Let's Meet Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui
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Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui
Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui of Capital Nature is a lover of nature, photographer and seeker of rainbows - she lives in Burke, VA with her husband Nik and sweet pup Lani.
Ana welcome thanks so much for taking the time to be here and chat!
So tell the readers a bit about yourself: I was born Ann Leilani Ka’ahanui, but I changed my name legally to Ana in my 20s for a few reasons. When I was in 8th grade in Hawaii, my Grandfather, Charles A’a Ka’ahanui, gifted me with a Hawaiian Heritage ring and necklace with the Hawaiian spelling of my name “Ana” engraved on it. The ring only fit my wedding finger so I was wearing a gold band until I got to college! While I lived in Rome, Italy from 1992-1996, the Italians called me “Ana” and I decided it sounded much better with my middle and last names, so I changed it.
Nik, Anna and Lani
I met my husband Nikhil (Nik) Raval working at the Borders Books and Music at Pentagon Centre. Fun fact: He doesn’t ever call me “Ana” but the nickname “Hapa” which means “half” or “mixed” in Hawaiian. The term describes that I’m half islander and half Caucasian. We did things out of the conventional order since we are not conventional. We got a place together, adopted our dog Zoe, bought a house in Burke, VA and then got married on Sept 10, 2005. We had a wonderful 11 years with Border-Collie-Retriever Mix Zoe and now have adorable pup Lani, which means “heaven” in Hawaiian. My Mother Mary Ann claims that she suggested the name. Both dogs were adopted from Lost Dog Rescue and we knew Lani was destined to be ours when we found out that she was born on our wedding anniversary!
Please tell us what did you studied in school and what your 9 to 5 gig is: I graduated from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC with a degree in Foreign Languages. I studied abroad at the University of Nice, France and at Loyola University of Chicago’s Rome Center in Italy, where I later returned for two years after graduation serving as a resident advisor. I’ve also worked as an Event Planner for a government contractor and as a Community Relations Coordinator for Border Books & Music.
I’ve worked at the U.S. Green Building Council since 2003 in various capacities that connect people to the green world. As employee #22, I'm a veteran on the staff of 300+ people. I started as a Workshop Manager, then managed curriculum development and also did a year on the operations and facilities team. Currently I’m on the Marketing and Communications team, I manage projects, curate digital assets and serve as the staff photographer.
Capital Nature - how did this venture start and it’s goal: Part of my job at the U.S. Green Building Council was leading public tours of our very sustainable LEED Platinum headquarters. Over 10 years, I led over 850 tours for more than 14,000 guests. One of the design concepts is called biophilic design, incorporating elements that make the tenants feel more connected to nature. “Biophilia” means “love of life, love of nature.” Studies show that when people feel a connection to nature, they are happier, healthier and more productive. We have lots of daylight, views of the outdoors from our desks, reclaimed wood furniture and decor, plants throughout, images and symbols of nature and a 2-story water feature.
Utilizing The iNaturalist App
I enjoyed using the built environment as a teaching tool and especially sharing what biophilia means with our visitors. This love of biophilia led me to attending programs by Biophilic DC, a civic initiative co-founded by Stella Tarnay. She and I started having lunches and calls in 2017 and officially started our nonprofit Capital Nature in January of 2018. Our mission is to connect DC area residents and visitors to the unique nature activities in the region. We offer our own programs such as nature and forest bathing walks. We also curate a web events calendar where we hand-pick events and promote dozens of organizations in the area. We want it to be the one-stop location for anyone looking to do something outdoors, whether it be planting trees, pulling invasive plants, learning about mushrooms or doing yoga in a park. We are also very engaged with citizen science activities, where lay people help scientists make observations and collect data using the app iNaturalist. We are on the leadership team for the global City Nature Challenge. This year, we had a great turnout, placing in the top 10 in all 4 categories out of 445 cities in 47 countries.
My article “stepping into nature” was featured in the annual journal "Avenues" published by the Urban Design Committee of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It captures my nature journey from seeing a leaf on a walk, to becoming trained as a Virginia Master Naturalist to being certified as a Forest Therapy Guide. Here is the Facebook post I did about it.
stepping Into Nature Written by Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui
I was so happy with this Washington Post article by John Kelly from May 4, 2021. He attended one of my walks in DC:
Cleansing the soul and restoring the spirit with a spot of forest bathing
I was very lucky to grow up in Hawaii, being surrounded by some of the most gorgeous nature in the world. I didn’t become a “nature nerd” until later in life.
I was thrilled to be contacted by KCRW, the NPR affiliate in Los Angeles, to do an interview about trees and forest bathing! They had seen the article about me in the Washington Post. They have an hour-long Saturday afternoon program called Life Examined, which explores science, philosophy, faith — and finding meaning in the modern world.
My 15-minute segment followed an interview with the German forester Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees, one of my favorite tree books! On their website, they also list our interviews separately, but I encourage you to listen to Peter's segment, as you will learn fascinating things about trees. One funny thing I learned about myself: I say "Absolutely" before I answer questions. I need to work on that! Shout out to Nik for taking the photos of me for my segment and I'm thrilled they used my #thedailyleaf Instagram collage as the cover image for the full episode and Lani's paw is included.
Ana I know Rainbows are deeply special to you - can you tell the readers what they mean to you and how they manifest around you: Rainbows give me so much joy! Growing up in Hawaii, you see rainbows every day. When we moved to Virginia when I was in 8th grade, I had a rainbow bedroom, maybe to remind me of Hawaii. My mother Mary Ann is an artist and made me several decorative items, many of which I still have. I have collected many rainbow items over the years and have been posting #thedailyrainbow photos on my Instagram. It can be anything showing the colors of the rainbow. Friends and family now text, email and tag me on rainbow images which makes me so happy. 💜🌈
What I learned about myself is that I have very specific color shades that I prefer for rainbows, with images that represent them. For example, I prefer primary colors over pastels. I did a personal Google survey a few years ago asking friends and family to list the items that remind them of their favorite colors in the rainbow. What I discovered is that many favorites are tied to childhood memories and life experiences. For example, several people chose colors based on their favorite sports teams. Here are my favorites and the image that best describe them:
Pink: Strawberry Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink from my childhood
Red: Red Skittles
Orange: Dutch National Soccer Team Jerseys
Yellow: a tie between Candy Corn and Sunflowers
Green: Kermit the Frog
Blue: My royal blue wool coat
Purple: Grape Ape cartoon from my childhood
A goal of mine is to take the responses from the survey and make a collage of all the things that represent each color for my family and friends. I find it all very fascinating.
Ana’s love of color started young. Age 3
I know you have a creative eye. You are often seen with your camera in hand. How many years have you been into photography: I’ve had a camera since I was about 10 years old and have always enjoyed taking photos. One of my best friends has said there would be no record of her childhood if I hadn’t been taking so many photos. Consequently, I have amassed thousands of images over the years, all in boxes in our home. It’s on my to-do list to Marie Kondo those photos, go through them, purge and organize. I have memories of the anticipation of getting film developed and hoping photos came out. In my late 20s, I did take one photo developing class that was really fun. I enjoyed being in the dark room and watching the images come to life. I’m so thankful for digital photography as it’s easier to store and organize photos. I keep all my pics in Dropbox for ease of sharing and posting. I am the USGBC photographer and have taken over 300 staff headshots as well as pics for dozens of programs. On a personal level, I love to photodocument events like baby showers and other special occasions, then gift photos to people. I’ve also trained my husband that if a meal looks Instagram-worthy, he’s not allowed to eat until I’ve photographed it! I won a DC photo contest several years ago called “Capitol Hill Dogs” with an entry of our pup Zoe called “bliss.” I am always thrilled to have my photos published in magazines and online. My proudest accomplishment is making it into 4 editions of the “365 Dogs Page-a-Day Calendar,” which has a distribution of 5 million.
documenting insects at a pollinator garden in Washington, DC
Tell us more about your creativity: I love how people are creative in different ways. For example, my mother, Mary Ann Kaahanui, can do everything. She can crochet, knit, sew, embroider, paint, do calligraphy, design dolls, make beaded jewelry. etc. While I’ve made beaded jewelry, surprisingly I don’t do any of those other crafts. I consider myself creative in other ways. From when I was young, I could make things out of paper. Mother’s and Father’s Day cards were innovative or in 3D and I loved doing découpage, stamping and embossing as I got older.
My maternal Grandfather, Paul Zetts, Sr., was a jack of all trades. He could “McGyver” anything you needed and I inherited that from him. I enjoy coming up with ways to use unconventional items. For example, during the Christmas holidays, I’m able to take colored plastic tablecloths and make palm trees and a volcano for our Dancing Hula Santa. When I was in college, I made and sold earrings made from Friendly Plastic. While living in Rome, I made beaded souvenir jewelry that I sold on campus and at the American Embassy in Rome. My little cards said “Accents by Ana.”
Any plans for the rest of 2022 you’d care to share: This is my 19th year at USGBC and while I love our mission, my colleagues and our work, I’m ready for a new adventure. Stella and I started Capital Nature 4 years ago. Neither of us have ever been motivated by money so fundraising has been a challenge. I’m not willing to leave my paid job until we have some funding and it’s been slow going. Ultimately. I’d like to leave USGBC and work on connecting people to nature full time.
Tree Appreciation Walk
My forest bathing practice is getting busier with requests from local botanic gardens, parks, schools, churches, counties and other civic groups. I get so much gratification from leading forest bathing walks (slow, meditative walks in nature) and am thrilled to get people of all ages involved in citizen science. I especially love leading tree appreciation walks. Through Capital Nature, we are growing our list of collaborators and partners. National Geographic and Patagonia in Georgetown have awarded us micro-grants and we continue to push forward in search of grants and other funding opportunities.
One thing I’ve learned in the last few years is how to balance my 9-5 job with running a nonprofit, having a family life and keeping up with friends. It can be really challenging at times and sometimes I may push myself too far, but in the end, it’s all worth it to me. My favorite words are “wonder” and “joy” and I try to live by them as best I can.
Ana I can’t say thank you enough for saying yes when I asked! And friends Ana is not only an interesting and creative soul but, she’s also my cousin!
You can find Ana on Facebook & Instagram
Capital Nature on Facebook & Instagram
Til next time friends be well!
