Naomi Rombaoa Tanaka, MS

Diversity and Inclusion Fellow

Naomi Rombaoa Tanaka is a Diversity and Inclusion Fellow with the Association of University Centers on Developmental Disabilities (AUCD). She joins other faculty members from around the country in creating a blueprint for cultural and linguistic competence within the nationwide AUCD network. The blueprint seeks to expand diversity in both the network and the developmental disabilities field to ensure that the network is well-positioned to address growth in diverse communities and the growing number of people with disabilities. This blueprint and fellowship is one-year initiative funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD).

Naomi is a faculty member of the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is the Co- Principal Investigator/ Project Coordinator of the Hawaii Preschool Positive Engagement Project (HPPEP). HPPEP aims to grow the strengths of Native Hawaiian early educators, families, and preschool students. Naomi previously worked for the Student Equity Excellence and Diversity Program, starting up place-based after school programs for Native Hawaiian students. A former Special Education teacher, she has also worked with educators from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and American Samoa. She is also a Facilitator for Ceeds of Peace on Oahu, Hawaii.

Naomi holds a BS in Educational Studies, Family and Community Services and an MS in Early Childhood/ Special Education from the University of Oregon. She also has a post masters Interdisciplinary Certificate in Disability and Diversity Studies and is working on her PhD in Education with a focus on Learning and Technology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.