Dr. Stein Erik Rafto’s life reflects a remarkable blend of athletic excellence, academic achievement, professional accomplishment, and lifelong service to his community.
Born in Tacoma, Washington, Rafto came with his family to Hawaii in 1963 when his father was stationed at Lualualei. The family made the five-day ocean voyage aboard the MSTS Barrett, beginning a lifelong connection to the islands. He grew up in Makaha, graduating from Makaha Elementary and Waianae Intermediate before attending Mid-Pacific Institute.
At Mid-Pacific, Rafto quickly distinguished himself as both a scholar and athlete. Graduating in 1974 as salutatorian, he served as junior class president, was inducted into the National Honor Society, and earned the alumni-sponsored college financial grant and book award. A two-time Scholar-Athlete and Athletic Department MVP, Rafto excelled in competition while maintaining academic excellence.
Under coach Johnny Faerber, Rafto became one of Hawaii’s premier young runners. He won five HHSAA state championships—two in cross-country, two in the mile, and one in the two-mile. Among his standout performances were a 4:18.9 mile and a 9:25.0 two-mile to win the 1974 state championships. He also set meet and course records, including the HHSAA cross-country course record of 10:37, and captured the AAU 3-mile championship in 14:17.7, establishing a Cooke Field record.
Decades later, Rafto continued supporting his alma mater when Mid-Pacific president Joe Rice asked him to re-establish the M Club, the school’s athletic booster organization. Serving three years as president, he helped raise more than $1 million to support Mid-Pacific athletic programs.
Shortly after graduation from Mid-Pacific, Rafto traveled to Norway to connect with his father’s family heritage. During a six-week stay, he continued running and qualified for the Junior National Championships.
Rafto went on to attend Harvard College, graduating cum laude in Biochemistry in 1978. His undergraduate research thesis received one of only three summa honors in the department, and his work was published in the journal Biochemistry. At Harvard he earned 10 varsity letters—four in cross-country, three in indoor track, and three in outdoor track—while also serving as cross-country captain and distance section captain for track. He received All-Ivy League and All-Eastern honors, including a standout performance at the Ivy League Cross-Country Championships and competition in the NCAA Division I Cross-Country National Championships. He was also the recipient of the J.D. “Don” French ’56 Cross Country Award. During his time with the program he helped lead track team fundraising efforts, raising over $11,000 for Friends of Harvard Track & Cross Country.
Rafto has remained deeply connected to Harvard throughout his life, serving as class marshal for the 30th, 35th, and 40th reunions and as his class’s “medical officer,” organizing health-focused symposiums. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he founded and served as chief medical officer for the Harvard COVID-19 Initiative, coordinating more than 150 volunteer professionals who provided free confidential consultations to alumni during the first two years of the pandemic.
After graduating from Harvard, Rafto moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he coached distance runners at Mt. Tamalpais High School and the Marin Racers.
He later returned to Hawaii and attended the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), graduating in 1983 with honors in several pre-clinical and clinical disciplines. During medical school he served as a teaching assistant in anatomy and physiology and worked weekends at the Running Room annex at Kaimana Beach Hotel while completing his internship in Hawaii.
Rafto completed his radiology residency and extended neuroradiology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he served on the junior staff and conducted innovative research imaging the cat visual system, supported by NIH R-1 grant funding. His academic work included several book chapters, peer-reviewed publications, and numerous scientific presentations.
Returning to Hawaii, Rafto was co-director of Hawaii’s first high-field MRI facility at Kewalo Basin. He served as a staff radiologist with Kaiser Permanente from 1991 to 2016 where he oversaw site selection, magnet acquisition, installation, training, and management of personnel for Kaiserʻs new MRI. He also served as a JABSOM adjunct professor for 15 years, teaching medical students and residents the fundamentals of medical imaging. In the mid-1990s he served as a neuroradiology consultant at Tripler Army Medical Center.
Internationally, Rafto helped advance imaging medicine through visiting professorships at Haukeland Regional Medical Center in Bergen, Norway, where he taught advanced neuroradiology techniques and assisted in establishing the region’s first MRI facility.
He also served the profession through leadership roles including president of the Hawaii Radiological Society, two four-year gubernatorial appointments as the chief physician on Hawaii’s Radiation Safety and Imaging Applications Board, and executive committee service with both the American Society of Neuroradiology and the Western Neuroradiology Society.
Even while building his medical career, Rafto remained an accomplished runner on Hawaii’s roads. He won the Norman Tamanaha 15K twice, the Honolulu Symphony 4-Miler twice, and the Sports Invitational 4-Miler at Ala Moana Park. In the 1983 Honolulu Marathon, he ran 2:27:57 to win the Kamaʻāina Award as the top Hawaii resident finisher.
Rafto has also been a generous mentor and coach. Over the years he served as a volunteer and assistant coach for cross-country and track at Punahou School, working with head coaches Michael Georgi, Micah Pavich, and Duncan Macdonald.
Beyond athletics and medicine, Rafto is widely remembered for his enthusiasm for education and community outreach. For more than a decade he visited elementary classrooms—including Punahou, Kamehameha, Holy Nativity, Aina Haina, and Ewa Beach—during Halloween with his teaching partner “Oscar,” a six-foot skeleton. Using X-rays, a view box, and creative art projects, he introduced students to the world of medicine and the human body.
He and his wife Haven Young, whom he describes as the rock of their family, raised three children in Hawaii while he pursued his medical career and remained active in the running community.
Rafto has always embraced adventure with his family, traveling widely and exploring cultures and landscapes around the world. His journeys have included rafting Class V rapids in Idaho and West Virginia, skiing in the Rocky Mountains, riding camels in the Sahara, hiking the Inca Trail, visiting the Norway–Russia border, and celebrating family heritage in Norway with a memorable trip to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer to honor his father’s 70th birthday.
From Makaha to Mid-Pacific, from Harvard to the world of medicine, and from championship races to mentoring future generations, Stein Rafto’s life reflects dedication, curiosity, and generosity of spirit. His extraordinary accomplishments and lifelong contributions make him a proud and deserving inductee into the Class of 2026 Hawaii Running Hall of Fame.
