About Kumu Karen
Our
dear friend and teacher/kumu Karen Leialoha Carroll
lives in Hawaii on the island of Oahu with her
husband, RC. Her six grown children have blessed her
with 14 grandchildren. “I am rich with
grandchildren!”, she laughs.
Kumu was born and raised on Oahu, and graduated from
the Kamehameha Schools, an elite school for children
of Hawaiian ancestry. She received a nursing degree
and also interned with Papa Kalua Kaiahua, the great
Hawaiian healer from Maui. She is descended from a
family of spiritual healers from the Big Island and
Oahu.
Her jobs have included: Mortgage processor, triage
appointment clerk, Clinical nursing,
medical-Surgical nursing, Psychiatric nursing, and
owner/operator of two adult residential care homes
and senior day care program. Kumu has owned and
operated a 4-acre white ginger farm and sold white
Micronesian ginger leis in retail outlets
island-wide. She is the founder of a non-profit
organization, and has taught classes in caregiver
training for families, as well as organized ukulele
classes for disadvantaged children. She was the
activity director for Lunalilo Home, a care facility
for elderly Hawaiians that was set up by Hawaii’s
King William Charles Lunalilo. As their Kahu,
minister, she did clearings, blessings and services
for them and continues to do blessings for homes and
businesses in Hawaii, Japan, and on the mainland.
Currently, Kumu teaches Lomilomi at Hawaii Healing
Arts College in Kailua, and at the National Holistic
Institute in San Francisco and LA. She provides
Lomilomi seminars to Japanese-speaking students. She
also teaches Lomilomi to families who want to be
able to share it with other family members and
friends.
“My life is so full,” she says, “I am truly blessed”
