UHM Dept of Social Work

Aloha Hawai'i Social Workers!

Mahalo for all you do to strengthen and empower our island communities every day! 💚

Check out this UH News Article highlighting our efforts to gather clearer data on where social workers work, their roles, and their experiences to help inform advocacy, future workforce initiatives, and more support for social workers.

If you haven't taken the survey yet, we invite you to participate at

https://go.hawaii.edu/DMc

If you have already - A huge THANK YOU! 🫶 🌈

Please re-share this post with your social worker network.

UH Mānoa launches statewide survey to track, support social workers | University of Hawaiʻi System News New data from a statewide survey will help Hawaiʻi address critical social worker shortages and strengthen the workforce.

🌺 Social workers show up every day for our communities - often in some of life’s most challenging moments.

From supporting youth and families to promoting healing, housing stability, and community wellbeing, Hawaiʻi social workers continue to make a lasting impact through compassion, advocacy, and service locally and globally.

Mahalo for highlighting four inspiring Hawai`i social workers and the impact of their work everyday!

Featured colleagues and alumni - Mahalo nui loa for all you do! Your commitment to the profession helps strengthen our islands every day! 💚

Link in Bio or https://go.hawaii.edu/iEm

BSW Grad is the student speaker at commencement!
Erica-Skyler Malie Salvador Holokai once described herself as a “bento box” to avoid explaining her mixed ethnic background. Now, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa commencement speaker for the afternoon ceremony on May 16 is transforming that childhood shorthand into a message about culture, connection and belonging for the graduating class of 2026.
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/05/13/bento-box-message-erica-holokai/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRzbuZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFBQXQxbFY0bEdzOWM3Mndjc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvQEgdZHKOtdGSp1mZ5ZmeY0vsSpOdOFKrmtuC1LWZc9TlMDyRC8PvKM9qvT_aem_6lBG3oARS3_PCJbx6mBlSw

‘Bento box’ message: UH Mānoa student speaker encourages grads to embrace identity | University of Hawaiʻi System News Holokai plans to return home to Maui, where she hopes to open a private practice alongside her mother and give back to the local community.

When communities face challenges, social workers show up 💚

Learn more about how one of our upcoming 2026 graduating MSW student’s, Amalia Pangelinan, pivoted their internship to support Saipan’s recovery efforts and make a meaningful difference where it was needed most.

Link in bio to read more!

Ready to reconnect over pupus, share laughs, and make new memories?

Join us on O’ahu for our Field Faculty and Alumni Appreciation Pau Hana at this Friday (May 8th) from 4:30pm - 7:30pm 🎉

Haven’t RSVP’d? Don’t worry there’s still time!

RSVP in the link in our bio or in the QR code on the second slide ➡️

Share with all your colleagues and classmates!

We hope to see you there! 🤙🏽

Calling all our Maui Field Faculty and Alumni! 📢

Join us at for a night to pause and reconnect! 🫱🏽‍🫲🏾

RSVP using the QR code or the link in the bio!

Hope to see you there! 👋🏼

Truly grateful for the unforgettable day at Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi! 🌱

From getting our hands and feet in the ʻāina to learning about the importance of community, pilina (connections), and aloha ʻāina (love for the land), we all truly enjoyed our Huakaʻi!

Mahalo nui for welcoming our current Ke Aʻo Mau haumāna, alumni of both the Ke Aʻo Mau & Hawaiian Learning Program, Kumu of the Hawaiian Learning Program, and friends & family!

So many wonderful connections, discussions, and memories were made!

We all learned a lot from each other and this ʻāina, we will definitely carry these lessons with us!

Mahalo to The Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation for supporting our Ke Aʻo Mau program and these opportunities for our haumāna! 💚

🔗 Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi Website: kakoooiwi.org
🔗 The Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation Website: hawaiipacificfoundation.org

Haven’t RSVP’d yet to our Hilo Field Appreciation and Alumni Pau Hana?

There’s still time! 🏃‍♀️

Tap the link in our bio to sign up and reconnect with us at Ola Brew - Hilo, tomorrow May 1st from 4:30pm to 6:30pm! 🌺

Pacific communities know what resilience looks like every day, especially after Typhoon Sinlaku.

As the Marianas (Saipan, Tinian, Rota and beyond) recover, we are humbled to share that a current MSW student based in Saipan-is completing her field placement from home, actively supporting relief efforts in her own community.

We invite you to join the Relief Drive—centering care, connection, and collective support for those most impacted.

See post below for more details on how you can help! ⬇️

🌺 Our Department of Social Work’s Pacific Partnerships & Workforce Development Initiatives and the Workforce Development Hub are honored to have collaborated with the Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS)'s Public Health Resonance Project at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to bring together more than 115 participants from across Hawaiʻi, the U.S. continent, and the Pacific.

Participants—including social workers, public health professionals, educators, athletes, and community and agency leaders—came together to explore how sport and culture support health and well-being across Pacific communities. Among the panelists was also John Howard, a Master of Social Work student of our Thompson School. ✨

💬 “Having worked collaboratively across the Pacific for more than 20 years to engage Pacific communities through social work and interdisciplinary public health initiatives at UH Mānoa, it was incredibly meaningful to see this interdisciplinary scholarly forum highlight efforts that center community and individual well-being through sport,” shared Theresa Kreif, faculty director of Pacific Partnerships & Workforce Development Initiatives.

✨ Mahalo to all who joined us in this powerful space of learning, connection, and shared commitment to community well-being.

Mahalo UHNews for the featured article!

Global webinar highlights culture, sport and health across the Pacific | University of Hawaiʻi System News More than 100 global participants join UH Mānoa-led webinar on Pacific health and sport initiatives.