Valli Kalei Kanuha was born and raised in a rural town in Hawaiʻi in the 1950s. She is the daughter of a Native Hawaiian father and Nisei mother. Dr. Kanuha considers herself a critical, indigenous, feminist, activist-practitioner scholar with a focus on gender violence against women and children, and the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender and sexual identity. For the past 45 years, she has worked as a community-based researcher and consultant with organizations in Hawaiʻi and the continental U.S., and lectures widely on violence against women and social justice issues.

Dr. Wrenn has been a member of the School of Social Work field faculty and was director of the field education program from 1995 to1999. In 2020, she was appointed the assistant dean of field education after serving as the interim assistant dean since 2019. 

As a 1987 graduate of the doctoral program in social welfare from the School of Social Work, her research interests focused on the influence of social support on health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy. 

Constellation: Leo
Favorite Color: Royal Blue
Favorite Place: Any Sea-side
Favorite Food: Shrimp Scampi
Favorite Song: “Think” (Aretha Franklin)
Favorite Food: Shrimp Scampi
Favorite Book: “The Healing Drum” (Yaya Diallo)

Ariana Cantu's 26-year career spans migration and border issues, health care, housing, direct service, mental health, community organizing, advocacy, environmental justice and restoration, racial and social justice, and education. Both her community and applied research interests are in spatial justice, community led efforts, and strategizing for transformative change from an asset vs. deficit lens.

Clara Berridge’s research focuses on the ethical and policy implications of digital technologies used in elder care. She studies data and information technologies used in care, such as remote monitoring technologies and social robots, as well as the surveillance of care workers. Across projects, she’s often thinking about privacy, power, and decision making about technology use. Dr. Berridge has also studied positive aging paradigms and nursing home culture change.

Beth Yu Simpson is a proud graduate from the University of Washington's Seattle CWTAP program, graduating in 2008. Following graduation Beth worked at the Department of Children Youth and Families with a focus on adolescents and community engagement. In addition to her work at CWTAP, Beth is currently principle and co-founder of AIRE Consulting and Counseling focusing on community and individual healing through the offering of therapy, consulting, and community building for BIPOC adoptees.