Kim Johnson

Co-Founder, President & CEO

Raised in California, Kim spent her childhood playing on the beaches and exploring the mountains. She attended UC Santa Barbara where she double majored in Art and Mathematics, received her Masters in Education and teaching credential in secondary math education…and met her future husband, Jack Johnson. In 2003, Kim and Jack hosted the first Kōkua Festival and founded the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation. Kim served as the Executive Director for the first 12 years, helping to develop and oversee KHF’s main programs, and transitioned to President of the Board in 2015. Since KHF acquired the new property in 2019, Kim has stepped back in to create the vision and oversee the strategic planning as Kōkua embarks on this new journey. Kim enjoys being in the field as an environmental educator assisting with lessons, cleanups and workdays, which allows her to guide KHF’s programs and development from a multifaceted perspective.

Natalie McKinney

Chief Program Officer

Natalie was raised on the North Shore of Oʻahu. She has worked in the non-profit sector for the majority of her professional career, with an emphasis in environmental education and curriculum development. Natalie loves home-grown mountain apples and enjoys ocean sports of all kinds.

Liz Fujii

Chief Operating Officer

Liz has worked in non-profit management, social innovation, and social justice for 15 years, including as the Executive Director at Molokai Child Abuse Prevention Pathways and a Program Manager at Kupu. Before returning home in 2015, she worked in progressive advocacy for ten years in Washington, DC, where she also performed as a modern dancer, trained as a community organizer, and became part of the global sangha of socially engaged Buddhists. Born and raised in central Oʻahu, she is a Hawaiʻi public school graduate and holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. She sits on the Board of the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations and the Grantmaking Committee of the Hawaiʻi People’s Fund. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, playing with her dog, building beloved community, and venturing into wild places, especially in her new home moku of Waialua. In the effort to be an ally and accomplice to the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, Liz is in a daily practice of learning, unlearning, stepping up, stepping back, and cultivating complex forms of kinship, care, and responsibility.

Kelly Perry

Volunteer & Partnership Director

Kelly Perry is a lifelong resident of Waialua. After graduating from the University of Hawaiʻi with a Liberal Studies degree with an emphasis on environmental science, Kelly began her career as an Environmental Educator at the Hawaiʻi Nature Center, this sparked Kelly’s love of nature and the importance of connecting children to the environment, and where her respect of volunteerism was sparked working alongside dedicated docents. A decade later, Kelly continued her non-profit environmental work closer to home, as the Volunteer Manager at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center, where she experienced the power of a concerned and involved community in caring for our natural and cultural resources. Kelly joined Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation as the ʻĀINA In Schools Volunteer Coordinator in 2008, then the ʻĀINA In Schools Program Manager for over 7 years. Kelly most enjoys working alongside our volunteers and partners in support of our programs, events and the Kōkua Learning Farm. Kelly has a Certificate of Volunteer Management.

Jaclyn Armstrong

Outreach Director

Jaclyn was born and raised on the North Shore of Oʻahu. She attended Sunset Beach Elementary and graduated valedictorian from Kahuku High and Intermediate. She studied at the University of California at Santa Barbara where she received a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Sustainable Food Systems and Minored in Education. She previously worked for Heal the Ocean, Explore Ecology and Bureo. Jaclyn is also a 5 Gyres Ambassador and is passionate about waste reduction. She enjoys reading, cooking, surfing and gardening!

Sara McGuigan

Social Enterprise Director

Sara is originally born in New York, but moved to Oʻahu after college to serve as an Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, her most rewarding assignment being Captain of a Patrol Boat that served the life-saving and environmental protection missions throughout the Hawaiʻian Islands. She then obtained her MBA, attending Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. Sara comes with 6 years of retail merchandising and buying experience in industries ranging from fashion to consumables to electronics at some of the world’s biggest retailers while also having started her own clothing line and e-commerce business. Sara is extremely excited to have made her way back to Oʻahu, and is a proud Waialua resident who has a deep love for the North Shore Community, surfing, gardening, and hula.

Carolyn Flacker

Kōkua Learning Farm Director

Carolyn was raised in Boise, Idaho and moved to O‘ahu to attend UH Manoa – shortly after being here she knew it would not be a temporary transition but a place to call home forever; as a foreigner to the land, and with an existing passion for the environment, it only felt right to dedicate her work to learning more about and caring for ‘āina. In May 2020 she graduated with a degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Management focusing on community and cultural resource management. She is passionate about composting and its effect on soil health, community engagement in growing their own food, utilizing native agricultural practices for sustainable food growth, and normalizing the use of staple island food crops in our everyday diets. Her past work with Hoʻokuaʻāina, Keiki and Plow, and Windward Zero Waste Schools Hui has sanctioned growth in each of these areas. She believes the best way to shape the future is by teaching and inspiring the next generation.

Lei Tamayo

Grants Manager

Lei was born and raised in ʻEwa, Oʻahu. She has a heart for people and community, and has been engaged in the non-profit sector for over a decade. Having come from Institutional Advancement at the Bishop Museum, which oversees the membership and donation programs at the Museum, Lei joined the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation ʻohana as Grants Manager in 2019. What she enjoys most about her role as Grants Manager is seeing the joy it brings to students that attend a field trip or participate in a project supported by a KHF grant. 

Beyond her role in the nonprofit world, Lei is committed to positively impacting our community as a Realtor and Financial Coach, and also manages a family handyman business. Her dedication to helping others doesnʻt stop in the professional world, as she is passionate about pouring into her family, and serving as the Outreach Director at her church. When she does have free time she enjoys fishing and diving with her husband, dancing zumba & hula, as well as learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi with her daughters.

Jaden Pang

ʻĀINA Farm Stand Assistant Manager

Mackenna Cady

Kōkua General Store Manager

Mackenna was raised on the west side of ‘Oahu and grew up surfing and freediving. Spending time in the ocean elevated her love for the planet, and exposed her to the devastating effects of plastic pollution. She became an active testifier for local conservation legislation, led monthly beach cleanups around the island, and raised awareness about environmental issues through art and educational infographics online. Now, she’s channeling her passion for the environment with Kōkua Hawai’i Foundation, encouraging people along their journey to reduce waste and take care of the Earth. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, jewelry-making, and cleaning up microplastic on the beach.

Monet Bisch

Communications & Outreach Manager

Born and raised in Waialua, Oʻahu, Monet grew up loving the ocean and everything outdoors. She is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama where she developed an understanding and appreciation of ʻāina-based education. She studied at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she obtained three degrees in Business Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship and co-founded her own ʻāina-based organization, Ka Lau O Ka Lāhui. Her work with Ka Lau O Ka Lāhui has embraced perpetuating her Hawaiian Culture and the ʻŌlelo Noʻeau, “ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia,” meaning no task is too big when done together by all. In her free time, Monet enjoys any activity in the water including paddling, surfing, swimming, and diving.

Ana Le’a Mathis

Program Coordinator

Ana Mathis is a dynamic educator, seasoned food activist and farmer with a wide range of expertise in the fields of organizational management, ‘āina based education, youth development and community engagement. Growing up between Kealakekua on the Big Island and Pauoa Valley on Oahu, Ana has grown up with a love of learning and growing with the land since she was a keiki. Her life purpose is to use food as a guiding force in connection with others. She has been able to execute this life purpose through her work as an educator for food justice associations, non profit organizations, summer camps, as well as starting her own plant based cafe and juicery.

Janice Staab

Development Specialist

Janice was born and raised in Mānoa Oʻahu. She is a committed community organizer with a background in developing educational programming for nonprofits.  Her passion working for nonprofits that focus on the environment, culture, and creativity has led her to work for the Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi, Mālama Learning Center, Brown Girl Surf,  Art Explorium, and the Oahu Agriculture and Conservation Association. She is a founding member of the Hawaiʻi Environmental Education Alliance and an Audubon Society Together Green fellow. Janice has her masters degree in education from the University of Hawaiʻi and has taught students and educators of all ages.

Heather Williams

Education & Outreach Specialist

Heather Williams was born and raised in Hawaii and was fortunate to spend her childhood in Kapaa and Hilo. Heather has always worked for non-profit organizations focusing on community outreach and education. She helped launch the Center for Equal Justice as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. She also played a pivotal role in the creation of Punahou School’s innovative Luke Center for Public Service. Most recently, she served as the Founding Executive Director of Art Explorium, an earth-friendly art studio for keiki in Kaimuki. She is thrilled to be a new member of the Kōkua Hawaii Foundation team, as she is passionate about the environment and working with children. Heather also loves to play beach volleyball, swim in the ocean, go for long walks, read books, and spend time with her family.

Camille Chamness

Kōkua Learning Farm Coordinator

Camille was born in the ahupua’a of Mānoa, spending majority of her life on the mokupuni, or island, of O’ahu. Growing up in Hawai’i, she has always felt a connection to all things ‘āina and comes from an ancestral line of mahi’ai on both sides of her family. She is dedicated to deepening relationship with self, ancestor, community, and ‘āina with the hope to facilitate experiences for others to reconnect as well.

Josh Asano

Kōkua Learning Farm Assistant

I was born and raised in Haleʻiwa and enjoy farming. I’m very grateful that I’m now part of Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation and that I get to help take care of the ʻāina.

Samantha Carroll

Program Coordinator

Samantha was born and raised in New Jersey and moved to O’ahu to pursue her love for connecting people to the outdoors. Samantha obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with a minor in Business Administration and Management and is planning to get her PhD in Environmental Psychology. Studying in Hawai’i cultivated her love and respect for Hawaiian culture and the ocean, facilitating it to blossom into the passion she has today. Since moving, she has participated in numerous NGOs, hosted beach cleanups, and educated over 2,000 people through event talks and social media about ocean activism, immersion, and environmental issues. Samantha dreams of continuing to repair the biophilic connection people have with the environment.

Lyra Barreto Reyes

Kōkua General Store Sales Associate

Lyra was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, and grew up at her family’s multi-generational farm. Learning from her grandparents, she developed a deep love for plants and a connection with the earth. She moved to Hawaiʻi in 1999, collaborating with a variety of local farms and nurturing her passion for the ocean. She is dedicated to community-building and sharing about eco-friendly living with visitors in Kōkua General Store. Outside of Kōkua, Lyra works with our Kōkua Learning Farm honey partner, Hānai Hives, and is also a talented seamstress (Check out her upcycled creations in-store!).

Claudia Mena Rieke

Kōkua General Store Sales Associate

Claudia was born in Central America and raised in Washington State, where she grew up surrounded by the hard work and dedication it takes to cultivate fresh fruits and vegetables. This early exposure fostered a deep appreciation for food and the effort behind growing, harvesting, and transporting it. Her experiences also instilled in her the value of using resources wisely, which has led to her passion for reusing materials and helping others embrace sustainability in their own lives. In her free time, Claudia enjoys reading by the beach, hiking in nature, and spending quality time with her husband and their dog, Luna.

Gabby Abenes-Visconti

Kōkua General Store Sales Associate

Summer Maunakea

ʻĀINA In Schools, Educational Specialist

Summer is from Waipahu, Oʻahu. She is driven by her kuleana to mālama ʻāina—to care for, protect, and ensure the continuity of all that nourishes and sustains life. Summer is an educator at heart and aims to encourage all children of Hawaiʻi to cultivate deep kinship with their natural environment and community. She has a PhD in education at UH Mānoa with a focus on ʻāina-based pedagogies. She loves surfing, paddling, growing food, and spending time with her ʻohana.

Kim Johnson

Jack Johnson

Laura Moritz

Julie Rene

Blake McElheny

Bryce Sprecher

Carol Feinga

Ed Kenney

Kawika Kahiapo

Ruth Holmberg