Charlene Hoe (born circa 1947) is the founder of Hakipuʻu Learning Center, a delegate for the historic

1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention The 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention is considered the watershed political event in the modern State of Hawaii. It was convened on July 5, 1978. The convention established term limits for state office holders, provided a requirement ...

, educator, and activist''.'' Hoe was born in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. She graduated from

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

, where she met her husband, Calvin Hoe. In 1968, Calvin and Charlene got married in Minnesota. After getting married, Charlene and Calvin volunteered with the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

to taught English as a second language in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

. In 1970 Charlene and Calvin returned to Hawaii and Charlene gave birth to their first son Kala. Charlene would go onto have two other children, Liko and Kawai. In the 1970s, Hoe participated in the Waiāhole-Waikāne struggle. In 1971, Charlene and Calvin bought the Waiahole Poi Factory and continued to serve food while also using the space as a gallery for native Hawaiians artists. In 1978, Hoe was a delegate for the historic Hawaii State Constitutional Convention that worked toward getting native Hawaiians more political power over Hawaiian affairs from the

U.S. Federal Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

. In 2001, Hoe, in collaboration with Judy Layfield, oversaw the Strategic Planning Enhancement Group (SPEG) in the

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

that sought to find and analyze the potential ways that Kamehameha Schools could expand and/or improve its educational efforts among Native Hawaiians. Also in 2001, Charlene founded the Hakipuʻu Learning Center charter school that focuses on

hands-on learning Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students ...

and prioritizing Hawaiian culture. Aside from being the founder, Hoe was also Hakipuʻu Learning Center's resource specialist and administrator. Charlene Hoe is also featured in the 2022

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

''We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States'' by

Naomi Hirahara Naomi Hirahara (, born 1962) is an American mystery writer and journalist. She edited the largest Japanese-American daily newspaper, ''Rafu Shimpo'', for several years. She is currently a writer of both fiction and non-fiction works and the Edgar ...

and published by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

and

Running Press Kids Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group, a division of the Hachette Book Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in ...

Resources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoe, Charlene Activists from Minnesota Founders of American schools and colleges Schoolteachers from Hawaii Restaurateurs Macalester College alumni 1940s births Living people 21st-century American people 21st-century American women