KANIELA ING – OFFICIAL BIO

Kaniela Ing is a nationally recognized Native Hawaiian organizer, strategist, and policy expert with over 17 years of experience across government, philanthropy, and grassroots movements. He currently serves as the National Director of the Green New Deal Network, where he led a 23-state coalition that helped unlock hundreds of billions in federal investments and moved over $30 million in philanthropic funding to frontline communities. His digital campaigns have reached over 300 million people. with coverage in The New York Times, TIME, CNN, PBS, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and other major media outlets.

Born and raised in Upcountry Maui, Kaniela began working in the pineapple fields as a teenager to support his widowed mother—on lands once stewarded by his ancestors. At 23, he became the youngest Native Hawaiian elected to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, where he championed Indigenous land and water rights, expanding democracy, and environmental justice. He prides himself on not just speaking up, but passing major reforms and delivering record funds for his district.

His 2018 campaign for U.S. Congress gained national attention for its bold, transparent, policy-forward agenda. Kaniela was the only candidate in the race to reject all corporate and lobbyist donations, and he broke records for small-dollar grassroots fundraising in Hawaiʻi. His campaign helped bring ideas like social housing, universal basic income, and the Green New Deal into mainstream political discourse.

Kaniela is the founder of Ho’ohui Strategies LLC and co-founder of Our Hawaiʻi, a statewide initiative building political power for Kānaka Maoli and Kamaʻāina communities. Following the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, he helped pioneer a new model for community-led, culturally grounded disaster recovery. His prior roles include serving as Climate Justice Campaign Director at People’s Action, a Legislative Aide at the Honolulu City Council, a Neighborhood Board Member, and a business-to-business sales representative for a Fortune 100 company.

He serves on several national and local boards, including Climate Power, the Indigenous Earth Fund, and Our Hawaiʻi Action. He lives in ʻEwa Beach with his two children and grounds his work in kuleana—to his ʻohana, his lāhui, and future generations.