What is your current role with the Surfrider Foundation?
Ocean Friendly Garden Coordinator for the Maui Chapter, a member of the Blue Water Task Force, and part of the chapter’s Executive Committee.
When and why did you choose to get involved?
About 10 years ago, I took my son to the annual Honolua beach cleanup and the experience really inspired me. Years later, I became passionate about my work in conservation and found myself organizing the same annual cleanup (Honolua) that had initially drawn me to Surfrider.
Through that, I got to know the members of the Maui Chapter and the more I learned about Surfrider, the more I got involved. I truly care about our community, Lāhainā, and Hawaiʻi as a whole. I have such a passion for learning about how we can protect these places and Surfrider has been a pillar of support for me.
What are some environmental issues you have witnessed locally?
As a Lāhainā resident, it’s difficult to put into words the impact of the wildfires on our community and environment. That day felt so unusual and we have experienced many hurricanes before, yet this was different. Our hillsides are covered in highly invasive, flammable grasses and small trees like koa haole. The mismanagement of the land has devastating consequences and reflects a long-standing ripple effect from the plantation era and its poor land management practices. These practices left soils stripped of nutrients, miles of buried black plastic, and natural stream flows diverted. Even more than two years after the fire, our hillsides remain covered in the same invasive, flammable grasses and koa haole.
Hawaiʻi is experiencing more extreme and unpredictable weather each year. Recent Kona storms brought intense rainfall, flooding, and significant runoff, carrying sediment and pollutants from mauka to makai (land into the ocean). At the same time, we’re facing the opposite extreme, prolonged drought and record-high temperatures that strain our freshwater resources and ecosystems.
Despite this, water is not managed like the limited resource it is. Tourism continues to drive high water use, from full hotel pools to heavily irrigated golf courses, while residents are asked to conserve. Cultural practices like kalo (taro) farming are left competing for consistent access to water. As the ʻōlelo noʻeau reminds us, “He waʻa he moku. He moku he waʻa” — the canoe is an island, the island is a canoe. No one takes water for granted on a canoe. But on an island, many of us do.
These land-based pressures flow directly into our coastal environment. Sediment and pollution smother coral reefs, while warming waters cause bleaching and stress. As reefs decline, we lose not only critical habitat but also the rich fish biodiversity that depends on them, impacting food security, cultural practices, and the overall health of our nearshore ecosystems.
What Surfrider projects have you been involved with? How have these projects impacted your community?
The OFG program for Maui has been growing. We have organized many community planting events together and it has been really special. In 2024 I collected ocean water samples at Honolua Bay and 33% of the samples tested for high levels of enterococcus. To help reduce runoff at Honolua we collaborated with other nonprofits and planted 2000 native trees to restore the native forest and watershed above Honolua Bay. What we do on land shows up in the ocean. And special places like Honolua Bay have taken the hit for too long, from legacy agriculture to overtourism.
Do you have any personal experiences where social justice and environmental movements have intersected?
I had my first experience in environmental advocacy through the Maui Chapter, working on the Lāhainā wastewater injection wells. The facility sends millions of gallons of treated wastewater into our coastal waters polluting our nearshore reef systems.
I remember being so nervous at the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit hearing. I honestly felt like my voice didn’t matter. But I cared too much about the issue to stay quiet. This water is valuable on land, but in the ocean it harms our reefs, and it has contributed to the decline of Hāʻenanui (Kahekili Beach).
That first time providing oral testimony changed everything. I found my voice. The next time there was a hearing, I even stepped up and did my first TV interview with Hawaiʻi News Now, which I never would have imagined before. The Surfrider community has been incredibly supportive. They showed me that advocacy doesn’t have to be intimidating and that my voice actually matters.
I’ve also been part of creating solutions on the ground. A lot of landscaping relies on chemicals, but we’ve helped build a reef-friendly space with a fruit forest and a native botanical walk. Now it’s a place the community really loves; a place to gather and heal.
I love seeing kids read the plant signs and get excited watching the bananas grow. And when it rains, those banana trees soak up the water — so the basin rarely floods.
What can Surfrider do to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment?
I feel like our chapter does a good job at creating a welcoming environment. We are a diverse group and I think that is one of our greatest strengths. In the future I would like to focus more on creating more opportunities for youth to get involved.
What is the most important thing you tell others about Surfrider?
That it’s fun! There is so much going on today globally that it's hard to feel like you are making a difference. Local issues are right in front of us.
What has been the highlight of your Surfrider experience?
The people. I didn’t expect to build so many meaningful friendships or to become connected to such a strong network of volunteers who truly care. It also feels good to take action, to be a part of the change.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I just really love my community. I have had so many role models here in Lāhainā that have shown me what it means to show up for our community.