In-Service Public School Educator Scholarships
This year, HEA awarded three deserving educators with scholarships to support their professional development. They have made great strides in their teaching career, and like many educators, continually strive to learn more so they can be of even greater service to their students and the community.
Tiffany Rose Brown
Tiffany Rose Brown, a performing arts instructor with Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island, brings valuable realworld performing arts experience and is always willing to take on new challenges to offer more to her students.
She is using the HEA scholarship to help support her participation in Windward Community College’s Kaohekani Hawaiian Music Certificate program, “the crown jewel of my personal education.”
“This formal music education program allows me to seamlessly blend their instruction in music, drama, and Olelo Hawaii in support of their projectbased learning curriculum,” she said. “I am passionate about continuing my personal development in this area and becoming a more valuable instructor in the classroom and community.”
Tiffany has a wealth of performing arts experience. She began teaching drama with The Music and Arts Conservatory of Santa Barbara 20 years ago while earning her B.F.A. in acting. Before joining Innovations 15 years ago, she taught workshops with The Aloha Theatre and worked with various community theatres.
Tiffany also worked with Kumu Kahua Theatre, performing with other actors in plays by local playwrights to elevate local voices. She also performed at lolani Palace in their Mai Poina walking tours, and secured professional roles in two seasons of Hawaii 5-0.
A life-long learner and passionate educator, Tiffany also saw more opportunities for more professional growth, and completed the requirements to become a special education teacher.
She worked closely with the school’s special education director to design specialized instruction for students who overcame obstacles in learning largely by demonstrating understanding through performing arts in the inclusive classroom.
Phillippe Fernandez-Brennan
Philippe Fernandez-Brennan, who will complete his Ph.D. in education with a focus on curriculum and instruction at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in May 2026, continually strives to learn and do more. His HEA scholarship will help support his participation in an advanced education course at the University of Hawaii this summer.
“This will significantly contribute to my professional growth by enhancing my ability to create interdisciplinary, culturally relevant curricula. This course will allow me to explore the rich history of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples and their Austronesian descendants, focusing on their innovations in sailing and navigation,” he wrote in his application. “I am ethnically llokano (the Northern people of the Philippine Islands) so the initial migration of the Taiwanese people started in the llokos (Northern) region of the Philippines.”
“By learning directly from tribal educators and community members in Taiwan, I will gain invaluable insights into indigenous knowledge systems and how they can inform sustainable practices. The collaborative nature of this course, which involves both the University of Hawaii at Manoa and National Sun Yat-sen University, will deepen my understanding of global connections and resilience. This will directly inform my work in curriculum development, enabling me to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches that honor indigenous wisdom while fostering a deeper respect for sustainability, culture, and scientific inquiry in my teaching practice.”
Philippe freely shares his knowledge with other schools and educators. At Halau KG Mana New Century Public Charter School in Makiki Heights, he has held roles such as curriculum and assessment specialist, testing coordinator, and teacher in focused aloha ‘āina education. His work also includes creating communitybased programming at DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter School and leading sustainability projects at Roosevelt High School.
“I am committed to integrating diverse pedagogical strategies and continuous professional growth through specialized training and collaborative initiatives,” he said. “I am a passionate and committed educator with a deep-rooted belief in the power of education to heal, empower, and transform communities.”
Nathaniel Rey
Nathaniel Rey, a fourth-generation educator who currently serves as a K-6 educational assistant at the Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science in Pahoa on Hawaii Island, will receive a postbaccalaureate certificate in elementary special education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in May 2026.
He will be a licensed special education teacher, filling important needs in the Hawaii Department of Education system.
“I believe that my own experience as a special education student growing up will be a benefit to the DOE and all the students in my care,” he wrote in his application. “I did not have the best experience, and I learned a lot firsthand about how to better support special education students.”
Everyone benefits when special education students receive the attention they need.
“When our schools can support those students who have the greatest needs, those children will benefit, the teachers will benefit, and the other students will have a learning environment more conducive to their needs as well. Even the families of special education students will reap the benefits, and for the children to be supported during their schooling means that society will benefit as well. All of these factors are of benefit to the Hawai’i DOE,” he continued.
His primary UH mentor is a literacy specialist. “I am grateful that I will be able to support the students with specialized training in reading and writing. I will be watching over each student with individual care and concern to be sure they are serviced in ways that reflect what is best for them,” Nathaniel wrote.
