Meet the Team

Meet the team behind the ʻAha Kūkā: Kani Ka Pū Distance Learning Summit. 
Josh Reppun is a former chef, hotel manager and (for 17 years) teacher. He was born and raised in Kahaluʻu on Oahu, and attended Punahou School. He has an undergraduate degree in history and a masters in education foundations. He currently works full time at Apple, Inc. as a sales specialist. In his “civic time” he founded Plexus Education LLC, which is DBA @MLTSinHawaii, “a movement” founded by extraordinary people dedicated to developing public, private and charter school conversations around Ted Dintersmith’s film, Most Likely to Succeed and his book, What School Could Be.
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Leigh Fitzgerald is the Vice President of Academic Affairs of Mid-Pacific Institute.  Leigh began her career in education as a Middle and High School English and Social Studies teacher before moving into school administration.  She has served as a school and district leader in the public, private and charter school sectors as well as a school leadership coach and lecturer at Stanford’s d.School.  Leigh’s two decades of work with public, private and charter school teachers and leaders in Hawaii has focused on assessment for deeper learning; building inter-sector professional learning communities; and leveraging technology, community partners, a-typical school structures and the design thinking cycle to create dynamic teaching and learning opportunities and increase efficiency in school finance and organizational structure.  Leigh holds a bachelor's degree in American Civilization and Education from Brown University and a master's degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University.  
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Dr. Ed H. Noh is currently the Executive Director in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education’s Leadership Institute. He has over 25 years of educational experience serving grades, P-20 in the public, private, and charter school systems. He served 16 of those years as an administrator in the Seattle Public Schools, Hawaiʻi DOE, and Hawaiʻi Public Charter Schools. He also serves as an advisor and mentor in the EdD program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Dr. Noh received his BA in Cultural Anthropology from San Francisco State University, MEd in Educational Policy Studies and Principal Certification as a Kreielsheimer Fellow in the Danforth Educational Leadership Program at the University of Washington, and an EdD in Professional Educational Practice from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research interests are in educational leadership, curriculum and instructional design, and mentorship.
Mark Hines leads Kupu Hou Academy, a professional learning organization supporting schools adopting deeper learning practices. He led Mid-Pacific eXploratory (MPX), grounded in integrated, community project-based learning. Mark was Tech Coordinator for 15 yrs planning, implementing technology and professional development for teachers, staff and students. He has taught Science, Math and Tech for 40 years. He is passionate about teaching, learning, and the future of education.
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Dr. Evan Reppun Beachy is a graduate Kahaluʻu Elementary, Punahou School, Harvard University, and UCLAʻs EdD program. Evan has taught in all K-12 divisions as well as at the graduate school level. He has experience in public, private and international schools in a variety of capacities including Middle School Director, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Curriculum and Director of Innovation. Evan has long focused his careerʻs work on what until now has been referred to as “experimental education.” He is currently a Senior Education Consultant at Kamehameha Schools and the Co-Director of the Keala`ula Innovations Institute.
Matt Zitello is the Director of Hawaii Technology Academy's (HTA) Oʻahu campus. He has been an educator at HTA for the past 10 years as both a teacher and school director. Prior to HTA, he taught middle school science at Aiea Intermediate for 8 years. Much of his career has been spent intimately involved in blended learning with a particular interest in the untapped and poorly utilized remote learning space. Although we are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, he believes we have an opportunity to positively impact education for generations.