Kaleikūkamakani Ruiz
a. kaleikūkamakani ruiz (MSCP) is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), Filipinx faculty member at Leeward Community College on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. kalei conducts independent research on indigenous perspectives of gender and sexual diversity, with attention to the global impact of colonization and settler colonialism on LGBTQ+ discourse, especially in Hawaiʻi. In 2022, he created Queerify, a public service project and platform from which he has worked to create opportunities for people to connect with information and one another in hopes of moving communities towards decolonizing the ways we think about our relationships with one another and our bodies. In 2024, he completed a research sabbatical in which he created a free online course, Puka Mai Ke Koʻa, which explores themes of Hawaiian worldview, settler colonialism, and LGBTQ+ discourse.
