Kamanā is cofounder and president of ʻAha Pūnana Leo, an organization of private schools for Hawaiian language immersion instruction.
[6] In 2010 she earned a Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
[7] Her Ph.D. dissertation was titled "Mo‘oki‘ina Ho‘oponopono: Ke Ō O Ka ‘Ike Ku‘una Hawai‘i Ma Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu’u," focusing on traditional Hawaiian conflict resolution as practiced at the Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu school.
[6] The nonprofit consists of a network of private schools based on a "language nest" model.
[9] Kamanā serves as the president for Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalani’ōpu’u, a Hawaiian immersion laboratory school for prekindergarten to grade 12 students in Kea‘au.