Theresa Fernandez

Duration:

1 hour, 43 minutes, 2 seconds

Oral History Interview with Theresa Fernandez September 22nd, 2022. Interview was conducted by Alana Kanahele. This project was a collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center for Oral History and the National Park Service.

 

Full Transcript

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

Theresa Fernandez was born in Mōʻiliʻili on Oʻahu. She spent most of her life living between Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island. She attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Chaminade; her first job was as a Conservation Corps member working for Resource Management at Haleakalā National Park in 1984. After her initial stint with the park, she also worked as a field supervisor for Mauna Kahālāwai, formerly known as the West Maui Watershed Partnership. While living on Hawaiʻi Island, she taught surf lessons, worked in construction, and practiced realty as a real estate broker agent. She once again joined the National Park Service at Haleakalā in 2022 as a Bilingual Educational Technician. She is responsible for creating, translating and interfacing with the communities with regards to Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian language. Her son, Liam Kamahaʻo Kalāʻaumaluikeaoakamakaliʻi Kahoe-Morrison, works in wildlife management as a Biological Science Technician at Haleakalā National Park and her daughter, Leila Makana Hoʻoleialiʻi Morrison, works in vegetation management as a Biological Science Technician at Haleakalā National Park as well. Theresa is somewhat fluent in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.