Keoni Lee
School: Kamehameha Schools, Kapālama
Career: Entrepreneur, CEO of Hawaii Investment Ready; Co-Founder of ‘Ōiwi TV, Waiwai Collective
In his youth, Keoni Lee was mostly concerned with making money and having material wealth. He didn’t think about his purpose, or how he could use his skills, passions, and education to contribute to something larger than himself. He was coasting in life.
But, a wake up call from his uncle set him on the right path. He came to the realization that he was wasting opportunities when he could instead be uplifting his community.
Scandal. Corruption. Poor health statistics. Those were the headlines surrounding Native Hawaiians whenever Keoni and his buddy Nāʻālehu Anthony would turn on the news back in 2007. Tired of the negative perpetuation of kānaka maoli, they saw an opportunity to share an authentic Hawaiian voice in the media. You may know it today as ʻŌiwi TV.
Since founding ʻŌiwi TV in 2007, Keoni and his team have traveled across the globe, producing hundreds of videos and stories from a unique, Hawaiian perspective. Today, he continues to follow his passion of uplifting the kanaka community, serving as co-founder of Waiwai Collective and CEO of Hawaii Investment Ready.
When Keoni realized his life was going in a direction he didn’t like, he took action to make positive change for himself and others.
