Representative Hanohano grew up in a truly Hawaiian environment with two sisters and two brothers in the rural costal area of Puna. As a Native Hawaiian, Representative Hanohano debates issues on the floor in her first language, Hawaiian, and then translating into her second language, English, for her colleagues. 
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Representative Hanohano credits her childhood experiences that shaped her values, self-motivation, and perseverance.  Growing up in the last half of the century, Representative Hanohano witnessed firsthand the ending of the sugar mill plantation era and a shift from an agriculture based economy to being dependent on imported oil. 
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As an alumni of Kamehameha Schools, and the University of Hawai'i, Representative Hanohano believes with patient, due diligence, and a blending of Native Hawaiian practices and Western Ideology; Hawai'i  can once again be truly called the Aloha State.