Nā keiki uneune māmane o Kula.

FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Sara is a longtime Maui community organizer and environmental advocate with more than 25 years of experience in ecological programming, public engagement, and nonprofit leadership. She and her family have lived in Upcountry Maui since 2008 and has built pilina through land stewardship in Upper Kula since 2025. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California (ʻ97) and has served on the faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College since 2012. As the founding Executive Director of the Kula Community Watershed Alliance, Sara leads the vision, strategy, and coordination behind KCWA’s community-driven approach to restoring the Kula Fire burn scar and strengthening wildfire resilience across the Waiakoa watershed. She oversees multi-agency partnerships, complex grant portfolios, landowner engagement, ecological planning, and the alignment of field crews, contractors, volunteers, and community leaders toward shared watershed goals. She is also the co-founder of Haleakalā Biochar, where she advances circular solutions that transform invasive fire fuels into soil-building amendments that support ecosystem recovery. She is a National Fire Protection Association-certified Home Ignition Zone Assessor, and is a FEMA-trained Incident Command specialist. She is currently a student at Yale School of the Environment, studying the restoration and management of Tropical Forest Landscape and is a board member with Ho'ōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group and the Montessori School of Maui.

TECHNICAL ADVISOR & PROJECT MANAGER

Joe is an experienced conservation practitioner and project manager on Maui with more than 15 years of experience in habitat restoration, invasive species management, and wildfire resilience work. Originally from the Midwest and rooted in Kula since 2005, he brings a deep commitment to stewarding Maui’s working lands and rural communities. His background includes field leadership in native forest restoration, fuels reduction, landowner coordination, and community-based conservation across Haleakalā’s slopes. Joe has worked on projects ranging from high-angle invasive removal to large-scale reforestation, and he has contributed to landscape-level planning efforts with Skyline Conservation Initiative. He also serves as President of Haleakalā Biochar, where he helps transform invasive hardwoods into soil-building amendments that support ecosystem recovery. As KCWA’s Project Manager, Joe oversees on-the-ground implementation across the Kula Fire burn scar and wider Waiakoa watershed—working closely with landowners, field crews, and partners to restore native ecosystems and strengthen wildfire resilience.

Joe is the recipient of the 2017 Mālama I Ka ʻĀina Award (awarded by Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, Maui Invasive Species Committee, and the County of Maui), and the 2025 Mālama Kula Award from Kula Community Association. He was also named Hawaiʻiʻs Ecotour Guide of the Year in 2013. He is an alumni Ka Ipu Kukui Fellow (Class of 2022).

RESILIENT SYSTEMS COORDINATOR

Kellie Cole is a Kula-based community advocate, researcher, and educator dedicated to strengthening Maui’s environmental resilience through water stewardship, agriculture, and community engagement. A resident directly impacted by the 2023 Maui wildfires, she supported recovery efforts by helping assess the safety of home drinking water and sharing information with neighbors navigating contamination concerns.

Kellie is a contributing author to peer-reviewed studies in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology (2024) and ACS ES&T Water (2026), which examine post-wildfire drinking water impacts and community response. Her work helped highlight communication gaps, document household experiences, and support a community-driven water sampling program that tested hundreds of homes and built trust through local involvement.

She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science from the Sustainable Science Management at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College in 2025, focusing on water quality and marine science, and has studied Dr. Elaine Ingham’s soil food web. 

Since 2014, Kellie has worked on Maui in farming, agrotourism, and as a garden coordinator in public schools, teaching subsistence, ecology, and community engagement.

RESTORATION OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Elly was born and raised on Maui and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Air, Water, and Health from the University of Utah. A graduate of Seabury Hall, she also studie abroad at Kingston University in London and brings a strong background in sustainability, environmental education, and community engagement. As KCWA’s full-time Restoration Operations Coordinator, Elly is passionate about reconnecting with her home island through hands-on restoration and climate resilience work. She and her family live at the edge of the 2023 Kula Fire burn scar.

RESTORATION TECHNICIAN (KUPU)

La'a was born and raised on the North Shore of Oʻahu and Waiohuli, Maui, and is a Hawaiian Studies graduate from the University of Hawai‘i – Windward Community College. With hands-on experience in natural resource stewardship, habitat restoration, and invasive species management, he is dedicated to caring for ʻāina and protecting Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems. As a Restoration Technician, he applies both traditional knowledge and practical conservation skills in the field to clear invasives, replant natives, and strengthen Kula’s habitat against fire. He resides in Waiohuli, Kula.

GIS CONSULTANT

Darla White is a longtime Maui resident, marine ecologist, and GIS specialist with more than 20 years of experience in conservation and resource management across Hawaiʻi. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and a Master of Science in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, along with a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science from Oregon State University. Her work spans government, consulting, NGOs, and academic partnerships, with a focus on using GIS to translate complex spatial data into clear, actionable insights. Darla has applied her mapping expertise to support fisheries and coral reef management, renewable energy planning, and disaster risk reduction throughout the islands. As KCWA’s GIS Analyst—and a former resident of the affected neighborhood—she brings both technical depth and personal commitment to advancing restoration and wildfire resilience across the Kula Fire burn scar and wider Waiakoa watershed.

RESTORATION TECHNICIAN (KUPU)

While growing up in Kīhei, Me’ilani developed a connection to the kai and a strong commitment to community-centered environmental stewardship. With six years of experience in educational outreach and volunteer work, she now hopes to deepen her hands-on relationship with and understanding of the ʻāina through the long-term ecological resilience work carried out by KCWA. Me’ilani holds an Associate of Applied Science in Communications and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, and plans to continue her studies in the near future with a degree in Environmental Sciences. She and her family live in Kula.