He is an emerging kanaka maoli scholar and new leader in higher education. He is an influential teacher through courses such as Hawaiian Institutions: Trusts, Organizations and Governments, Native Hawaiian Rights and Practices and Hawaiʻi: Center of the Pacific. He has been described as having the rare ability "to effectively teach as an indigenous educator about issues critical to the well-being of indigenous peoples to students who may or may not be indigenous, and who may or may not be receptive." Perry's many commitments to teaching include being a grant writer and principal investigator of Ka Papa Loʻi o Kanewai Cultural Resource Center, where Mānoa students and community members join in learning about cultural practices.