Janie Revelo

Living Aloha is my encore. The Hawaiian dictionary definition of Aloha includes: love, affection, kindness, charity. Aloha is a way of being, and I am able to share that spirit in all I do in my work as a Donor Development Associate with Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, a hālau hula (hula school) based in San Francisco and committed to the preservation of the Hawaiian culture through hula.

Quite a change of pace after a 30+ year career in the extremely intense and fast-paced legal and high tech industries, initially as a legal secretary, then as a supervisor, a business manager, and legal administrator. I squeezed in a Human Resources Management certificate, then after 7+ years as a recruiter at one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent law firms, I decided to take a break, and treated myself to an extended transition of contracting and volunteering.

In transition and on vacation in New York on the day of the stock market crash in 2008 — I stood in astonishment at Wall Street in the midst of all the people and the news teams. I thought, “Now what?”

Before I knew it, my business experience and skills were being put to good use soliciting donations for a silent auction, recruiting volunteers, and planning two fundraising events: an opening night champagne reception and a fundraising gala – all in celebration of Na Lei Hulu’s 25^th anniversary and home season of performances.

It’s incredible to be in the company of the creative and phenomenal talent of our charismatic Director/Kumu Hula, and it’s a visceral experience to watch a vibrant company of dancers executing our Kumu’s vision of hula mua, or “hula that evolves”. The style blends traditional movements with non-Hawaiian music, like opera, electronic, dance, alternative and pop, which means our audiences and I never know what to expect.

I occasionally find myself missing the seemingly unlimited resources of budget, technical support and staff that I once took for granted during my prior law firm career. Instead of hiring a PR/marketing company to come up with promotional recruiting ideas, I create fundraising campaigns based upon our organization’s current programs and needs. Rather than calling one of my caterers to order food, I seek restaurant donations of specialty and signature dishes for our fundraising gala and our opening night champagne reception. I no longer call upon my list of various employment agencies to send out a team of temporary employees, but I have created a volunteer program to entice our organization’s hula students to commit hours of their time to set up and break down a gala venue, and even help to bus dirty dishes during our fundraising events.

I continue to learn so much about the cultural and educational nonprofit realm. I’ve just been invited to participate in a two-year capacity building Arts Innovation and Management program. I recently commented to our director, “Just when I think I’ve figured things out, I learn something new.”

That’s how I’d like to continue my encore — by learning and keeping things fresh, while also surrounding myself with the spirit of Aloha!