Dr. Thao Le is currently serving as professor & chair in the Family Consumer Sciences department of CTAHR at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa. She was previously at Colorado State University where she gave up promotion & tenure to come to Hawai'i because of her connection to the island/sea, and with Native Hawaiian collaborators. Prior to academia, she worked in a non-profit in Oakland, California for 14 years focusing on preventing youth delinquency, with particular attention to Asian and immigrant population. Her current research work at UHM is focusing on farmer stress, restoration of native ecology (with her NH collaborators), and mindfulness for Keiki/educators in Hawai'i. She is also the author of 3 children's books focusing on socio-emotional resilience including Mindfulness with Aloha Breath, Akahai, and Ha'aha'a.