UNIFYING THE COMMUNITY:
Matapuna Levenson
BY YAJANETSY
RUANO
Matapuna Levenson at her YWCA Utah office in Salt Lake City.
W
hen Matapuna “Puna” Levenson’s older brother had
a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the
chest down, her family’s lives changed. Although only 15
years old, she and her mother became his main caretakers.
Those responsibilities helped Puna mature and become
very aware of her situation as a Pacific Islander in her home
state of Hawaii. Since then, advocating for people with
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disabilities has always been a need she’s been drawn to
because of her upbringing. The impact of a woman of
color in her community and family is one that is earned.
Puna has worked hard and represented her own culture
in the best light.
Her journey led her to become more and more involved
with initiatives that catered to helping others, especially