Our Team

Tessa Palafu, B.A.

Tessa Palafu (she/her) is a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Oregon. She graduated from Hawaiʻi Pacific University with a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science. Before joining the lab, Tessa served as a research assistant at the Baker Center for Children and Families, Implementation Research Division under the mentorship of Dr. Kelsie Okamura.

Tessa is passionate about promoting mental health equity for Indigenous populations, namely Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). In service of this overarching goal, she is interested in research that; 1) explores the impact of historical trauma on NHPI groups, 2) investigates the role of culture in delivering effective mental health services for NHPI populations, and 3) seeks to understand effective strategies to implement/deliver quality mental health services in community settings. She is especially committed to conducting this work through community-based and community-engaged approaches. In her free time, you can find Tessa reading a book, listening to Taylor Swift, or napping. 

Representative Publications and Presentations:

  • Palafu, T., Inouye, C., French, N., Okamoto, S.K., Okamura, K.H. (2025, April). Shifting the paradigm to address equity: Community-driven implementation of substance use prevention curriculum for adolescents. Oral presentation presented to the 40th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

  • Palafu, T., Carreira Ching, D.L., Acosta, V.M., Okamoto, S.K., Okamura, K.H. (2024). Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander identity and housing status: The impact on historical trauma and perceived stress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21 (9), 1249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091249

  • Okamura. K. H., Palafu, T., An, K., Marshall, S. M., Chin, S. K., Stern, K. A., Powell, B. J., Becker, S. J., Mandell, D. S., & Okamoto, S. K. (2024). “Allowing space for voice…all our voices:” Understanding Ho‘ouna Pono implementation through community and educator perspectives in rural Hawai‘i schools. School Mental Health. DOI: 10.1007/s12310-024-09660-y

  • Palafu, T., & Carreira Ching, D.L., (2024, September). Healing through heritage: A discussion of historical trauma in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Talk presented to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division Evidence Based Services Committee Roundtable.