An independent filmmaker and a hula dancer, Lisette creates documentary films that celebrate a modern renaissance of the hula and Hawaiian culture. She is the writer, producer and director of Lehua Films and her award-winning document- taries, “AMERICAN ALOHA: Hula Beyond Hawai’i”, “Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula”, and “ONE VOICE” have broadcast nationally on public television and shown in film festivals around the world. Lisette is currently directing and producing a documentary entitled “Tokyo Hula” which explores the explosive popularity of hula in Japan. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Film and Television Production and received her MFA in Creative Writing at the New School University. Having lived in New York City for over twenty years, Lisette recently joined the faculty at the UH Mānoa as the Assistant Professor of Indigenous/Native Creative Media at the Academy for Creative Media.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)