Paula Akana, Executive Director of ʻIolani Palace
The palace closed in March 2020 along with museums and event venues across the country, causing industry layoffs and millions lost in revenue. It reopened in June, but it only had enough money to operate for a few months.
Paula Akana, executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace, started her position in summer 2019.
"There wasn’t any endowment here at the palace when I came in. So when the pandemic hit, we were really just devastated financially and mentally by everything that was going on," she said.
The palace recently had its first Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiven by the SBA and it applied for the second round, Akana said.