Lei'a Haff, MS

I attribute my success to being intentional with the work I do and moving forward in a way that aligns with how I move, what I'm good at, and what the people around me can help me with. One of my biggest turning points came during COVID when I was working for one of the largest agricultural organizations in Hawaii. When funding was cut almost within 24 to 48 hours, my supervisor and I came up with this thing called Food Agogo, and I essentially built the whole thing out overnight by myself. The next day, they were able to recuperate and receive more funding than they had because of that, and it was just an epiphany for me about what I'm capable of doing. Another key moment was when an auntie in my community asked me, 'If you don't do it, then who will?' That question has stuck with me forever, and when things get hard and difficult, and I'm wondering why I didn't just stick to the 9 to 5, I think about that. If I don't do it, then who will do it, knowing what I'm capable of, my intention, and what I'm planning to do going forward. I think when you are intentional and move forward in a way that aligns with you, things fall into place how they're supposed to, without having to force anything, because nothing I've done has been horrible or felt like I'm forcing myself to do it. It's all felt very natural.

The best career advice I ever received came from an auntie in my community when I had been doing contract work for about a year and a half or two. She asked me, 'If you don't do it, then who will?' That question really made me sit with it and think about who is possibly capable of doing it. It's the way she said it and the context of our conversation that has stuck with me forever. When things get a little hard and difficult, and I'm at those points where I'm wondering what I'm doing and why I didn't just stick to the 9 to 5 or get a normal job at Costco or Macy's, I think about that question. If I don't do it, then who will do it, knowing what I'm capable of, my intention, and what I'm planning to do going forward. That advice has really led me to continue persevering and pushing forward in every avenue I seek to experience.

My advice to young women is that there's always something you're passionate about, something that lights you up, and if you don't know what that is, you need to figure out what that is. Coincidentally, in the work I've done, I was introduced to marketing, sports, entertainment, and marketing in high school. I thought it was the sports part because I really enjoyed playing sports, but I ended up going to one of our local colleges and figured out it was the marketing part that really sparked my interest. From that moment, I took it and just ran with it. When you figure out what that spark is for you, you need to ask yourself, why not? Because we tend to hold ourselves back and give ourselves excuses like there's a class and I don't know if I want to pay for it, or there's this and that. I think if we cut out the excuses and just say why not, why shouldn't I go for this right now, let's go all in. In the world of business, you hear the reference 'lean into it,' and they really absolutely mean it. When you see it, when you feel it, lean into that. If you know what that spark is, lean into it and ask yourself why not. If you don't know what that spark is, try different things because it's gonna come up eventually. Maybe it's something you're not even thinking about. We have artists who love to draw and they're not thinking they could make a career out of drawing, but you absolutely can. You can do anything you want to do, so lean into whatever your passion is, whatever that spark is that's getting you going.

The values most important to me are being intentional with my work and being present in both my professional and personal life. I love taking pictures of people that are happy, and I'm deep into writing. My children's book stemmed from writing little stories and little poems, and one day I asked myself why not write a book. A lot of my hobbies have led into further aspects of my career. In my spare time, I have a passion for photography, a love of drawing, and a deep love of art. I also enjoy just sitting outside and being grateful and blessed to live in beautiful Hawaii with the beach down the street, being able to go swim in the ocean and enjoy my time in nature. I thoroughly enjoy being part of our beautiful community and being able to spend quality time with family and friends. I think sometimes in the world we live in, we forget that we're social creatures, and sometimes we get tired after a couple hours and want time to ourselves, but the idea of just being around people who really support you and people who will make you want to drive further is so important. When I'm not working like a maniac, I want to just be present with people and things, whether that's out in nature, in community, or with family and friends. I think putting down the phone and turning things off and just letting yourself be in the moment is really important when you're not going crazy. As I joked with a friend who's a well-known PhD here in Hawaii, if your eye is not twitching, you don't have to take another project. If you're not on fire or feel like you're drowning, what are you doing? But when we're not throwing ourselves into those things, we need to be completely present and grounded in the moment, taking time to really be grateful for the present.