Mālia Kaʻaihue

Mālia Kaʻaihue is a highly recognized entrepreneur and an award-winning author who is deeply involved with Hawaiian culture and Hawaiʻi’s community. Mālia has founded eight very successful businesses. She attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where she received a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and Language, as well as her master and doctoral degrees in Political Science. Waiohinu is her kulaiwi, Hilo is her onehānau, and she lives in Mākaha with her kāne Duane DeSoto, on the block he grew up on, with their eight children and one moʻopuna. 

Over the last several years, Pacific Business News has recognized Mālia as a Woman to Watch in 2013, Forty Under 40 Class of 2016, an Industry Leader in 2017, top 25 Women Owned Businesses in 2019, and most recently an awardee for Hawaiʻi’s Fastest 50 in 2020. In addition, Mālia was featured on the cover of Hawaii Business Magazine’s 20 For the Next 20 in 2019. Mālia was a Pacific Century Fellow in 2015, Omidyar Fellow in 2017 and Mana Up Fellow in 2019. In January of 2020, Mālia became a dōTERRA Founder 2.0! Mālia is the founder of DTL Hawaiʻi, Aloha Modern, ʻĀina Archaeology, Kūmau Productions, Nā Kama Kai, Actions of Aloha and OLA Hawaiʻi.