Maydeen ‘Iao is, as is her partner, Lei’ohu Ryder, Kumu Aloha (emissary of Aloha) and advocates for the indigenous soul in all people. Her love and knowledge of Hawai‘i helps others connect with their selves, with Spirit, and the essence of Aloha.

Maydeen has often expressed and focused her Aloha through beautiful Hula dance, including for events where her instrumental and singing musical gifts are also expressed.

Maydeen has a gift of pure joy and authentic expression of this amazing energy that can only continue to serve to help shift humanity…and the spirit within. Teaming up with Lei’ohu Ryder produces a powerhouse of energy, wherever they choose to focus or send it, that is Love…Aloha in Action.

Mālamalama is graced with Maydeen’s support of our work, and greatly honored.

Ronnette brings a dedication to our next generations and decades of experience on the front lines of Disaster Relief and Community Outreach to our team. Her past experience with non-profit organizations includes Outreach Coordinator and Educator for Maui grassroots Malosi, and Team leader and community liaison for Bodacious Women of Pahoa. Working with communities as a first responder in community disaster relief has fueled her passion for the importance Disaster Preparedess education. She brings her abundant grassroots experience, knowledge and heart as an advocate for the youth education in sustainability, disaster preparedness and community care.

Georgia was born and raised on Maui, and home-educated in a context of family entrepreneurship and community activism. She has a BA in communication and Hawaiian Studies from UH Hilo, where she spent years working in community development, restoration and non-profit management. She is a co-founder of the Maui Farmer Network and the Farmer Navigational Coaching Program, which coaches, supports and advocates for small and beginning regenerative ag producers here in Maui County. Georgia is an Ag Resilience Navigator with the CTAHR Seeds of Wellbeing, as well as a Food System Leader here in Maui County. Georgia is committed to improving community access to locally grown food, and networks with many organizations to improve our community and our planet. Her passion lies in the building of community, through bringing people together. She lives and farms with her family on the backside of Haleakala and is the Managing Editor for the Hanaside News.

H.E. Leon Kaulahao Siu is from the island of Hawaii and has an unusually diverse background in the arts as an award-winning musician, visual artist and producer. He also has had decades of experience as speaker and lecturer on Hawaiian history and culture and an astute political analyst, strategist and activist, bringing an important perspective and wisdom to our network of educators and community advocates. Leon Kaulahao Siu has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ke Aupuni o Hawaii (the Hawaiian Kingdom) since 2000. He has been actively engaged in informing the international community about the United States’ illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Islands and inviting other nations to support the return of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign, independent state. His international work in the areas of human rights, self- determination, decolonization and demilitarization has been recognized with several international awards and honors including a nomination for the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

Adam has been working with regenerative agriculture, native habitat and collaborative living systems on Maui for over 12 years. Inspired by Hawai’ian indigenous cultural knowledge, Syntropic farming, and diverse agroforestry models, he has developed working farm systems that cultivate sustainability and biodiversity, as well as maximum production. His current projects with the successful farm systems at Mala O Ka Pono, the Forests at Peahi, and Lokelani Essentials and others offer an excellent opportunity for youth education and hands on sustainability study.

Emily works with the South Maui Wetlands Restoration Hui, out in the field with native plant and aquaculture and native plant identification as well as in educational outreach, raising public awareness. She has worked with special needs students and guided fieldtrips in wetlands for multiple private and public schools on Maui, with a focus on historical and cultural aspects. Healthy wetlands are a crucial part of a sustainable Maui ecosystem and are a critical protector against climate crises. She is a dedicated to a healthy Maui future and has devotedly given her time and energy to fire disaster recovery.

Mary is an international consultant specializing in building agricultural supply ecosystems that meet the needs of farmers and communities. She is Founder/CEO of global NGO accelerating transition to regenerative agriculture that uplifts women, indigenous farming, and forest communities. Her expertise spans cross-cultural communication, diversity, equity and inclusion, collaborative relationship and trust building, creative problem- solving, strategic thinking, fundraising, and new business development. Mary is a dynamic leader with a high level of emotional intelligence, a proven track record of impactful cross-cultural initiatives and successful program management. Her commitment to earth and community regeneration and equity fuels her deep passion for scaling ecosystem repair and accelerating the transition to a more just and resilient future.

Janine’s has dedicated her entire life to helping people at every level in her work with behavioral health as a highly trained psychologist and social worker and as the founder and owner of Maui Majesty, a farm business that grows and supplies healing plant medicines. She has a private therapeutic practice and is a university professor, teaching psychology, sociology, and social work. She also consults with government health agencies to create and support sustainable mental health policies and programs.

She is devoted to a sustainable and healthy Maui future, most recently completing the Farm Apprentice Mentorship Program through the Hawaii Farmers Union. Her extensive experience in helping people in real and deep ways as a mental health professional, and her passion for working with the land to create healing and sustainable products make her an inspiring and invaluable member of our team of educators and contributors.

Andrea is passionate about putting her considerable training, experience and talent to work in service to the community, creating and enhancing residential and common spaces to support education, creativity, collaboration and safety. Her expertise includes work with multi-use family housing, schools, and many civic and commercial projects, all using environmentally friendly and energy saving materials. Her designs adapt and future-fit spaces to serve community needs and support new technologies and philosophies in education.

Jay April is a television producer, director, video journalist and artist whose work has been featured on several national networks and won awards from film festivals worldwide. His extensive credits include special correspondent to CNN’s Environmental Unit, and the successful startup of E! Entertainment Television. His documentaries about ecology and American culture have been heralded as passionate, poignant, provocative nationwide. In recent years, he has focused his talents for community programing on the creation of documentaries about Hawaiian culture, introducing ground-breaking new media to our community. Jay’s inspired gifts and experience are a powerful resource for Maui, and are an asset to our community building efforts.

Kat’s puts her extensive education and experience in Communications and Video production to work in service to her passion for community building and advocacy. She has worked for Akaku Maui Community Media Center since 2011. She directs the Education and Production departments of Akaku, focused on the mission of ‘Empowering the Community’s Voice’.

Kat has produced movie and award-wining documentary productions both nationally and internationally and helped produce the Maui County component of the live state- wide Aloha Soul healing vigils after the Maui fires. She teaches media production skills to youth, and designed Akaku’s Youth Media Exchange, and is a dynamic and empowered inspiration to our community and our youth .

Maui born and raised, Roger loves his work, facilitating financial wellness and opportunity and building community. He brings the spirit of Aloha to his work, and he and his team are dedicated to creating stability and prosperity on Maui. His work allows him to develop and network throughout the island, sharing the benefits of the community mindset of the credit union. His support has been invaluable for our work at Malamalama.

Rhonda has 25 years of experience as a licensed attorney, and practices in the areas of estate planning, probate, special needs, trust administration, elder law, business formation, and real estate. Her eldership and expertise support others in estate and business planning and property matters. As a highly accomplished professional she has a strong background in litigation, but in her current practice areas seeks to bring parties and families together to reach a satisfactory resolution of disputes without need for litigation. She also offers her wisdom to the youth of Maui, serving on the School Community Council for Pu’u Kukui Elementary in Wailuku.

Sunny is a wild food forager who is dedicated to inspiring, educating, and nourishing people about nutrition, wild food, and sustainable food sources. She runs her own organic farm on Maui, and as an environmental advocate, teaches others to identify invasive species and turn them into food sources. She authored the book Wild Food Plants of Hawaii and shares about wild food as a Tedx presenter and on a tv series seen internationally. Her knowledge of the natural world and experience and training as nutrition educator and environmental steward, inspires our community and all who spend time with her.

Sacha’s passion for service, both internationally and here in the community, has a ‘boots on the ground’ approach to meeting the immediate needs of people, in disaster recovery, or poverty, or disenfranchisement. Here on Maui for those affected by the fires, or overseas working with children and families, he has shared his heart and multi-faceted experience to uplift and save lives. As a teacher and a role-model, he inspires and empowers youth to share their gifts to make a difference in our community and our world.

Raised on Maui, Carl has a deep connection to the land and the community. His natural leadership abilities and keen mind for creative and innovative solutions are put to good use in project and team management and property maintenance, repair and development. He continually adds to his already impressive skill set, which he also uses in his own sustainable land care business. As an avid fisherman and diver, he cultivates his connection to the Island ecosystems, and is a role-model for other youth learning to live sustainably.

Brittany is one of our rotating community managers, and has a special gift for bringing a spirit of fun and lightness to team-work and efficient community flow. She participated in training videos for community living and in our Earth and Peace film in 2016, and is a member of our social media team. The entrepreneur experience she gained here on the land, managing and harvesting for our farm stand, supports her in her business harvesting wild plants for use in healing tonics, skin care, and other land-based creative products as well as handmade found crystal jewelry.

Marissa is one of our rotating managers. We engage her skills as a researcher and editor on many of our projects, most recently our latest brochure. She shares her experience and training in organic urban farming by offering services that help others create and maintain their own backyard farms. She also assists as a presenter and videographer for our online educational content and is a member of our social media team. Her deep family and community values, combined with the interpersonal skills she has learned through our programs, makes her an invaluable member of our team.

Micaela is a currently in training to be one of our managers on rotation. She engages in all aspects of farm and community organization – harvesting, food processing and administration, as well as assisting in generating business plans with our youth. Her passion for education and personal growth has inspired her to travel and learn about different cultures. A native of Peru, she assists and facilitates with our Peruvian youth group and is the sub-title translator for our videos. She aspires to share all she is learning to expand educational access and opportunity to youth in her own country as well.

Jose Luis a remote student in Cusco, Peru, grew up in the orphanage we have offered support to, Ninos del Sol. Now college-age, he is part of the youth group receiving our entrepreneurship mentorship and support to expand his business. Jose Luis receives contracts filming indigenous events in Cusco and in the nearby Incan ruins. He is a skilled videographer and editor, now on contract with our organization for video editing.

Ivan is a remote student in Cusco, Peru, who has grown up in the orphanage we have offered support to: Niños del Sol. Now college-age, he is part of the youth group receiving our entrepreneurship mentorship and assisting as a speaker in the creation of videos to support upcoming youth community projects. Ivan created the music for our 5 Spanish videos on starting a business and trading, educational material that was created for this youth group. He is an amazing poet, able to create impromptu works of art.

Lisbeth is a remote student in Cusco, Peru, who has grown up in the orphanage we have offered support to: Niños del Sol. Now college-age, she is part of the youth group receiving entrepreneurship mentorship. Lisbeth has graduated from her studies in Visual Arts and wishes to use the arts as a therapeutic tool for the mental and emotional well-being of the community. She has a vision to open a café in her community where art, connection to nature and animals, can take part in emotional healing. She is participating in the creation of videos for upcoming youth projects in indigenous communities.