Léo Azambuja is a reporter covering the County Council and other local government affairs on Maui. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he has been in Hawaii since 1991, living his life-long dream of surfing perfect waves.

Léo started his career at The Molokai Dispatch, straight out of the University of Hawaii Mānoa where he earned degrees in journalism and Spanish language in 2007. His year spent on Molokaʻi as a reporter and assistant editor gave him a broader perspective on Hawaiʻi politics and Native Hawaiian affairs. Since he left the Friendly Island in 2008, he has returned there several times as an interim editor whenever there was a need.

Back on Kauaʻi, he freelanced for many publications across the islands, including the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Maui Times, Haleakala Times, The Garden Island and the alternative Honolulu Weekly. In 2010, he started working at The Garden Island as a political reporter and later also as the assistant editor. He also published several political cartoons in many newspapers in Hawaiʻi.

In 2014, Léo joined the monthly community newspaper For Kauai as the editor in chief. For the next 10 years on the job, he strongly promoted the Hawaiian culture. This eventually led to his name engraved at the pedestal of the recently unveiled life-size bronze statue of King Kaumualiʻi in front of the Kauaʻi Museum, as one of the people who made the statue possible. For Kauaʻi newspaper also published two glossy magazines during his time there as an editor, with guidance from Kauaʻi’s Hindu Monastery, the publishers of Hinduism Today.

He has won state awards on investigative reporting, enterprise reporting, editorial opinion, photography, online news reporting, and community reporting.

Léo strongly believes local politics is the root of democracy; it’s where the people have the most power to create laws and initiate change across the nation.

Any tips are welcome and won’t be ignored. Reach him via email at lazambuja@civilbeat.org.