Honoring Home: Reflections from the CNHA 2025 Convention
- KyAlea Monma
- Oct 20
- 1 min read
Earlier this month, our CEO & Founder Bella Tukuafu Johnson and Site Director Alina Nehele Brewer attended the 2025 Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Convention—a gathering that felt less like an event and more like a homecoming.
Surrounded by leaders, educators, and advocates from across Hawai‘i and the Pacific, Bella and Alina were reminded why Kalo Clinical Research exists: to protect people and progress science with integrity. To stand for communities whose stories, health, and data have too often been left behind.
This year’s convention theme—centered on legacy, belonging, and collective progress—echoed deeply through every conversation. The experience reaffirmed that our work in clinical research is not separate from our roots; it is an expression of them.
At Kalo, we believe research is another way of caring for home. Every study we conduct, every participant we support, and every partnership we form reflects the same values that shape our islands: respect, kuleana (responsibility), and aloha.
We invite you to watch this short video from the convention, which beautifully captures the spirit of connection and purpose that continues to guide us:
As we return to Utah, our hearts remain with the islands that shaped us. We carry their wisdom into every trial we lead—because when science honors culture, medicine becomes more human.
To learn more about our people-first approach and how to get involved, visit our FAQs, explore how you can Join a Study, or connect to Partner with Us on inclusive, community-centered research.
