HONOLULU (HI Now) - For Dr. Diane Paloma, place is everything — Hawai‘i is both her foundation and her source of strength.
She still lives in the Aina Haina home where she grew up, surrounded by neighbors she’s known her whole life. “Just last weekend, my neighbor’s oven broke,” she laughs.
“She had to make banana bread, so she called us up and she said, hey, can I use your oven? And we’re like, absolutely. Do you think you can drop off a loaf of banana bread with that? We’ll take that as payment.” That small exchange, she says, captures what growing up in Hawai‘i means to her: enduring relationships, deep roots, and community that cares.
The eldest of three, Paloma attended Kamehameha Schools — a choice her father made to connect her to her Hawaiian roots. “My dad is pure Japanese, my mom is Chinese Hawaiian, and I remember dad saying you know what Diane, I gotta send you to Kamehameha so you can learn about your Hawaiian side,” she said. “It was a great, great foundation for me. I love performing arts, so of course, like music, mele, hula, art was really a big plus for me.”
After earning a degree in physiological science at UCLA, Paloma planned to become a physician. But when she didn’t get into medical school, her path — and perspective — changed. “I sat down with my parents at the kitchen table, and it was almost like this formal apology,” she said. “But it was my dad who said, ‘No, I think I owe you the apology because we just put you in that profession.’ That early failure was probably, yeah, literally probably the best thing that ever happened to me.”
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That lesson opened new doors. She went on to leadership roles at HMSA, the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and The Queen’s Health Systems before becoming CEO of the King Lunalilo Trust and Lunalilo Home. When COVID-19 hit, she faced one of the hardest moments of her career. “At the peak of COVID when we were looking at potentially sending residents home with their families, I felt that kuleana of me as the leader of this organization that I did not have control or I did not have the ability to take care of my residents,” she said. “Lots of pule... trusting in your employees, I had some awesome managers and awesome staff who showed up every day.”
She showed up too. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work too,” she said. “To me that’s also a value because I’ve seen that over the years for leaders that really would get down and dirty and like roll up their sleeves and get it there and with you.”
Hula remains her grounding force. She has been dancing since she was in grade school, and practices with her hālau every Sunday without fail. “We always say hula is life,” she said. “It’s not an extracurricular activity for us, it’s a philosophy and it’s the way in which we process the world.”
As a ho’opa‘a — the chanter — she carries the rhythm and energy that moves her hālau.
“There is a ‘Ōlelo no‘eau that says, I le‘a ka hula i ka ho‘opa‘a. So the vibrancy or the cheerfulness and the animation of the hula is really driven by the chanter.”
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At 40, Paloma faced her greatest personal test — a breast cancer diagnosis. “My 40th gift from the universe was a breast cancer diagnosis,” she said. “There’s nothing like mortality to give you a good kick in the butt, to make you think of what is most meaningful.”
Guided by oncologist Dr. Clayton Chong, she chose a bilateral mastectomy. “I’m so grateful to have come out on the other side, right, cancer-free,” she said. “The universe gave me an extra pass and said, okay, like, come on, Diane, now’s your time. What are you gonna do with this rest of the remainder of that?”
Today, she leads Hawai‘i Dental Service with the same philosophy she brings to hula, and the same advice she gives her three daughters. “Be kind, have aloha,” she said.
“When you interact with people, make sure that kindness and aloha are those foundational spaces for you.”
This episode of A Leader’s Journey follows Dr. Diane Paloma’s path — from daughter and dancer to healer and CEO — shaped by kuleana, faith, and the rhythm of hula. The 10-part series profiles Hawai‘i leaders one at a time — exploring the moments that define them, the lessons they’ve learned, and the wisdom they carry forward.
A Leader’s Journey airs Mondays at 7pm on K5. Weekly episodes encore on KHNL, KGMB, and stream on HNN platforms.
To watch A Leader’s Journey’s weekly episodes, visit www.hawaiinewsnow.com/leadersjourney.
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