Miki Tomita Okamoto is an educator, navigator, storyteller and student herself. Since April 2022, she has also been mindfully setting the foundation of the next chapter of the Aloha Response as Pono Shim's successor after his passing. In this episode, Miki, Roy Kimura and Molly Mamaril have a meaningful conversation that touches upon the many facets of what it means to be a practitioner of aloha in the modern day and how to honor Ponoʻs memory and wishes through the creation of the Mālama Pono Foundation. As many of you know, Miki is the founder and CEO of Education Incubator, a nonprofit that aims to uplift learners across the islands through innovation through aloha to support the dreamers, doers, entrepreneurs, academics, philosophers, voyagers, explorers, teachers and students across Hawaii. 

*The  format of this episode is slightly different than previous ones as the audio was pulled from a video interview with Miki (on camera) and Roy Kimura and Molly Mamaril (off camera). You will hear all three of their voices in an informal, behind-the-scenes  interview. Mahalo for listening.

Conversation Highlights and Timestamps

• 0:00  Introduction to the episode
• 3:15  Who was Pono Shim?
• 5:19  When did you first meet him?
• 8:25  What did you see in him, in those early days?
• 9:38  Was there a recognition of each other when you first met?
• 12:51  When did people begin to seek him out?
• 17:13  How did he know when it was time to share what he had been taught?
• 18:33  Storytelling as medicine; Connection vs. correction
• 22:41  Is there a story about your relationship with him that stays in your mind?
• 30:44  How are you carrying the role of being the student of multiple teachers - including Pono Shim and Nainoa Thompson?
• 35:55  What did he see as his purpose?
• 37:06  Aloha as a key, as a personal practice; Ponoʻs willingness to live his life publicly
• 39:34  What is your favorite Pono story? How he became his dadʻs shadow and learned about changemaking by watching the masters of personal relationships.
• 43:21  Did he ever talk about what Aunty Pilahi Paki saw in him - how she singled him out?
• 45:20  Aloha as a solo practice
• 46:50  When feeling the Two Storms, we must still have aloha for ourselves. Ask, "Can I do this and still have a full heart?"
• 50:37  The Malama Pono Foundation
• 55:49  Growing the community of practice: "I want people to still be able to find him, to know him, and have a personal relationship with Pono Shim and his teachings"
• 58:36  Ponoʻs Audiobook aspirations: "I want them to know him."
• 1:00:20  Practicing self care
• 1:01:55  What didn't we lose when Pono passed away?
• 1:04:20  Aloha economics
• 1:06:25  Aloha in business; What can we hope to accomplish with the Mālama Pono Foundation to challenge the status quo and create positive change?
• 1:15:12   How can we engage the diaspora of residents leaving Hawaii in the aloha practice?
• 1:19:31   What do you miss most about Pono?
• 1:22:49  Was there a favorite meal that you shared together?
• 1:23:40  Why did you create the Foundations of Aloha program?
• 1:32:17  How did Uncle Pono feel about Foundations of Aloha?
• 1:33:25 The Lilikoi Story
• 1:39:42  Miki's childhood on Maui and her early spiritual exploration
• 1:49:27  1976 - A defining year for Pono and Nainoa Thompson
• 1:51:10  Aloha is also a canoe

Resource Links

• Education Incubator and Foundations of Aloha
• Mālama Pono Foundation 
  • The Mālama Pono Foundation will perpetuate and grow Pono Shim’s vision of Hawaiʻi as a unique place of healing and source of the universal spirit of ALOHA for the world. The establishment and launch of the Foundation is led by Miki Tomita, Pono’s mentee, who is facilitating the curation of Pono’s work and other Hawaiʻi wisdom sources into resources for students and practitioners of ALOHA, past, present and future. Donations to support the launch of the foundation and its endeavors are currently being accepted through Education Incubator. Please contact MPF for more information: [email protected].

Welcome to the Above the Sides podcast! Join us on our journey to uncover what it means to think, act, and live aloha. The inspiration for this podcast is the late Pono Shim, former President and CEO of the Oʻahu Economic Development Board. His stories capture the essence of what it means to live aloha. He made it known that aloha is a lifestyle. It is not a solution to problems, a marketing brand or to be used as an advantage over anyone else. Aloha is to be honored and practiced.

The name of this podcast is in reverence of Hawaiʻi's Queen Liliʻuokalani, who wrote: "To gain the kingdom of heaven is to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable – that is Aloha. All things in this world are two; in heaven there is but One.” Through these episodes, we seek to find that singular perspective, the one that is "above the sides" as we strive for universal peace.

We welcome you to pause with us as we share the stories and voices of Hawai’i business leaders, educators and community members who have chosen to be lifelong students of aloha. Mahalo nui loa for listening.