Kelli Keahiolalo Hanashiro, MSN, FNP-C, RN
Neurology, Neuroscience
Sub-Investigator, Clinical Research Center
Biography
Biography
Kelli Keahiolalo-Hanashiro, MSN, FNP-C, RN is a Family Nurse Practitioner whose professional journey is deeply rooted in her love for Hawaiʻi and her commitment to serving its people. Having grown up in Hawaiʻi, Kelli developed a strong sense of community and an enduring desire to give back to the place she calls home. Her career in healthcare has become a natural extension of that commitment—particularly her dedication to individuals and families who are underserved, vulnerable, or too often overlooked by the healthcare system and she chose to fulfil that calling here at Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience.
She earned her Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of California, San Francisco following a Bachelor of Science in General Science from the University of Oregon. Her commitment to underserved communities began in Hawaiʻi, where she worked with the Hawaiʻi Health and Harm Reduction Center caring for individuals facing significant barriers to healthcare. Her work included substance-use services, preventive care, and patient education. She also volunteered as a street outreach worker, providing care to individuals experiencing homelessness in Downtown Honolulu and Chinatown. During the pandemic, she continued serving vulnerable and unsheltered members of the community through public-health and medical outreach efforts.
For Kelli, returning to Hawaiʻi to practice at Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience is more than a career choice—it is an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped her. Her experiences have reinforced her belief that excellent healthcare begins with compassion, dignity, and a willingness to meet people where they are. She is particularly passionate about ensuring that socioeconomic circumstances, homelessness, stigma, or other barriers do not prevent individuals from receiving the care they deserve. Her journey reflects a simple but powerful philosophy: to come home, serve others, and help make healthcare more accessible and compassionate for the people of Hawaiʻi.
