A junior at Hamilton College studying Public Policy and Economics, and a 2023 graduate of Molokai High School, Mele is passionate about advancing education equity across Hawai‘i. Born and raised on Maui and Molokai, and a lifelong product of the Kaiapuni, or Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, Mele has worked with HawaiiKidsCAN since her senior year of high school and into the first three years of college to expand educational opportunities both locally and internationally. Her advocacy includes leading statewide youth engagement in education policy by coordinating and facilitating Youth Education Roundtables in response to federal K-12 and higher education funding cuts, and serving as an Education Equity Ambassador in HawaiiKidsCAN’s 2024 Hawai‘i-Ireland Island Community Youth Advocacy Exchange, where she helped spearhead discussions on Native language revitalization and education equity in Hawai‘i’s rural and Native Hawaiian communities. She currently serves as the Legislative Lead for the Hawai‘i State Youth Commission, working closely with committee leads to coordinate bill drafting and testimony development. Mele has held policy and research roles with U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, and the Maui County Council, and has conducted research on housing justice and education equity through fellowships at Stanford University, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Hamilton College’ Her work is grounded in a belief in community-driven solutions, and she is committed to uplifting youth voices in policymaking and closing opportunity gaps across Hawai‘i.
Student, Hamilton College