Deeper Learning 2026

Born and raised on Maui, Miki graduated from H.P. Baldwin High School, earned a B.S.E. in Biosystems Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a Ph.D. in education at Stanford University.  She has worked in education for 25 years as a teacher, administrator, curriculum developer, and researcher in public, charter, independent, post-high and informal education.  Miki’s focus is on placing youth and communities at the center of transforming society’s challenges into opportunities for learning and invention, elevating the role of traditional, cultural and place-based knowledge and practice to the forefront of a regenerative society that holds ALOHA at its core.  She is the named successor in ALOHA Response teachings and practice of renowned Hawaiian storyteller and cultural practitioner, Pono Shim. She identifies as a descendant of Japanese settlers in Hawaiʻi, an indigenous ally, a student of traditional healers and practitioners, an entrepreneur and a maker. She has spent her life working to help create positive change for our planet and people, and is accompanied on her path by her daughter Mayumi and husband Jon.