Kona is fascinated by the intersection of the built environment, communities, and the individual. His greatest interest is in designing transportation networks that work for everyone, but he spends a lot of time working toward advancing public education out of the industrial era model and into student-centered approaches. He’s a founding member of ASCEND, a Marysville, WA-based community group that’s envisioning this new education paradigm. In his free time, he’s often found sampling a local coffee roaster, researching whatever’s of interest to him today, or taking a bus to somewhere new.