ʻO Maui kuʻu kulāiwi.

Maui is my island.

ʻO Kahului kuʻu ʻāina.

Kahului is the land that feeds me.

ʻO Haleakalā kuʻu mauna.

Haleakalā is my mountain.

ʻO Kepaniwai kuʻu kahawai.

Kepaniwai is my stream.

Caleb Rivera (he/him) is a doctoral student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the psychology department specializing in community psychology. He is guided by a framework that requires him to not only focus on the individual but the broader ecological context surrounding the individual as well. A fundamental part of this broader context is culture. These understandings have influenced his ways of knowing as a Native Hawaiian scholar, including the questions he asks, and the methods he uses to ask them. Through this framework, Caleb’s primary research interests focus on program development and evaluation for culturally-based programs and interventions.

Caleb has had the privilege to collaborate with many communities, local organizations, and government agencies in Hawaiʻi. He recently co-authored a cultural curriculum entitled “Kukulu ʻIke” for the Community Mental Health Centers in Hawaiʻi. This curriculum aims to provide Indigenous awareness and education when working with Native Hawaiian clients using peer-to-peer support. In his free time, he likes to use and draw his mana from loved ones and the more-than-human world.