Katie Kamelamela was born and raised on Oʻahu, and now lives on Hawaiʻi Island in Kapu'euhi (Mountain View/Glenwood). Her botanical research focuses on Native Hawaiian forest plant gathering practices and continues to expand policy to include community input within forest restoration management. Current projects highlight the importance of Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Peoples to adapting in drought environments as well as growing a sustainable forest for cultural and economic benefit.

She is an active member of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana pushing 20 years supporting strategic planning and organizing, has served in Congressional District 2 Representative offices in Washington D.C. and Honolulu, has served as a Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi self-help advocate, and as a former District Chair of the Hawaiʻi County Democrats is familiar with local policy, procedures, Robert's Rules, and thrives in environmental solution finding situations.

Michael is a designer, investor, father, and full-time cyclone of energy. He is the creative director at Ocupop, co-founder of Punahele Provisions, and investor/advisor to many other sustainability-driven organizations. With a life-long focus on cause-based work, Michael is passionate about leveraging creativity and communication to change the world for the better. Michael has been helping to define the visual language of our digital experience since 2000. As creative director and founder of Ocupop, he has led projects for companies, foundations, and non-profits at all ends of the spectrum from Google, Facebook and Mozilla to countless successful start-ups and cause-driven organizations like the International Rescue Committee, ProPublica, FIRST, ReFED, and the Sierra Club. Michael has directed Ocupop's team in creating some of the most influential logos, campaigns, and user interfaces on the web and beyond.

Michael lives on Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi Kai, and is the proud father of Izzy (14) and Håkan (12). He serves on the board of Sustainable America as well as on the executive committee of the Sierra Club. If re-elected to the Sierra Club ExCom, Michael specifically looks forward to continuing to grow the strength of the organization's communication and fundraising strategy as well as providing further support to the goals of the club philanthropically and in the community.

My name is Letani Peltier. My ʻohana is from the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia, on the windward side of Oʻahu. I am a proud graduate of Castle High School, and I hold a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Puget Sound and a master's degree in economics from Portland State University. I also have a Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Native Hawaiian Law from the William S. Richardson School of Law. I currently work as a public policy advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, I spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains, playing on the beaches, and fishing in the ocean. Through these experiences, I developed a deep appreciation for how blessed I am to call Hawaiʻi my home. As I grew older and (arguably) wiser, I came to better understand the current state of our environment as well as the importance of proactively advocating for our resources. My Native Hawaiian background also helped inform and reinforce this understanding, as well as my sense of kuleana to mālama our natural and cultural resources for future generations.

My background in law and public policy has equipped me with the experience and tools necessary to be an effective advocate for our environment. As a law student, and then later as a legal fellow for Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, I developed a solid understanding of the state’s legal duties to uphold the public trust. Furthermore, in addition to gaining familiarity with various environmental issues, I also worked with community groups throughout Ka Pae ʻĀina as they sought opportunities to better manage their resources.

As a public policy advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, I am especially interested in the intersection of environmental advocacy and Native Hawaiian advocacy. I look forward to seeing how I can utilize my experience, skills, and networks to help advance the mission of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

I’m running for the executive committee for the Sierra Club Hawaiʻi. As a realtor, I advocate for affordable housing and I’m the chair of the Kauaʻi Board of Realtors Government Affairs Committee. I’m also the chair of a cesspool conversion working group. 95% of homeowners can’t afford the conversion. And one of the huge road blocks for homeowners to add a rental unit on their property is the cost of this cesspool conversion. So it’s been my pet project, good for the ocean, land and water and helps affordable housing!! I’m also the treasurer of a Political Action Committee, Initiative for a Pono Hawaiʻi. We support progressive candidates running for state senate and house. I believe democracy is not a spectator sport, when I feel passionate about something I show up and speak up. This is why Sierra Club is a great fit for me, social justice and environmental justice working together.

My name is Mendy Dant, I am an owner of our family business along with my husband and two sons. Our business, Fair Wind Cruises, is celebrating 50 years and is located in Keauhou Bay, Kailua Kona. I have lived here for 45 years, and have been a member of many boards, please see below. I have been an advocate for running an environmentally aware and sensitive business, focusing on the health of the coral reefs, tropical fish and marine animals. I have also been committed to building an "ʻohana" feel with our employees, many for decades and decades. Our business has actively reached out to our local families for free cruises, discounted to schools for students at $5.00 each year since 1990. I have the opportunity in our business to reach many people from all walks of life and share our environmental concerns while showing them healthy coral and unhealthy coral, showing them what "task" each fish has to keep the coral reef healthy and their community of fish. I am a very fortunate person and hope to be able to bring something of service to your organization if you see me as a good fit.
Kona Outdoor Circle- 1982-1986- Public Affairs Co-Chair
Kona YMCA- 1998-2000
Ocean Tourism Coalition 2010- present
A3H ( Activities, Attractions of Hawaii)- 2010-present
IHVB- 2017-2019
Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce- 2021-2023 (2-year term)

Chuck Flaherty is a retired Certified Public Accountant. He moved to Kona in 1996 and studied Hawaiian healing with Margaret Machado, Mona Kahele, and others. He was a plaintiff in the Hokuliʻa litigation, which led to a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court finding that Hawaiʻi County has an "affirmative duty" to protect nearshore marine waters, and has been part of many other community actions to protect Hawaiʻi’s environmental and cultural resources. As president of Citizens for Equitable and Responsible Government, he led a successful effort to improve county redistricting laws, which eventually enabled Hawaiʻi Island to gain a fourth State Senate seat. Chuck currently serves on the Hawaiʻi Island Na Ala Hele Advisory Council and is the Government Relations Committee Chair for the Kona Hawaiian Civic Club.

Ms. Cindi Punihaole, a kamaʻāina of Kona, oversees all programs and activities of the Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (KBEC) and works with County, State, and Federal officials to facilitate the conservation and restoration of Kahalu‘u Beach Park and its nearshore environment. Projects at Kahalu‘u include ReefTeach, a volunteer program designed to educate visitors to the bay about reef etiquette; Citizen Science, a volunteer program to monitor the water chemistry and nutrients in the bay; outreach reef education programs to k‐12 and higher grades, at the beach, and in community schools; youth summer camp programs; and partnerships with NOAA to protect turtles and marine mammals. She also assists other communities around Hawaii to develop community‐based education and conservation projects of this sort. Ms. Punihaole holds a BA degree in Sociology from Richard Stockton State College and has a fifteen-year history of successful community development and public education experience, having received the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce Pualu Award for outstanding work in Culture and Heritage.

Judy Dalton has served on the Kaua‘i Group Executive Committee for 26 years and served on the Chapter Executive Committee for 19 years. She facilitated the cease of construction of a 3/5-mile-long beach-destroying seawall fronting the Wailua Golf Course in 1996. She initiated formation of Mālama Māhāʻulepū in 1999, and succeeded in legally challenging the Planning Commission to increase coastal setbacks for the Kealia Kai subdivision at Kuna Bay (Donkey Beach).

As an Excom member for many years, I’ve had a deep connection to nature and conservation throughout my life. My focus has been to do everything possible to retain the pristine beauty of Kaua’i. This year I served as president of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, a rigorous and gratifying activity. I witnessed a fundamental shift in Rotary’s vision toward the environment and can see a clear path for Rotary to work more closely with the Sierra Club.

Bob is a lifetime Sierra Club member who’s been leading hikes and service projects for the Kaua‘i Group for over 30 years. He served on the Kaua’i Group ExCom for 3 terms. Bob coordinated a Native Hawaiian plant restoration project for the Sierra Club, as well as invasive plant species removal projects. He is a plant expert and is a tour guide at National Tropical Botanical Gardens.

David, an native of Sydney, Australia, is a long time Maui business owner, waterman and avid protector of Maui’s oceans, reefs and wetlands. He is a founder of the SaveKihei.org website that helps keep the community up to date about proposed developments. David researches and presents testimony on a wide variety of topics at public meetings and uses photographs, aerial footage and diagrams to help educate policy makers. goes here

Momi was born and raised on Hawaiʻi island and now lives, and is raising her family in Hā’iku, Maui. Momi is an avid hiker, especially enjoying the East Maui streams and watershed. She has recently joined the East Maui stream water quality monitoring volunteer program “Eyes on the Streams.”

Rich Lucas served four years as the Maui Group political chair. He is a retired attorney from Hā‘iku who is committed to protecting Maui’s open spaces, endangered species, and coral reefs. His passion is to see a Maui that is free from the need to import fuel and food to sustain its population.

Charlene was raised in Hawaiʻi, graduated from Maui’s St. Anthony High and California’s Santa Clara University. She has a background in media production and event and property management. She has volunteered for many years with organizations that help children, homeless families and the Kīhei community. Char serves as Maui Group Secretary and helps lead the Sierra Club’s efforts on wetlands protection. She is active in many campaigns to protect natural and cultural resources in the South Maui area.

Jeanie is a life member of the Sierra Club who served as the first chair of the Delaware Chapter in the 1990’s. She teaches at Kīhei Charter School and has a passion for outdoor education, hiking and protecting our native plants and animals. Jeanie serves as Treasurer of Maui Group.

Jim Hayes is the President and Principal Environmental Planner at Planning Solutions, Inc. He has nearly three decades of experience in various environmental fields, primarily in Hawaiʻi but also the West Coast. His work currently focuses on uses and recreation within the Conservation District. As a previous member of the Oʻahu Group and now a father who is an avid hiker and lover of Hawai‘i’s natural resources, both marine and terrestrial, he hopes to have an opportunity to further the club’s goals and objectives by being a member of the committee.

Hunter Heaivilin currently serves as Chair of the Oʻahu Group Executive Committee. He grew up in Hawaiʻi and is pursuing his PhD in Geography at UH Manoa, researching climate change impacts to agriculture in Hawaiʻi. He works as an agricultural planner and spearheads Oʻahu Group’s efforts to preserve agricultural land and support local food.

Angela Huntemer served as First Officer under Captain Paul Watson on multiple voyages of the Sea Shepherd to combat overfishing and illegal dumping in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Angela holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Education. She has been a schoolteacher for the past 15 years at Schofield and Ka'a'awa Elementary Schools. Angela is a community and environmental activist. She works with the North Shore Community Land Trust and the Ko’olau-Waialua Alliance to protect sensitive and fragile ecosystems. Angela is involved in the “Save Sharks Cove'' alliance, which sued the Department of Planning and Permitting for controversial permitting decisions made in the Pupukea Marine Conservation District. Her interests are in biodiversity, climate change, environmental science and public policy. Angela enjoys reading literature and primary EIS documents. Her personal inspirations are Denise Antolini of the UH Law School and Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd. Angela is eager to participate in developing environmental policy and implementing programs through the Sierra Club.

Formally I am a scientist and environmental engineer specializing in climate change dynamics, sustainable energy, and environmental pollution. I have spent 4+ years in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Alaska, Iceland, and the Arctic archipelago Svalbard where I have gained an appreciation for remote ecosystems and an awareness for the importance of creating self-sufficient societies via implementing closed-loop systems. In May I graduated from UH Mānoa with a Masters in Civil Engineering and have developed a patent pending process for co-treating compostable bioplastics and other biomaterial waste to make it a valuable feedstock for anaerobic digestion. Currently I am looking at the possibilities of creating a utility on the islands for the collection and treatment of compostable waste for the purpose of renewable energy and PHB bioplastic production.

Dana R. Lyons currently serves as secretary for Sierra Club’s Oʻahu Group Executive Committee and the Environmental and Energy Resources Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association. He is the Oʻahu delegate to the Hawaiʻi Chapter Executive Committee and chairs its Litigation Committee. Dana practices real property, commercial, and environmental law, advocating for and advising clients on sustainable and resilient business strategies. He enjoys playing basketball, swimming, gardening, practicing aloha ʻāina, and taking his two keiki on hikes and to the beach.