Who We Are
The Miller ‘Ohana
Aloha. We are Jamee and Kalei Miller and have been married for over 30 years. We were both raised in Ko’olauloa, Oahu by humble, hard-working families surrounded by many extended family members. We have two adult children, ‘Ekolu and Kalei, and four mo’opuna. We raised our children with the same Hawaiian values we were raised with, laulima (working together), aloha (lots of love), ha’aha’a (humility).
In 2009, our ‘ohana was struck down by tragedy and resulted in our son ‘Ekolu, a teenager at the time, receiving a ten year prison sentence -- a first offense in his young life. We had spent years preparing our children for college, career, and life, but were ill-prepared in navigating the criminal justice system. Even as resourceful and resilient as we are, we felt completely clueless and encountered many challenges that could have easily torn a family apart.
Our son ‘Ekolu served 9 1/2 years, and most of his time was spent out of our homelands at Saguaro Correctional Facility in Arizona. Although he has successfully transitioned out, he continues to be haunted by the humiliation, trauma, discrimination and fear from being incarcerated for almost a decade. This experience has fully opened our eyes to the gaping holes that exist within the incarceration system and has compelled us to act.
We refuse to accept the system as it is and believe that alternatives to incarceration exist. We envision a pono justice system that heals and empowers individuals, ‘ohana, and communities, and have made it our mission to transform Hawai‘i’s justice system through Native Hawaiian cultural practices and values. Please join us.
Me Ka Ha’aha’a,
Jamee and Kalei
Meet the Team
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Dr. Jamee Māhealani Miller
Co-Executive Director
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Kalei Miller
Founder
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Kalei K-aloha
Co-Executive Director
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Dr. Kamanaʻopono Crabbe
Advisor
Follow our journey on Instagram.
