aloha e

I’m Shayna Lonoae'a-Alexander (she/they), a queer hapa political campaign strategist and community organizer. I connect people with the tools to advocate for the care and resources we deserve. 

hapa as in my genealogy is rooted in Hawaiian, Samoan, Filipino, and African diaspora.

My mo'olelo

I was 11 years old the first time I hugged my dad.

We awkwardly shuffled together throughout my grandma’s funeral, trying to find a big enough place among crying relatives to accommodate his shackled stride and the armed guards flanking him. I’m grateful my family tried to shield me from the harder parts of my dad’s incarceration. They ensured I was connected to him, supplying all the happier, long ago stories, collect phone calls, and letter writing materials they could afford over the years. But since my first face-to-face with my dad and the many since, I’ve realized my story echoes across countless communities and families like mine.

When kupuna are ziptied and removed for protecting Maunakea, when thousands of Kanaka Maoli are displaced, caged, and deported, and when Queen Lili'uokalani’s prison songs are chanted, we’re being called to make injustice impossible by organizing against carceral and colonial violence where it persists in our society, relationships, and imaginations. That’s why I’m committed to connecting us with the resources and care we deserve.

In this work, we’re defining and building collective futures where everyone has what we need to thrive.

talk story with mE

Abolition isn’t scary, it’s essential.

“Shayna Lonoaea-Alexander, organizer against mass incarceration and abolition advocate, talks about why abolition is essential to our conversation to end capitalism. She gives voice to the beautiful and distinct meaning it has for Hawai'i and how building it within is the first radical shift to reclaiming our relationship with ourselves and one another.”

Listen at the Root Cause Remedies Podcast.

listen

work with me

My work is informed by the teachings of my mother, ancestors, Haunani Kay Trask, bell hooks, Mariame Kaba, penpal letters, and many more Black and Native revolutionaries as I continue to reconcile my loved ones’ and own experiences navigating institutionalization, violence, poverty, incarceration, and the military and nonprofit industrial complex. 

I currently work with ACLU Hawai'i consulting on prison and police reform, ending mass incarceration, including stopping the construction of a billion dollar jail in Halawa, Oahu. I’m in a 2 Spirit/Indigiqueer working group with GSA Network. I also cofounded Pu'uhonua Penpal, a prison penpal program dedicated to building pu'uhona with incarcerated people in and of Hawai'i.

I’ve worked on numerous electoral and issue-based campaigns and for lawmakers in Wyoming and Hawai'i. I’ve served on nonprofits, PACS, and community organizations, including Wyoming Tribune Editorial Board, Pro-Choice NARAL Wyoming, Equality Hawaii, and Wyoming Equality. I’ve facilitated in-person and digital workshops and webinars on LGBTQIA2S+ and Māhū liberation, legislative processes, activism, prison and police reform in Hawai'i.

Recent works

Public Speaking

  • Hui Ho’iwai - Hawai’i Reentry Justice Summit 2022

  • Hawai'i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Conference – Queerness and Justice: Exploring the Intersectionality of Violence Hawai'i State Coalition Against Domestic 2021

  • Stop Asian Hate March & Rally in Honolulu 2021

  • Hawai'i for Black Lives March in Honolulu 2020

  • Honolulu Pride Rainbow Townhall: LGBTQIA+ Community and the Criminal Legal System 2020

Build pu'uhonua with incarcerated people in and of Hawai'I

Become a Pu'uhonua Penpal with incarcerated people. Write, learn, and build puʻuhonua by imagining a transformative, healing system that cares for everyone.

link will take you to www.puuhonuapenpal.org

learn more

mentions