It's said in Hawaiian: "A'ole pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okahi" - 'One learns from many sources.'
My musical training was more informal than attendance at a conservatory. At an early age, I learned from my father, and later, in school, music theory, etudes, and tunes in increasing complexity. Finding my instrument was a long process, as I experimented with many instruments, including piano, clarinet, guitar, birimbao, the double bass and accordion. 23 years ago, I made a choice to factor more time for music learning and music making.
As a mostly self-taught musician, I have sought training and advice from amateurs and professionals. I continue to create my own learning programs using the advice of many who play a variety of instruments and genres. I have studied in person with nearly all of people below.
Sunita and I met in 2014 at the Southeastern Harp Weekend, where she taught a workshop on harp ergonomics. I join her and Kim Robertson every August (beginning in 2017) for her retreat in Southern Wisconsin. Sunita emphasizes a relaxed approach to the harp in a philosophy she calls "Full-Body Harping" and has impressed upon me the importance of playing pain free.
Somna and I met on a dark and windy night in rural O'ahu in 2006. She emerged from the woods, sat next to the fire, and began playing a small instrument. As I eyes adjusted, I was quite surprised to find that it was a small harp (a black Sharpsicle harp, I discovered later). It was that precise moment, as I sat there transfixed listening to this instrument, that my love of the harp, and my study of it began. 
Megan and I are currently working together to develop my skill, technique and repertoire on the pedal harp. She has helped me overcome a number of obstacles in playing this instrument, which is the same, and also, very different from lever harps.
Christina is a second generation harper and the founder of the International Harp Therapy Program (IHTP). Her series of Creative Harping DVDs introduced me to the modes of music, improvisation, and how to effectively use harp music in healthcare. Christina has literally written the book on Harp Therapy, titled Cradle of Sound. Pitches sounded by the harp can match an individual's unique resonance tone to promote wellness. In addition to her impressive educational outreach, she is an accomplished musician and has published over a dozen albums. I studied with her in person in Burlington, Vermont in July 2011, and in Hilversum, Netherlands in November 2013. I became a certified harp therapy practitioner in June 2014.
Kim plays Celtic harp. Her arrangements of traditional Irish, Scottish, and folk tunes of America are stunning - her use of suspended chords, open fifths, sixths, "extended triads" (1-8-10), counterpoints, dissonance, trills and other ornaments are compelling, exciting, and often astonishing. I had several private lessons with her at Somerset Harp Festival in July 2012, an all-day workshop from her at the Southeastern Harp Weekend in Asheville, NC in October 2014. In August 2017, 2018, and 2019, I attended her 3-day retreats in Southern Wisconsin that she co-hosts with Sunita Stanislow. Kim is an excellent teacher with a great sense of humor and showed me ways to improve arrangements and interesting ways of using suspended chords.
Deborah and Karen Montenaro occasionally offer a week-long class at Celebration Barn in South Paris, Maine. In August 2011, I spent a week with them and learned fundamentals of stage performance and technique, amplification techniques, physical exercises to awaken the spirit and mind, and how to provide healthy critiques of my own work and that of others. I performed a 90-second bit in front of 100 people at Celebration Barn, is a three-story barn on 11 acres of beautiful New England countryside. I have taken three additional online courses in 2014 and 2015 with Deborah on arranging, improvisation, and one that featured one of her most famous pieces, Baroque Flamenco.
Pamela was my first harp teacher via DVD instruction. I began with her "Play the Harp Beautifully" series, consisting of three books and two DVDs. Well-paced and laced with interesting repertoire, I learned basic technique and beginning repertoire suitable for many occasions. Pamela's methodical and slow approach to the mastery of technique helped me develop enough skill to tackle intermediate compositions within a year. Pamela's husband, Dave Woolworth, is an accomplished harp builder and the first luthier to begin to build carbon fiber lever and pedal harps. I met David and Pamela in 2014 at their home in North Carolina. More information at Heartland Harps.
Dennis composed Austin's Planxty, written to commemorate the birth of his son (who is now an accomplished musician himself), is the first harp piece that really drew me in (available on a compilation titled "Faces of the Harp"). Dennis connected me to the vast world of Celtic repertoire. 
Lisa performed in Honolulu in March 2012 with Aryeh Frankfurter and Patrick Ball. Later, in a workshop with Aryeh, Lisa demonstrated a number of easy arrangements that are very suitable for therapeutic environments. Her work with City of Hope in California inspires me in my own work in healthcare. Lisa taught me a number of arrangement techniques that complemented those I learned from others, particularly her own trademark style of slowly building and holding a chord progression.
Aryeh Aryeh's arrangements and compositions are lush and harmoniously complex. His Celtic and Scandinavian music includes harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, and viola, and occasionally accompanied by Lisa Lynne, another great artist. While performing on O'ahu a few years ago, I attended a workshop where he gave helpful advice to help me broaden my knowledge and technique in arranging music.
Nicolas is a masterful musician with an extensive set of recordings of folk music from South America - particularly Paraguay. I was his student for three days at the Somerset (NJ) Harp Festival in July 2012. He was truly one of the highlights of that festival. Paraguayan style is full, flavorful, and fast! I look forward to accompanying him one day to Paraguay.
Joshua had a profound effect on my musical development in the beginning. I studied Middle East percussion with him in Hawaii and in Nevada, both in workshops in his home and at festivals in the Valley of Fire. He taught me two crucial concepts: be aware of the 'spaces' between the 'places' - keeping silence crisp in a musical composition is as important as the pitches made; and that
performance is actually an exhibition of a musician's practice. Musicians practice to excel, and a performance is an invitation to others to share one's practice as performance. 
Deborah is an accomplished melodic percussionist in several genres. She is also an advanced TaKeTiNa teacher. From TaKeTiNa circles, I have experimented with many different types of rhythm and movements using natural rhythm instruments with hands and feet. Deborah has helped me parse and develop the ability to play polyrhythms 4/3, 3/2. I learned the basics of playing the berimbau from her. 
Michael was my first percussion mentor in Hawaii. I have studied with him off and on for many years and continue to do so in 2020. In addition to learning basic Middle Eastern rhythms popular in belly dance, Michael has also introduced me to the finer points of musicianship. Michael was a key figure in Fire Tribe Hawaii (2004-2014), festivals where people gather to celebrate one another in midnight-to-dawn magical fire circles through chant, dance, poetry, drumming, art, invocation and ritual theatre. My five year involvement with Fire Tribe Hawaii gatherings gave me opportunities to express myself in musical and artistic ways before an accepting audience. I will always be indebted to him for his introduction to the PANArt Hang.
Diana was a visiting musician who gave a workshop in the summer of 2010 here on O'ahu, and I took a private lesson from her afterwards. She helped me with the physical demands of playing a musical instrument. She brought my attention to ergonomic challenges early on, and because of her intervention, I am more fully aware of how I sit at the harp. Her suggestions have enabled me to play smarter, more comfortably, and to be mindful and avoid stress injuries. 
Harper was a well-known harp player from the Pacific Northwest. His original compositions and 'covers' of traditional tunes are arranged where they are simple and complex at the same time (if that makes sense). His original composition 'The Dancing Tree,' includes using six modes within a single key and enables me to explain modes to listeners in a fun and easy way.
He passed away in March, 2023.
Sylvia is the owner of the Harp Center. In addition to her published arrangements of many kinds of tunes and songs, (she has published some 20 volumes), Sylvia sells almost anything a harp player might need. I have purchased a number of books and individual sheet music from Sylvia - it is her well-stocked, reasonably priced inventory and fast shipping that has allowed me to grow as a harp player and a musician. She recently moved to the Island of Kaua'i and I look forward to meeting her in person soon.
Josh has well over 100 videos in his popular "Harp Tuesday" series, available on YouTube. Videos range in length from 10-25 minutes and cover many topics of interest to lever and pedal harp players at all levels. Josh is a classically trained musician, is knowledgeable, has a wonderful approach to teaching, and always provides useful information. I emailed Josh a couple of suggestions for videos to make, and he made videos from my questions. 
Sue was a musician I met in Norway on the 2013 Harpa tour. She is the consummate musician, mentor, and friend. During our time in Norway I learned much about musicianship, performing, arranging on the fly, and playing for audiences from her. A very special memory of that trip was at the end of a joint performance in Ålesund with local Norwegian fiddlers and accordionists. It was my very first Session, when a few of us took the stage with our Norwegian colleagues and followed the tune that was being played. Sue also helped me over a conceptual problem that I developed early on with the harp - dependency on red and blue strings in memorizing song patterns. She taught me a very simple technique to alleviate that, and now, several years later, I am free of this dependency, and can more easily transpose melodies to other keys on the fly as an added bonus! She also has the most wonderful laugh, and we laughed quite a bit during our travels.
Beth was a late night Web discovery during one of my bouts of insomnia. Fascinated with her photographs of the two trips that she led of musicians to Norway, a country I had since visited and had fallen deeply for, I started listening to her work, buying her music, and studying her arrangements. One particular book of tunes that caught my eye was her selection of melodies for weddings, in which she collaborated with Laurie Riley, another wonderful musician. When I discovered Beth was leading a third trip to Norway in 2013, I jumped at the chance to join her, Sue Richards, and Therese Honey.
Therese and her husband Larry Mallete were fellow musicians on the Harpa tour in Norway. I have a wonderful video clip of her sharing some of her favorite chords as our vehicle rolled through the remote Norwegian countryside. When I find that I will post it (but I gotta ask Therese for permission first!) Therese's passion and enthusiasm for the harp is, like, well, let me use a Southernism I remember from my days in Georgia: "Therese is like a ray of sunshine and a ray of moonshine at the same time." 
Anne was yet another Internet find. She conducts very popular self-paced courses. Anne really began to beef me up for classical pieces, as her Etude Challenge course really helped my sightreading abilities. All of her work is supported by well-done videos. I am so fortunate to have her as a mentor and guide, though we live thousands of miles apart. 
Anne was still another unique find on the Web during a bout of insomnia. Since 2020, I have discovered her many compositions, all of which are available for a nominal cost through her store. Her work is graded through a beginner/early intermediate/late intermediate/ system, which has helped me develop a more even flow of progressively more complex music to learn. I have incorporated several of her pieces into my therapeutic music practice at Queen's Medical Center.