John Falaniko “Niko” Pātū is the Founder and President of the Ōfaga Leo and conceptualized the program as a student in the PhD program in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Niko has years of experience as both a part-time lecturer in Samoan at the University of Hawaiʻi and as a licensed teacher in the Hawaiian immersion school program.

Tammy Bahn-Kreis is a founding member and has years of experience as an early childhood educator in both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. As a preschool teacher, director, and manager for one of Hawaiʻi’s oldest preschool systems, Tammy brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and experience to the development of the Ōfaga Leo.

As one of the founding members and a parent of Samoan children born and raised outside of the Samoan homeland, Carmelita Patu is dedicated to the perpetuation of Samoan language and culture.