Guest Contributor

Olin Lagon

Olin Lagon is a Native Hawaiian technologist, U.S. Navy and Peace Corps veteran, and cofounder of Hawaiʻi-born companies and organizations that have scaled to serve millions of people worldwide, like ChipIn, the first general purpose crowdfunding service, which directed over $100 million to causes around the globe.

His community work applies large-scale engineering innovation to tough challenges in Kanaka ʻŌiwi communities, health, finance, and clean energy. He currently serves on the boards of Ceeds of Peace, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, ʻŌlelo Community Media, and the Economic Revitalization Commission. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office featured his story as a national innovator in its Journeys of Innovation series.

You can reach him by email at columnists@civilbeat.org. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

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Olin Lagon: Who Are Native Hawaiians Most Related To? You May Be Surprised Herbert K. Kane, LLC.

Olin Lagon: Who Are Native Hawaiians Most Related To? You May Be Surprised

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A new study finds the same waʻa settled both Hawaiʻi and Easter Island, carrying genes that leave some at risk of rare diseases.

Olin Lagon: The Legacy Of Kalo May Teach You About Your Tomorrow Courtesy Olin Lagon

Olin Lagon: The Legacy Of Kalo May Teach You About Your Tomorrow

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It made me think about lei, and the possibility that a kalo plant could flower and deliver a different version of itself.

Olin Lagon: This Moth Fired Up My Curiosity Charles J. Sharp

Olin Lagon: This Moth Fired Up My Curiosity

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We need to encourage our flame keepers, not snuff their spark out. A hummingbird moth I encountered in Pālolo is part of that fire.

Olin Lagon: The Story Behind ‘Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī’ You Might Not Know Hawaiʻi State Archives

Olin Lagon: The Story Behind ‘Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī’ You Might Not Know

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The name Nalanieha left me curious. It took me to a German army musician on loan to Hawaiʻi and one of the worldʻs most popular guitar shapes.

Olin Lagon: The Kalihi Street That Helped Rebuild A Country Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2024

Olin Lagon: The Kalihi Street That Helped Rebuild A Country

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We pass extraordinary stories every day without seeing them. This one was hiding in a name.

Olin Lagon: A Lesson From Kūhiō Park Terrace And Kahoʻolawe (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: A Lesson From Kūhiō Park Terrace And Kahoʻolawe

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This is a story about hard places, some of them more difficult to visit than others.

Olin Lagon: The Government Decided This Food Was Dirty (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: The Government Decided This Food Was Dirty

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After a cholera outbreak, it took 100 years to make it legal to sell unregulated and hand-pounded kalo again.

Olin Lagon: No Hog Cheese (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: No Hog Cheese

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Scarcity is supposed to make people hoard. Somebody forgot to tell us. Mostly.

Olin Lagon: State Budget Is Not Hard To Understand. We Just Explain It Badly

Olin Lagon: State Budget Is Not Hard To Understand. We Just Explain It Badly

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Hawaiʻi’s official budget “brief” runs 163 pages. Here is the whole $20.9 billion in two pictures.