JABSOM recently hosted the two-day “Aloha Begins with Us” Symposium and Open House for faculty, staff, and community members, bringing together initiatives and committees to form a coordinated ecosystem of programs that strengthen culture, connection, and sustainability across JABSOM.
Co-produced by JABSOM’s Director of Organizational Resiliency, Tracie Ann Tjapkes, Dee-Ann Carpenter, MD, Martina Kamaka, MD, Teresa Schiff-Elfalan, MD, Vanessa Wong, MD, and Maya Maxym, MD, the three-hour experience created space for participants across the University of Hawaiʻi to explore how wellness and cultural grounding can be integrated into everyday work.
“My overall thought is that the shared table is open,” Tjapkes said. “How do we continue to share the invitation with more people? Because for each of us, our wellbeing, our resilience, all of that is unique. Thus, the Moʻokūʻauhau of each person is rich and deserves the time and space to be drawn upon.”
The symposium’s first day was an invitation-only gathering that brought together university leadership, including Interim Provost Vassilis Syrmos, Interim Vice Provost Laura Lyons, Alex Ortega, Dean of the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, and JABSOM Dean Sam Shomaker.
“Positive relationships and meaningful work are core to preventing burnout and improving learning and working environments so that everyone can thrive,” Dean Shomaker said. “While JABSOM and the other health science units at UH have been collaborating through research and education, we will all serve our students and communities better by pursuing some strategic collaborative initiatives. The six initiatives showcased at the symposium represent a critical step in aligning many JABSOM initiatives with Native Hawaiian values as the foundation.”
Tjapkes said the presence of UH System leaders reinforced the importance of the work and the growing support behind it.
“It gives it legs. Actually, I would say ‘wings,” Tjapkes said. “For people to be in a community with their colleagues or bosses and be welcome to explore their individual stories is an important part of who we are as individuals and how we contribute to the mission of our organization.”
Through poster presentations and collaborative discussions, attendees explored how wellbeing initiatives connect with the university’s broader goal of becoming a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning, welcoming reflections on each person’s own story and experience.
“At this shared table, we strengthened awareness, connection, and commitment to building a culture that centers wellbeing, belonging, and resilience for learners, faculty, and staff,” said Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at JABSOM. “This was our first step to building a 'shared table' of learners, faculty, and staff across the UH System, while including health systems and clinicians to come together to serve a shared purpose.”
“For me, “Aloha Begins with Us” was an invitation to be inspired by the many ways that JABSOM is integrating NHPoL across its curriculum and in collaboration with other parts of our campus, work that can be about providing space to recount the academic, professional and familial genealogies that shape us individually, or about how Hawaiian concepts can ground us as we create learning and work environments that promote rather than undermine the health of everything that lives on this ʻāina,” said Laura Lyons, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Excellence.
"The “Aloha Begins with Us” symposium was a beautiful realization of our work with Cohort Kumukahi,” said Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe, director of the University of Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao (HPOKA). “We strive to provide the foundation, but JABSOM has truly taken these Native Hawaiian principles and made them their own. Seeing this hui implement their action plan with such heart was both fulfilling and a testament to the power of our collective mission."
The “Aloha Begins with Us” symposium and Open House drew on several of JABSOM’s wellbeing and professionalism initiatives that encourage individuals to bring their “full selves” to their work.
“No longer do we need to separate our personal and professional selves,” Tjapkes said. “Now it’s about bringing your whole self to work, to learn and to teach.”
The second day opened those conversations to a wider audience, welcoming faculty, staff, students, residents, and community members to learn more about available resources and ways to get involved.
Dr. Kini Solmirin from JABSOM’s Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence said the open house offered a firsthand look at how those efforts are taking shape.
“I learned that there’s a lot of effort to connect the departments within JABSOM and to cultivate professionalism and a sense of a Native Hawaiian place of learning on campus,” Solmirin said.
Relatively new to JABSOM, Solmirin said it was encouraging to see those priorities in action.
“I’m very pleased to see that we’re cultivating a Native Hawaiian place of learning,” she said. “Since that is the initiative for the entire system.”
As she moved through the poster presentations, one effort in particular stood out.
“I liked the JABSOM Hale, looking at aloha as a part of the culture and including it in the strategic plan,” Solmirin said. “That was interesting to me.”
The symposium and open house were a collective effort across JABSOM, involving members of Nurturing Belonging (NB), Coaching Collective (CC), Wellbeing Enhancement & Resilience Committee (WERC), Committee on Belonging (COB), JABSOM Professionalism Advisory Committee (JPAC), and the JABSOM Hale Hui (NHPOL/HPOKA).
“When we think about why we did this, it was first to create awareness,” Tjapkes said. “Secondly, it was to provide people with resources.”
Those resources range from structured programs to more flexible opportunities for engagement, allowing individuals to participate in ways that fit their schedules and needs.
As stress continues to compete for the time and energy of our professionals, initiatives like “Aloha Begins with Us” aim to create sustainable ways for people to reconnect with their work and with each other.
“I think what resonated the most is that what people are experiencing is not something they need to do alone,” Tjapkes said. “There are others who want to be in community, to connect, and to have work be more life-giving. It's really important that we extend that invitation so that people know that they're invited to the table and they can then choose what resonates with their life, and the journey continues.”
With growing interest following the open house, the next step is to continue building on that momentum by expanding participation, strengthening partnerships, and finding new ways to integrate wellbeing into daily practice across the University of Hawaiʻi. If you would like to get involved or learn more about upcoming initiatives, please email ttam86@hawaii.edu.
