Dr. Peter Mataira is of Māori descent from Aotearoa New Zealand and a professor of social work at Hawaiʻi Pacific University in Honolulu. His current work is at the forefront of co-designing and developing AI/ML tools to enhance Pacific and Indigenous health equity and wellbeing. Through collaborative work with colleagues from Data Sciences, his research bridges Hawaiian, Pacific, and Indigenous knowledge systems with advanced technology, advocating data sovereignty and decolonization not as abstract concepts, but as essential design principles for a just equitable technological future.   

Dr. Vince Okada is an associate professor of social work and the chair of School of Social Work and BSW program director at Hawaiʻi Pacific University. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and an MPPM in International Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California. He was also a fellow in the Asia-Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu. A native of Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Okada’s research and community work focus on Indigenous communities, particularly youth exchanges and education between Japan’s Ainu and Native Hawaiians. He supports the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Hōkūleʻa and coordinates youth exchange programs in both Hawaiʻi and Japan. Through his leadership and partnerships, Dr. Okada promotes culturally responsive education, cross-cultural collaboration, and the empowerment of Indigenous youth. He is also a co-founder of the League of Japan Social Work, which offers global professional development opportunities for social workers from Japan, and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Indigenous Social Development.