Noreen Mokuau, DSW
Dr. Noreen Mokuau is Dean and Professor at the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. As a Native Hawaiian woman, she is committed to social work education that is anchored in excellence and founded in the unique attributes of Hawai‘i and the Pacific-Asia region. She is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa (BA-Psychology; MSW-Social Work) and the University of California, Los Angeles (DSW-Social Welfare). She received the UH Regents Excellence in Teaching Award and the UH Community Service Award.
Presently, she is Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Hā Kūpuna: National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, and serves as a Commissioner on the Council on Social Work Education Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice. Dr. Mokuau has edited three books, published numerous journal articles, book chapters and technical reports, and given many presentations on cultural competency and social services for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans.
As a scholar, mentor and teacher, Mokuau's interests in cultural competency centers on social justice issues, including health disparities among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian populations, and care-giving issues for culturally diverse elders. A strong advocate for community-based participatory research, her research is rooted in the ‘ohana and community. She acknowledges that her life work is based on the direction and guidance of her own ‘ohana, with special credit to the legacy of her parents.
