A Place to Call Home

When asked about how her first four months working at KKV have been, Raenelle Bras says, “I was looking for a home, and I feel like this is home.” As KKV’s new Maternal Child Health Program Director, Raenelle has several departments under her care, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Family Strengthening, Family Planning, Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also balances this work with community outreach, keeping track of grants, and reporting. Raenelle says her vast background through her many studies throughout her life prepared her for this position.  

Raenelle was born in upcountry Maui and raised on a little ranch with her family. From a very early age, her and her siblings learned how to work on the land and produce their own food. “The community I grew up in was all about sharing. We gave our goods away, and we got stuff in return,” she explained. Raenelle says she always knew she wanted to go into healthcare when she grew up. As a child, she faced many obstacles when it came to her health, including a hearing impediment. She was constantly around nurses and doctors, which got her interested in how healthcare works. “I felt so thankful for what they did for me and others,” she said, “I wanted to do what they did.”  

After graduating from Maui High School, she was interested in going to the continent for college but decided to stay close to home and attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her interest in healthcare led her to study dietetics for three and a half years. She then had a change of heart and decided to switch her major to speech pathology and audiology.  

After graduating from college, Raenelle worked for a private mental health contractor for the state. She says she was lucky enough to work her way up to personnel director within the company, and then promoted to chief financial officer two years after that. During her time there, she never stopped her passion for learning. Outside of work, she took various business courses, which helped her excel in the office setting and expand her knowledge outside of healthcare. “But after all those years of office work, I still had a dream of being in hands-on clinical healthcare. The thought was always in the back of my mind,” she said. Raenelle took a leap of faith and left her CFO position to pursue her nursing degree.  

Raenelle says this next phase of her life challenged her more than anything. While she worked hard to get into the UH Nursing Program, she was also raising a family. “I got accepted into nursing school just as I gave birth to my first child,” she said, “it was rough.” Raenelle was simultaneously going to school, taking care of a newborn, and working a part time administrative job to support her family. She recalls a time when she stayed awake for 72 hours straight. This period of her life challenged her physically and mentally. “My motto is ‘if there’s a will, there’s a way’. I just had to push through it, and I did,” she said. Raenelle’s passion for healthcare and helping others propelled her through this difficult time, allowing her to see her dreams become reality.  

Upon graduating from nursing school, Raenelle took on several private nursing jobs over the years. She says she was able to work her way up at many companies because of her extensive background in healthcare, business, and human resources. She also went on to pursue her master’s degree in public health nursing. One of her most exciting jobs was working at the Kula Hospital managing the only unit in the state for intellectually-delayed children and adults. “Not only did I get to use my knowledge in nursing, but also speech pathology and dietetics. And I got to return home to Maui!” She says it was bittersweet to leave this position after two years, as she returned to Oʻahu to reunite with her family and children.  

When she returned to Oʻahu, she got connected with a KKV employee who encouraged her to apply. “He said the [Maternal Child Health] director seemed like a good fit for me and what I wanted to do.” Raenelle spent much of her career focused on geriatric populations, so she was excited to be able to now work with families and children. KKV really appealed to her because she’s always had a fondness for addressing disparities in healthcare on a larger scale. “I want to prevent problems before they start,” she said, “helping young kids leads to strong families.” Her feeling that KKV was the right fit for her solidified after experiencing Hoʻoulu ʻĀina, KKV’s 100-acre nature preserve, as it reminded her of Maui and the ranch she grew up on. “It almost felt like a calling. Since being here, everyday I tell myself how lucky I am to work here.” Raenelle explained that she worked many jobs in her life, so at this point she knew exactly what she wanted out of her work, and KKV checked all the boxes for her.  

After being named KKV’s new MCH Director in March 2024, Raenelle says she still has a lot to learn. But one instance that really stood out to her was during a visit to Kalihi Waena Elementary School with the Family Strengthening and Planning teams. “They were presenting to 5th graders, and I just went along to observe,” she said. Raenelle remembers feeling so moved because the students were engaged in the presentation, and she felt her team was really making a difference in their lives. “It gives me hope. It's nice to see students so eager and excited to learn.” One of Raenelle’s biggest goals for her department is to expand and do more outreach with schools in our community. She hopes educating youth will fuel their passion to learn and create strong families of their own one day. Raenelle emphasized wanting to make the families and children she works with feel how she does at KKV, like they’re home.