Cathy Kapua

Deputy Director, Trans Justice Funding Project

Cathy K. K. Kapua, B.P.A., has worked with the transgender community in Hawai’i since 2003, first starting off as a Peer Educator at Kulia Na Mamo, then eventually moving on to become the Transgender Service Manager at the Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction Center. Cathy has proudly expanded her social justice work as she joined the Trans Justice Funding Project in 2020 as their Deputy Director proudly helping to move resources to grassroots trans-led programs across the U.S. and its territories.

Cathy is also proud of her academic accomplishments at the University of Hawai’i- West Oahu where she received a B.S. in Public Administration. She has been successful in advocating for transgender laws and policies throughout the United States, but prides herself mainly on being a role model for young transgender women in Hawai`i.

Cathy has proudly served the community through Transgender Law Center’s “Trans Agenda For Liberation” Coalition since 2016 where she was able to help address urgent political, legal, and social violence enacted against the trans community. She continues her national leadership through the Transgender Strategy Center as a Faculty Member since 2021 where she gets to be a peer mentor to other Transwomen of color who are in leadership positions.

As a Native Hawaiian Transwoman, Cathy holds a Native Hawaiian proverb close to her heart– ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia which translates as “no task is too big when done together by all.”