Speakers’ Bios
DR. CHERYL ANDAYA
Dr. Cheryl Andaya is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the area of child maltreatment. She completed her internship at Atascadero State Hospital, a California maximum security forensic psychiatric facility. Her post-doctoral training was at Kapiolani Child Protection Center (KCPC) with Dr. Steven Choy, where she received her specialized training in child maltreatment and providing trauma-informed care in working with children and families. She was subsequently offered a position as staff, conducting hundreds of psychological evaluations, supervising the training of future mental health providers, and served as a psychology consultant on the state Multidisciplinary Team. She was promoted to the Manager of Clinical Services and Training, managing the behavioral health services and training at KCPC. She was then employed with the Department of Defense as a Pediatric Psychology Consultant for the Regional Health Command of the Pacific and was instrumental in the development of the Regional Telebehavioral Health Consultation Team as the Lead Psychology Consultant for the Pacific Region that spans Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Guam, Alaska, California and Washington. She is currently the Assistant Director and Training Director for the Family Strengthening Center. She is a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, American Psychological Association, and Hawaii Psychological Association. She is also certified as a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy therapist and trainer, and in utilizing the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised.
SIXTO CANCEL
Sixto Cancel is the Founder and CEO of Think of Us. Think of Us (TOU) is an Action Tank driving systematic change in child welfare. Through focused projects and sweeping initiatives, TOU drives structural changes in child welfare policy and practice. Sixto was named as Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs and is on the 2021 Forbes Under30 Lister Board. Sixto has been recognized by the White House as a “White House Champion of Change,” a “Millennial Maker” by BET, and named as one of the “Top 24 Changemakers in Government under 24” by the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and Sparkaction. Sixto has served as a Young Fellow at Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative since 2010 where he has played a key role in the initiative’s work of extending foster care permanency for older youth. Sixto is a Clinton Global Initiative University Alum, a FastForward Alum, an Ashoka Fellow, a Board Member of Adventr – an interactive SMART video tech company – and most recently on the Advisory Board for Box, Inc. Sixto and his team at Think of Us are working to ensure that every person has the conditions they need to heal, develop and thrive.
DR. STEVEN J. CHOY
Dr. Choy is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who has specialized in the prevention, assessment and treatment of child maltreatment for over 40 years. He is the Director of the Family Strengthening Center at Family Programs Hawaii and an Associate Professor with the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University. He has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the Child Protection laws in Hawaii, and the development of psychological assessment and treatment standards and protocols for working with child maltreatment cases. He has also been instrumental in developing programs to prevent child maltreatment and facilitate healthy development. He specializes in trauma informed care, and through his work with child maltreatment cases, he provides mental health consultation through the Family Strengthening Center to the specialty Family Courts in Hawaii, which include the Zero-To-Three Court, Family Drug Court, Juvenile Drug Court, and the Hawaii Girls Court. Dr. Choy has conducted numerous workshops and clinical trainings, and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Psychology from the Hawaii Psychological Association.
MELISSA MAYO
Melissa Mayo spent five years in foster care between the ages of 13 and 18 and is now the President on the HI H.O.P.E.S Youth Leadership Board in East Hawaii. Melissa is also a current Hawaii Young Fellow with the Jim Casey Initiative and has been an ambitious leader, with a passion for creating positive change and empowering her peers in the Child Welfare System. Melissa also uses her advocacy work in her role as the Pono Process navigator at EPIC 'Ohana. In addition to Melissa’s advocacy work, she is currently working on obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Administration of Justice at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
KA IKENA SCANLAN
Ka`ikena Scanlan is many things; A Hawaiian language professor and ethnobotanist at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, a farmer who tills the land in Honoka’a on Kaunāmano Farm, and a musician whose music is blowing up on the airwaves. Talk Story host McKenna Maduli flew to Hilo for a little farming expedition and for the first time we feature a filmmaker collaboration with Prime Footage.
In everything he does, Scanlan is driven to share the message of aloha ʻāina by "promoting the idea of taking care of where we come from because it's only a small place and there's not one other place like it in the world," he said. For him, it's important to "make sure that this place stays beautiful. Whatever route, whatever influence we have, to remember where we come from and what this place is. What aloha ʻāina really means."
Hawaiian Language is an important part of Scanlan's music. From songs like "He Kanaka" to "Smoke all Day" to "Utu Bang Bang," he says the stories in these songs always connect to what he teaches, specifically their Hawaiian cultural significance.
He is currently working on his next album with These Guys.
MAILE SOUL
With roots in California and now ties in Hawaii, Maile is a singer/songwriter with a whole lotta soul! She began her music journey over 5 years ago. The first project Maile released was with her music brother, Blake, and was an EP entitled “Anchored.” The EP features 6 gospel tracks and was released in the spring of 2019. Maile then went on to release her first solo single, “Sailing”, in early 2020. The culmination of ancestral upbringing and cultural exposure (or lack of) inspired her to create a song that speaks to her experiences in this current tumultuous, but beautiful time in Polynesian history. Produced by Live Animaux’s own, Leslie Ludiazo, the single has pop and reggae tones to it. She followed up with her sophomore release in May, “I Can Only Imagine”, which features Island Reggae powerhouse, Sammy Johnson. Both singer/songwriters share a mutual love of soul and r&b, which is apparent in the dreamy, love-influenced project. It was produced by another Live Animaux producer, Lapana Ieriko, and currently boasts over 30k views on YouTube and 136.9k streams on Spotify.
Beyond her own music, Maile has provided background vocals for many local Hawaii artists, including Fia, Johnny Suite, Jasmin Nicole and Ka’ikena Scanlan. She even did a holiday remake of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with Chante in late 2019. Last year, she got the chance to join Common Kings on stage during their In The Southern Sun performance on Waikiki Beach as well as roster mate Fia, on stage during his Aloha From Hawaii performance in Kauai. Pre-pandemic, Maile performed at the Pow! Wow! Hawaii in Kaka’ako and the Motown Valentine’s show at the Republik. More recently, Maile joined Likkle Jordee, Johnny Suite, and Chante for a special drive-by Project Grad 2020 as well as livestream series Pau Hana (Every1ne Hawaii) and Mele in Hawai’i (Haku Collective).
During the pandemic, Maile also became an Ambassador for Invisible Wave, a non-profit focused on supporting young adults with chronic health conditions. Her current plight with endometriosis made the collaboration a no-brainer. As someone who understands the value of her platform, she was more than excited to use her voice toward much needed social awareness. Maile is currently working on new music and hopes to release another single by the end of 2021.