Team Up! Punahou School Podcast

Former Junior School Principal Paris Priore-Kim '76 spoke with Denise Pope, who co-founded Challenge Success, which partners with schools, including Punahou, to promote student well-being by broadening the definition of success and implementing research-based strategies.

Former Junior School Principal Paris Priore-Kim '76 spoke with Denise Pope, who co-founded Challenge Success, which partners with schools, including Punahou, to promote student well-being by broadening the definition of success and implementing research-based strategies.

Veteran educator Linda Inlay spoke to Molly Takagi – Punahou's School’s K – 8 social, emotional and ethical learning coordinator – about the importance of family meetings and how they can improve family relationships and children’s well-being.

Hawai‘i State Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson, from Punahou's Class of 1970, and State Deputy Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble of the Class of 1993, discuss how they're working to keep Hawai‘i safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they're handling their roles at such a critical time.

Punahou teachers and administrators discuss the shift to online learning, making innovative modifications in the classroom, dealing with contingencies and looking toward the future.

Podcast producers and alumni Allen Murabayashi ’90 and Kim-Hee Wong ’14 tell the story about the formation of the PunsUnited Fund amid COVID-19, and the need to provide financial assistance to affected students so they can return to Punahou for the next school year.

For this very special episode of the Punahou Team Up podcast, senior Noelle Nakaoka ’20 and alumna Kim-Hee Wong ’14 interviewed a dozen students to understand how their lives were abruptly changed because of coronavirus and the threat of COVID-19. Initial thoughts of disappointment and sadness are replaced by feelings of gratitude. The kids are alright!

Elizabeth Yee ’94 serves as Chief of Staff at The Rockefeller Foundation, which recently announced a plan to dramatically increase COVID-19 testing from 1 million to 30 million tests per week. If fully implemented, the initiative would be the largest public health testing program in American history – helping to get the country back on its feet. We spoke to Yee, who was featured in our winter 2020 issue of the Punahou Bulletin, about the initiative, as well as her own career path that led her to this new, high-profile role at the New York City-based foundation.

Dr. Daniel Cheng ’00 serves as a medical director of emergency medicine at Queen's Medical Center, and is helping to battle COVID-19 on the front lines. But he's also dedicated the past three years towards building the Queen's Care Coalition, an organization that serves the homeless population through a holistic approach that combines medical services with outreach like housing support.

For the Judeo-Christian religions, mid-April – the time around Passover and Easter – represents one of the holiest times of the year. In a typical year, millions gather together to celebrate seder or Easter Sunday, but this year, COVID-19 means sheltering in place. The inability to gather with friends and extended family, and the indeterminate duration has caused anxiety and restlessness for many. We spoke with Punahou Chaplain Lauren Medeiros, Transitional Deacon Jenn Latham (whose husband is Punahou President Mike Latham ’86), Rabbi Ken Aronowitz of Temple Emanu-El in Honolulu, and Bishop Eric Matsumoto of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii to learn how they are counseling their own congregations.

As Punahou charts its future in a rapidly changing world, President Mike Latham has embraced the use of data in aiding decision-making at the school. With a PhD in epidemiology, Virginia Loo ’92 joins the school as its first Director of Analytics and Planning, and believes that teachers, students, parents and alumni can contribute and learn from data.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Henry Wu ’89 regularly studies outbreaks around the world, and even though scientists have anticipated a pandemic for years, COVID-19 has characteristics that make it particularly loathsome – including a high degree of transmissibility in asymptomatic carriers.

Dr. Edward T. Kim ’89 practices nephrology in the San Francisco Bay Area. After witnessing the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the country, he felt unprepared for the first time in his professional career – not because he lacked the experience and fortitude, but because hospitals don't have enough equipment to protect him and his colleagues as they battle a global pandemic.

Mark "Gooch" Noguchi ’93 has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for 20 years, and recently joined the Punahou Faculty as food curriculum specialist. With the COVID-19 outbreak, Mark is helping to coordinate logistics between restaurants and community kitchen through the chefhui.com website.

Alison Kamikawa ’13 graduated from the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and works as a registered nurse at NYU Langone Hospital. She's currently treating acute COVID-19 patients amid a massive uptick of infection in the State of New York.

Pulmonologist Dr. Lina Miyakawa ’04 tackles the surge of COVID-19 cases in New York City by treating critical care patients in the ICU.

Dr. Jason Fleming '94 is a medical director and practicing ER doctor at Kuakini Medical Center. As Hawai'i enters a phase of rapid growth of COVID-19, Jason shares his thoughts and experiences regarding what the community can do, how to support medical professionals, and what to tell your kids.

Michael Thompson and Rob Evans, two notable authors and school consultants, discussed with Punahou School President Mike Latham what skills are needed to succeed in tomorrow's workplace and how parents and educators can prepare students for a successful future.

Linda Burch, the co-founder of Common Sense Media, spoke to Punahou Junior School Principal Paris Priore-Kim ’76 about what parents can do to help their children and teenager navigate the ever-changing digital terrain.