Board of Directors

Sandra P. K. Akaka

President
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 the President of the Foundation and has been a director since its inception.

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, and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Retiring from teaching after 26 years for Hawaii's public schools, Pualani's current community service includes Ho'olehua Congregational Church (Deacon), Ka Hale Pomaika'i (Chair), Molokai Topside Council of Churches (Chair), Ho'okako'o Corporation (Board Member) and Hook Chu Cemetery Association (Secretary). She currently serves as the Foundation's Archive Chair with a goal of making accessible to the public the writings, music, poetry of Kahu Abraham Akaka.

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.

Meilan Akaka

Director
Meilan is the granddaughter of Reverend Abraham Akaka. She graduated from Punahou School (HSD), Wellesley College (BA-Music), and University of Hawaii at Manoa (M.Ed. - Special Education). As a 2008 Teach for America-Hawaii alumna, she taught 9th and 10th grade math and served as the special education department head at James Campbell High School and now works as director of school and system leadership providing professional development and ongoing support to TFA teachers on O`ahu and Hawai'i Island. She is on the board of the Wellesley Club of Hawaii and Dreamhouse Inc. She has been a director of the Akaka Foundation since 2009.

Jeffrey Akaka, MD

Vice President
Jeffrey Akaka, MD is the son of the late Reverend Abraham Akaka. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, former Medical Director of the Diamond Head Community Mental Health Center in Honolulu Hawaii, a Past President of the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association, and after serving 8 years on the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association, was given in 2018 the American Psychiatric Association's Distinguished Service Award.

Melissa Akaka Beatty

Secretary
Melissa is the granddaughter of Reverend Abraham and Mama Kahu Akaka. She graduated from Kamehameha Schools and earned a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College. She is married with two children and assists at her husband's stone company in Kona. Melissa is active at New Hope Legacy church in Kailua-Kona. She is involved with Makua Lani Christian Academy, and is active in youth sports through Kona Crush Soccer Academy. Additionally, Melissa facilitates workshops at the Kamehameha Scholars Program that builds career and college readiness skills in public and private high school students. She became involved with the Foundation in 2001 and is the Secretary for the Foundation.

Sarah Akaka-Truong

Director
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.

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. Joining the Foundation in 2001, he is now an acting Director for the Foundation.

Daniel Truong

Director
Daniel is the grandson of Reverend Abraham Akaka. He graduated from Kamehameha Schools (HSD) and Stanford University (BA-Economics). Daniel was previously an Investment Associate at Kamehameha Schools' Financial Assets Division and is currently an Investment Associate at Stanford Management Company. He has been a director of the Foundation since 2012.