a youth club in media with ‘Ōlelo, as well the Micronesian Cultural Awareness Project. A native of Onoun Island in Micronesia, she speaks Chuukese, Onounese, and English fluently.

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