Honolulu, HAWAII — Kawen Toagamau Segaula Young, executive director of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Alliance, passed away on Monday, September 27, 2021, after a long battle with heart disease.

Among the founding board members of the Alliance in 2008, Kawen valued the power of collaboration and spent a lifetime building and nurturing cherished professional and personal relationships. She would then connect the right people and resources to advocate for and provide much-needed services to the Pacific Islander community both in the U.S. and in the territories.

Kawen was a legendary community leader, held in the highest esteem by everyone from fellow community organizers to legislators to her beloved friends and family. Whether she was discussing Pasifika with the President in the Rose Garden, burning the midnight oil to secure a federal agency funds for a project, running an immigration clinic for our Tongan and Samoan families, coordinating mobile health screenings for one of dozens of events, rounding up volunteers for the Help Samoa tsunami relief effort, or testifying before lawmakers on issues from data disaggregation to redistricting, Kawen believed wholeheartedly that our Pacific Islander community deserved the very best, and she worked every day to try to deliver.

A daughter of Samoa to her core, Kawen launched her career of service with the Samoan Federation in Carson, Calif., and shortly thereafter moved to the Office of Samoan Affairs. Her path led her to the office of the late U.S. Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, where over 18 years she served as a Scheduler, Case Manager, and Staff Assistant to Legal Counsel. She became an encyclopedia of protocols and policymaking and leveraged that knowledge to help our Pacific Islander community — and faith-based organizations gain ground. Her humble but determined approach to collaboration won her appointments to such critical bodies as the U.S. Census Bureau Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders and the AANHPI Health Initiative Committee.

In addition to serving as Executive Director of the Alliance at the time of her passing, Kawen was also Lead of the SoCal Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team and served on numerous councils and boards.