Board of Directors

Jeffrey Akaka, MD

President
Jeffrey Akaka, MD is the son of the late Reverend Abraham Akaka. He is currently Medical Director of the Diamond Head Community Mental Health Center in Honolulu Hawaii, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine and is the Immediate Past Speaker of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington DC. Dr. Akaka is the President of the Foundation.

Fenner-Marie Akaka Shupe

Treasurer
Fenner-Marie is the eldest daughter of Reverend Abraham Akaka. She graduated from Emory University School of Nursing, worked for 21 years at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, and is now retired. Fenner-Marie is a mental health consumer. She resides in Honolulu, Hawaii and is involved with various non-profit organizations. She has been with the Foundation since its beginning and is currently the Treasurer for the Foundation.

Pualani S. Akaka

Director
Pualani S. Akaka is the second eldest child of Rev. and Mrs. Abraham Akaka. Pualani graduated from the Kamehameha Schools (HSD), Illinois Wesleyan University (BFA), and University of Hawaii (Certificate in Public Administration and Professional Diploma in Elementary Education). She received her Master of Arts in Administration and Curriculum from Gonzaga University. She has taught 19 years in Hawaii State public schools and currently teaches at Kualapu'u Public Conversion Charter School on Moloka'i. She has been the Foundation's secretary from its inception until February 2009, and has been serving for many years as the Archives spear-header and more recently as Archives Committee chairperson.

Leigh-Wai Doo

Director
Leigh-Wai Doo is a close friend to the Akaka family. He has been instrumental in obtaining 501(c)3 non-profit status for the Foundation, Chaired the Chicago Theological Seminary's formation of the Akaka Fellowship, Kahu's 75th Birthday celebration, and strategic planning. He was a principal land use and zoning chair who kept Oahu's country country, while urbanizing our cities of Honolulu and the second city of Kapolei, when for twelve years he was a Honolulu City Council Member. Active in many not-for-profit boards, he is a lawyer and graduate of Punahou (student body president), Columbia, and Harvard Law School.

Sarah Akaka-Truong

Vice President
Sarah Elizabeth Kahikina Akaka-Truong is the third daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Abraham Akaka. She attended the Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawaii, and the Sorbonne in Paris with a major in foreign languages. While at the Sorbonne, Sarah sang in the Notre Dame Choir. She has continued her joy of singing with various choirs, especially the Kawaiahao Church Choir. She has served as a trustee of Kawaiahao Church as well as chair of various church committees including Personnel, Budget and Finance, and Scholarship. She has been on the Ala Wai Cove AOAO Board of Directors for 20 years and is its treasurer. She currently works for Delta Airlines. She and her husband Dien Truong have 2 sons. She has been a director of the Foundation since its inception and has served as its treasurer.

Melissa Akaka Beatty

Secretary
Melissa is the granddaughter of Reverend Abraham Akaka. She graduated from Kamehameha Schools and The Evergreen State College. She is married with two children and is an administrative assistant for a Board that is building a new site for a Christian school in Kona, Hawaii. She became involved with the Foundation in 2001 and recently became the Secretary for the Foundation.

Sandra P. K. Akaka

Director
Sandra Akaka is the youngest daughter of Reverend Abraham Akaka. She attended Kamehameha Schools, Alfred University and Honolulu Community College. She works for the United States Postal Service in Kona, Hawaii. She is currently a Director for the Foundation.

Dien Truong

Director
Dien Truong is the son-in-law of Rev. and Mrs. Abraham Akaka, married to Sarah Akaka-Truong. Originally from Saigon, Vietnam, he is an engineer at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and is a Trustee of Kawaiahao Church. Joining the Foundation in 2001, he is now an acting Director for the Foundation.