OUR MO'OLELO

When Joseph K. Simpliciano Jr. came home from serving in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, he expected to be welcomed by the familiar beauty of his Waiʻanae coastline  the same stretch of sand and sea that had shaped his childhood. Instead, he found burnt-out cars rusting in the sun, houseless families camped along the shore, and beaches left neglected by the systems meant to protect them.

For Joseph, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran, the sight was more than disheartening it was a call to action. The land that had once given him strength now needed healing. Guided by aloha ʻāina (love for the land) and kuleana (responsibility), he founded Kingdom Pathways  not as a program or project, but as a movement to restore both ʻāina and community.

His roots run deep. Joseph descends from Kekuʻiapoiwa II, mother of King Kamehameha the Great, and Henry Kanihonui, a Kingdom of Hawaiʻi subject who signed the historic Kūʻē Petition against annexation. Those ancestral ties —to courage, resilience, and sovereignty hape every decision he makes. “Our kūpuna already showed us the way,” he often says. “We just have to follow the path they left for us.”

Standing beside him is his wife, Carmen Guzman-Simpliciano, Co-Founder of Kingdom Pathways and a proud descendant of ʻUmi a Līloa. Carmen carries a quiet strength, one grounded in culture and compassion. She leads with vision restoring the wetlands of Pōkaʻī Bay, protecting native species, and building spaces where keiki and kūpuna can learn side by side.

Together, Joseph and Carmen have turned heartbreak into hope. They’ve led beach and park cleanups, revived native planting, and created programs that teach the next generation to care for their home. Their work weaves together science, culture, and community reminding everyone that healing the ʻāina begins with healing ourselves.

Through Kingdom Pathways, they are proving that change is possible  that with love, courage, and connection to place, a community can rise again. In every grain of sand and every tide that returns, their message echoes: When we care for the land, the land cares for us.