About

Co-Founder & Events Director

Hoku Haliniak is a Certified Master Athletic Administrator, educator, coach, sports official, and community leader with more than 30 years of experience serving youth, student-athletes, families, and communities throughout Hawaiʻi.

Her career in athletic administration includes serving as an Associate Athletic Director at Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus and as an Athletic Director with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education at Laupāhoehoe, Moloka’i, Pāhoa, and University Laboratory School. Throughout her career, Hoku has focused on creating opportunities for student-athletes, developing coaches and leaders, strengthening athletic programs, and building partnerships between schools, families, and communities.

In 2022, Hoku helped co-found The Loʻi Collective Foundation, where she serves as Events Director and supports program development, community partnerships, fundraising, grant development, and event operations. One of the programs closest to her heart is the Moku O Keawe Junior Officials Program, which has grown from three youth officials in 2022 to 30 participants, creating pathways in officiating, leadership, mentoring, and workforce readiness for Hawaiʻi’s youth.

Hoku has also served in leadership roles with the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association, National Federation of State High School Associations, and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Her coaching background spans more than 15 years in volleyball, basketball, and softball in Hawaiʻi, California, and Japan.

She earned her Master of Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She earned her Certified Athletic Administrator designation in 2013 and Certified Master Athletic Administrator designation in 2021.

For Hoku, athletics has always been about more than wins and losses. It is about providing opportunities, developing young people, strengthening communities, and helping the next generation discover what they are capable of achieving.