Mapuana was born and raised in Wahiawa, Hawaii to a Kanaka ʻŌiwi family. She graduated with honors with a B.S. in psychology with a minor in biology and an M.A. in counseling psychology from Washington State University. Mapuana earned her Dr.PH. from the Office of Public Health Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM). Her 2017 dissertation, An exploration of resilience among Native Hawaiians, was chaired by Kathryn L. Braun.

Mapuana is currently an associate professor at the Office of Public Health Studies, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health at UHM. She is the inaugural recipient of the endowed Queen Liliʻuokalani Distinguished Professorship in Native Hawaiian Culture and specialization head of the Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health program, the first Indigenous-centered specialization in a U.S. public health department.

Mapuana generously serves as both research and cultural advisor to the Pilina Center. To read more about her work at UHM, please visit her faculty page.