Pilina is the connection that brings people, place and purpose together.
Pilina First is a Hawaiʻi-based strategy, content, and communications firm built on one guiding principle: connection comes first.
Our Story
Our work lives at the intersection of strategy and story. Since 2016, we have partnered with organizations and clients across Hawaiʻi to communicate with clarity and purpose — ensuring their messages are thoughtful, culturally grounded, and aligned with Hawaiʻi’s values. Whether guiding communications strategy, producing content, or supporting community initiatives, we approach each project with care for the relationships that make meaningful work possible.
Pilina First operates through a trusted collective of collaborators, cultural practitioners, and creative professionals who have contributed to Hawaiʻi’s communities for decades. This relationship-based approach allows us to assemble teams aligned to each project’s needs while remaining grounded in the shared values and connections that guide our work.
In Hawaiʻi, pilina is more than a word. It reflects the relationships between people, land, language, and legacy. Effective communication here requires more than messaging; it requires cultural fluency, trust, and a deep understanding of place. We believe storytelling is both craft and kuleana. Stories shape perception, strengthen identity, and influence how communities see themselves and their future.
Amy Kalili Principal
Amy’s passion for helping to advance and advocate for the Hawaiian language movement for over 20 years has built inseverable relationships that have afforded her opportunities and experiences from classrooms and newsrooms to courtrooms and boardrooms. She brings the depth and breadth of skills she developed as the Executive Director of the internationally renowned ʻAha Pūnana Leo, as well as being the only Hawaiian language news anchor, and helping to start and run ʻŌiwi Television Network to serve Pilina First’s clients in innovative and impactful ways.
Amy is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools and received her Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Bachelor’s in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo in 1997 and 2001 respectively. She also completed both her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and her JD from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2006 and was admitted to the Hawaiʻi State Bar in 2007. Amy is a fluent speaker of the Hawaiian language and is fortunate to have been part of the Hawaiian language movement since the early-1990s.