Kristina L. Hulama

Graduate School of Social Work PhD student Kristina 'Tina" L. Hulama (she/her) is from Wai’anae/Kapolei, Hawai’i. She earned her BA in psychology (2015) and an MSW with a specialization in health (2022) from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She recently became a Licensed Social Worker in Hawai’i and Colorado and is working towards obtaining her clinical licensure. 

Tina has worked in social services for the past eight years. She has experience working closely with the child welfare system (CWS) in Hawai'i and Colorado. Kristina was a program director at Catholic Charities Hawai’i and an investigator in the CWS sexual abuse unit. In addition to her experience working and supporting ‘ohana (families) going through the CWS, she has previous work experience as a crisis therapist, applied behavioral analysis therapist, and registered behavior technician. 

Tina is a current graduate research assistant at the University of Denver and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She has worked on quantitative, qualitative, and legal research projects: crime seriousness; tribal consultation; how tenure impacts Indigenous research; oceans and human health systems mapping; conceptualization of historical trauma in Native Hawaiian youth; and Pandemic Parenting. Tina co-authored current articles under review and received her first publication, "Ke ala i ka Mauliola: Native Hawaiian Youth Experiences with Historical Trauma" (2022). She also presented pandemic parenting research at the Council on Social Work Education 2022 Annual Program Meeting. Her research interests include intersectional discrimination, historical trauma, medical gaslighting, and critical consciousness in health care and the CWS.

• MSW, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa