Mara Linohaupuaokekoʻolau Pavich Garcia
A compassionate counselor, innovative educator, and strategic thinker who deepens community relationships.
Mara designs inclusive programming that elevates individual’s voice, while encouraging the examination of their core cultural identities; and the development of social, emotional strategies to increase self- and social-awareness. Mara develops and enhances relationships within communities, by placing emphasis on the importance of each person feeling a sense of belonging.
Prior to returning home to Oahu in 2020, Mara had spent the previous nearly two decades living in Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA. where she held several administrative positions. In Seattle, she worked at the YMCA of Greater Seattle and The Evergreen School; in Los Angeles, she worked at Viewpoint School and Geffen Academy at UCLA.
Additional to the Linohau practice, Mara serves as the Director of Wellness and Professional Programs at St. Andrew’s Schools in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. This position ties to her goal of giving back to the community, as it incorporates counseling, learning support, the implementation of school-wide wellness programming, and supports educator’s professional growth and development. Mara is also the Director of CoMethod, a Program Coordinator with Shanti Alliance, a Facilitator with Nalukai Academy, and a guest speaker and educator on Social Emotional Learning for students enrolled at Hawaii Pacific University’s School of Education.
Mara is an alum of the Cohort 7, Patsy Mink Leadership Alliance, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC).
Testimonials
I absolutely was so amazed by your presentation. I loved listening to you and all the information you provided. I found it so helpful learning about how to properly discuss topics such as gender, identity, and religion. I also liked how you were engaged with all of us and answered all of our questions. You answered every question and statement so well. My favorite topic you talked about was about mental shortcuts, conditioning, and biases. I know many children’s books have gender biases and condition us at a young age to think a certain way. I always like talking about bias and acknowledging on what type of biases a person has. I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed all the topics you talked about and how I was able to relate and understand them. Wonderful job, thank you again for taking the time to present to our class!.
- Student, Hawaii Pacific University Educational Psychology Masters Cohort, Fall, 2022
I really enjoyed engaging with others. We contemplated on many of our own personal experiences, and in that short session we all grew from it. I really find the theme of the stories very insightful, especially in this setting. That day we recognized we ARE our stories and that we are in charge of our own narrative. This theme really sets me up for greatness concerning how I want conduct myself with Shanti Alliance.
-High School Participant, Shanti Alliance Kickoff Event 2023
In a world where academic achievement often precedes holistic development, there is an urgent need to recognize and value those who plant the seeds of empathy, emotional intelligence and resilience. It is with my immense gratitude and admiration to express my deep appreciation to you who enlightened us on the immense importance of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Your enlightening talk not only shed light on the importance of emotional intelligence, but also instilled in me, as an educator, a passion to become an advocate for SEL in my school, community and beyond. The Big Eight Core Cultural Identifiers is really a huge help for us educators to be able to understand the situations of our students especially those who are at risks or having problems.
-Student, Hawaii Pacific University Educational Psychology Masters Cohort, Fall, 2023