Where Are They Now? Erin Leake - Youth Tour 2010

By Allison Young  

For this issue, we talked story with Erin Leake, an alumnus from Youth Tour 2010. Erin is from Līhuʻe and graduated from Kauaʻi High. She lives on Kauaʻi in Līhue and is raising her four children while working for the Department of Education.  

Aloha, Erin. What’s your favorite memory from Youth Tour?  

My favorite memory was connecting with fellow tour members from our sister co-op group in Kansas. I am still in contact with one of my roommates until this day. I will never forget thinking to myself, "Wow, she lives thousands of miles away, not surrounded by ocean, but we share so many similarities in the way we were brought up in our communities.”  

In the same sense, as we toured Washington, D.C., with other high school students from across the nation, it was a beautiful moment of embracing each other's unique differences and reminding myself that we are unified in our differences. 

Tell us about your path after graduation.  

After graduation, I spent some time working toward a degree while balancing being a young mother. I proudly took the time to focus on my kids and family. I currently work for the Department of Education, Office of Talent Management.  

Recently, our family celebrated my oldest son graduating high school and attending college at Seattle University this past fall semester. I am a busy mama of three other children who are 10 years old, 8 years old and 5 months old. When I'm not at the baseball or softball field, I spend time volunteering with the community or at church.  

Do you have any advice for parents trying to balance work and family life? 

Being a parent is the hardest job, and we all deserve to be reminded that doing our best is enough. Give yourself grace daily, even if the day looks messy or not everything goes as planned.  

What do you like to do in your free time?  

I always love spending time with my children, but aside from that, I've enjoyed being at CrossFit and making leis. Recently, I've found a new hobby in jiujitsu and running marathons. My favorite marathon is the Kauaʻi Marathon, which I ran this year.  

Which one of KIUC’s Ho‘oka‘ana Waiwai shared values most resonates with you? 

Ho'omau would be the shared value that resonates most with me: "I will not waiver from the path.” When life's circumstances take the wheel, this is a beautiful reminder to persevere and be resilient in the face of challenges. 

Top: Erin ran the 2025 Kauai Marathon with her best friend, Kayla Perez-Simao. 

Erin drops off her oldest son, Jaevyn, at college. 

Youth Tour 2010