Hina Wilkerson
As Lead Creative Strategist, Hina combines her cultural heritage and media expertise to produce grounded, yet forward-thinking media strategies. She’s adept at, and has a passion for, projects that address social and political change. Having worked in fine art, technology, conservation, and consumer spaces, Hina brings an interdisciplinary approach to media and communications, pulling equally from her experiences with small business owners in Hawai’i, to a global PR firm in New York City.
As a youth, Hinaʻs experiences at Montessori and Native Hawaiian Charter schools set the tone for her academic and personal interests long term. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, she earned an AA in Hawaiian Studies, a B.A in Communicology and a Minor in religion, eventually graduating magna cum laude from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa. Her time as an undergrad birthed an interest in photography and communications, which led to freelance media work for local organizations. Hina also worked for the Honolulu Museum of Art and Apple, sparking a desire to learn about digital storytelling and asynchronous connectivity. Collectively, her experiences at this time illuminated a lack of access and media literacy among small, native-owned businesses, which is a need that continues to fuel her commitment to building community capacity.
As one of four women to be awarded a Weber Shandwick Fellowship from NYU in 2018, Hina moved to New York City to pursue her M.A in media, culture, and communication. Her fellowship positioned her to move between learning at a top university and a globally recognized public relations firm. As a Fellow she served on the social impact team, supporting campaigns centered around sustainability, human rights, and advocacy for companies like Facebook, Dannon, Pizza Hut, and Riot Games. She also deepened her understanding of international business through a summer detail at Weber Shandwick Berlin. During her tenure at NYU she served as Communication Supervisor for NYU’s Office of Sustainability, creating campaigns around energy conservation, green initiatives, and new infrastructure.
Hinaʻs exit from academia speaks volumes about her creative approach, which is always a synthesis of her personal and professional interests. Her Masterʻs Thesis, entitled ‘The Husband Did It: How Podcasting is Creating A New Feminist True Crime Genre', served as an investigation of true crime podcasts – the ethics and impact of the genre. Her research illuminated the very real connection between storytelling and real crime statistics. The data suggests that the lack of diversity in true crime, and therefore media broadly, can influence societyʻs ability to see certain groups of people as victims, which in turn, decreases the likelihood of their cases being investigated. In recent years, true crime has been taken over by women-led podcasts that have made the genre more diverse and victim-centered. This sea-change has created the space and opportunity to finally acknowledge the ways in which injustice and false convictions are fueled by inherent bias and systemic racism.
During her free time, Hina co-hosts two podcasts – The Upvote, and the soon-to-be launched, Parasocial. Above all, Hina sees herself as a storyteller, looking for connection across space, time and medium.
