Jayna Omaye
Born and raised on Oʻahu, Jayna Omaye loves writing about the communities she grew up in and highlighting the challenges and successes that make Hawaiʻi so special.
Before joining Hawaiʻi Public Radio, Jayna was the ethnic and cultural affairs reporter at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. While at the newspaper, she mentored and taught high school students about journalism as part of a youth storytelling project that she spearheaded about Hawaiʻi’s Japanese American veterans.
Jayna has also worked as a reporter at the Orlando Sentinel newspaper in Florida and as a staff writer at Honolulu Magazine, where she won numerous local and national awards for her stories on arts, culture and history.
A Moanalua High School graduate, she earned her master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. When she’s not chasing a story, Jayna enjoys dancing hula and playing taiko.
She covered culture and arts for Hawaiʻi Public Radio from 2022 to early 2023.
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The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands recently announced that it would give out 23 grants to 14 organizations.
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Mana Maoli serves thousands of students each year through its Mana Mele project. They operate a solar-powered mobile studio and a music multimedia academy that teaches students their ABCs — academics, business and culture — through music. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.
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About 40 pictures shot by nine photographers will fill the Downtown Art Center's second-floor gallery.
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The nonprofit Maui Public Art Corps led the 17-month project, which centered on talk-story sessions and community engagement with local leaders. The mural is painted on the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center to mark its 50th anniversary. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.
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Student filmmakers from Hawaiʻi and Alaska were recently honored as part of a local youth initiative. The future filmmakers program seeks to empower students and introduces them to the film industry. HPR's Jayna Omaye reports.
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Nearly half of Hawaiʻi’s 73 endemic birds have gone or are thought to be extinct. And 33% are either endangered or threatened. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more on the State of the Birds report.
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Members of the navigation team will help to create a management plan for Maui’s nearshore waters.
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The Office of Strategic Partnerships' goal is to better support Indigenous communities in conservation, education, economic development and other pressing issues.
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HPR’s Jayna Omaye reports on how the office moved from its focus on immigrant students as Operation Manong to serving other underserved communities today.
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Peter Rockford Espiritu is the only fellow from Hawaiʻi in Dance/USA’s 2022 artist cohort.