20 for the Next 20: Nicole Hokoana, Maui Behavioral Health Resources

After the fires, this Maui-born CEO has guided her team through unprecedented challenges, while “bringing people into the safety net.”

Nicole Hokoana
CEO, Maui Behavioral Health Resources 

Born and raised on Maui, Nicole Hokoana comes from many generations of people deeply connected to the island.

She has a bachelor’s degree in education from UH Mānoa and started her career as a teacher. She loved it, but “saw the limitations of the classroom; the systemic issues that kids were coming in with and that I could not impact, except to nurture the child. I was interested in getting more upstream in helping families.”

Hokoana earned a master’s in counseling, specializing in marriage and family therapy. Today, she serves as CEO of Maui Behavioral Health Resources, a tri-agency partnership that comprises Aloha House, the Malama Family Recovery Center, and Maui Youth and Family Services.

“My style is to create conditions that foster leadership within others,” she says. “A lot of organizations are about ‘no.’ My approach is, ‘Why shouldn’t we move forward with this?’ as opposed to ‘Why should we?’ This allows your team to take ownership. Great things are happening, not because of me but because I create that environment.”

Maui Behavioral Health Resources had already been serving vulnerable populations, such as at risk teens and people dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues, and it was called upon even more after the wildfi res.

“I’m no different than any other person on Maui. I wanted to do more to help, and all my staff did. And yet, we have 24/7 residential programs for each of the three agencies. 24/7 is no joke. You’re responsible for people. I had to communicate with staff the importance of and the need for the service we are already doing.”

Anticipating increased and long-term needs arising from the tragedy, Hokoana sought strategic planning support and provided trauma responsive training for her staff.

Educator Kailani Jackson, who has mentored Hokoana, calls her “intentional, brilliant, caring, motivational – and quiet.” Amid the wildfires’ devastation, Jackson says, Hokoana stepped up not only as an advocate for those suffering but also to ask: “What can we do as an organization to be a resource to the whole community? It’s as if she had a huge net, and she was going around bringing people into the safety net.”

Hokoana says: “Moving forward, I want to ensure our services are culturally infused. As a Native Hawaiian myself, I still have a lot of learning to do about Hawaiian solutions for Hawaiian problems. Indigenous communities know that grief is communal, and that grief needs to be communally healed from.”