Kevin Kahakula’akea John Fong

Cultural respect and intercultural navigation have been at the heart of Kevin’s work with, and within, communities and organizations, for decades. This includes honoring culture and its great gifts of connection and identity through its many manifestations. Understanding that culture also can contribute to the closing of ranks and fanning the flames of division, Kevin’s goal is to help people gather in dialogue in the service of personal, collective, and generational healing.

Kevin’s lived experience has informed their process, which they have honed through years as a founder and director of the Clinical HIV Program and Teen Clinic in Oakland, California,. During that time and since, Kevin has been mentored by prominent leaders, teachers, and elders including Grace Lee Boggs, Aunty Puanani Burgess, Mama Lila Cabbil, Kumu Hula Robert Cazimero, Tessie Guillermo, Martha Lee, Ms. Jacqueline Martin, Katherine Metz, john a. powell, and Maestro Jerry Tello.

Kevin believes that, under the right conditions, truth can partner with accountability to bring healing, and reconciliation, even in communities that have resisted positive change. Kevin founded the Kahakulei Institute in 2021 to support the healing process in building and sustaining communities of belonging.

Kevin, a third generation Asian-Pacific American, founded Elemental Partners, an organizational design firm, in 2010. Kevin has served on numerous national and local boards, including Within Our Lifetime, a national network to eliminate racism.

Kevin has lectured on race, equity, healing, and The Five Elements at the UC San Francisco, UC Davis School of Medicine, University of Michigan School of Education, University of Utah, and the University of Washington School of Law. Kevin graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in Physiology and East Asian Studies.