Rep. Jeanne Kapela was born in Kona and raised on a small coffee farm in the nearby town of Captain Cook. She graduated from Konawaena High School in 2012. She previously served as a member of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association board of directors and Director of the Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Competition. She founded Unite Hawai'i in 2015, an organization devoted to ending sexual exploitation through education. Today, she serves as the prevention education coordinator for Imua Alliance, a nonprofit service provider for victims of sex trafficking. As a leader in Hawai'i's efforts to combat sexual slavery, she has facilitated anti-violence education programming to over 2,000 of Hawai'i's children. She also serves as a member of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival board of directors, Lions Club of Kona member, and communications chair for Konawaena High School's 100th Anniversary Committee. Jeanne is a classically trained ballet dancer and has performed with some of the nation's most prestigious ballet companies, including Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and the American Ballet Academy. She served as Miss Hawai'i 2015 and won the title of Miss Congeniality at the Miss America competition.
