2025 Distinguished Alumna

Dr. Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, known respectfully as Dr. G, is a Native Hawaiian scholar, cultural strategist, and systems thinker whose work bridges Indigenous knowledge with contemporary leadership and organizational transformation. As the founder and chief executive officer of Co3 (Co-Creating Cohesive Communities) Consulting,she guides institutions and leaders in cultivating coherence, belonging, and systemic resilience through the guiding principles of A.L.O.H.A.: Ask, Listen, Observe, Heart-focus, and Adapt.

Born on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii, and raised in Pālolo Valley and Pearl City, Dr. Ebalaroza-Tunnell draws upon her Indigenous roots to bridge ancestral wisdom with modern systems design. She graduated from Washington State University Global Campus in 2011 with a bachelors of arts in social sciences with an emphasis in psychology and holds a doctorate in transformative studies and consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her dissertation, The Evolution of AloHā: Systemic Change through Personal Transformation, explored healing and equity as catalysts for systemic evolution.

Dr. Ebalaroza-Tunnell currently serves as chair-elect on the Board of Directors for the Community Foundation of Snohomish County, where she contributes her expertise in equity, community engagement, and strategic systems thinking to advance collective well-being. She has also partnered with Washington State University’s Global Campus to develop and facilitate the Living A.L.O.H.A. Certificate Program, designed to help individuals and organizations embody the principles of A.L.O.H.A. as a living practice for personal and systemic transformation

In addition to her leadership and academic contributions, Dr. Ebalaroza-Tunnell serves as an oral historian for the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, gathering and preserving survivor stories as an act of truth-telling, healing, and justice. In 2025, she will travel to Aotearoa (New Zealand) to present her work on the Guiding Principles of A.L.O.H.A. at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE)—a global gathering of Indigenous educators, scholars, and leaders committed to advancing Indigenous knowledge systems and educational sovereignty.

An internationally recognized author, Dr. Ebalaroza-Tunnell wrote Let’s Live A.L.O.H.A., a two-time award-winning children’s book that fosters empathy, adaptability, and interconnectedness in readers of all ages. Across her teaching, consulting, and storytelling, Dr. G embodies the living practice of Aloha—as both a personal discipline and a collective ethic—calling humanity to lead with compassion, courage, and coherence in a rapidly changing world.