Makanani Salā is the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts. She was previously an instructor in Hawaiian Studies at Windward Community College and an event producer and cultural consultant.She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and is ABD in the History department of the University of California – Irvine. She became a Kumu Hula in 2016 through the traditional practice of ʻūniki ʻailolo.Makanani is also an educator, having taught Hawaiian history, mythology, hula, and ʻōlelo at both the secondary and tertiary levels. Makanani’s ʻohana comes from Nāhiku, Maui and Kalaoa, Hawaiʻi, but she was born and raised in Hālawa, Oʻahu.Makanani and her husband Aaron Salā have 3 children and she shares with us one of their favorite recipes for Local Style Butter Chicken.