2023 Executive Committee Elections
The 2023 Executive Committee elections will run from November 14 to December 16.
Only active due-paying members may vote in the Executive Committee elections. Elections will take place online only. Members will receive an email from the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi with their ballot or you may use the Google Form ballot below.
If you do not know what your member number is you can find it by visiting Sierra Club MyAccount, myaccount.sierraclub.org, or by contacting Member Care at member.care@sierraclub.org or (415) 977-5653.
You will find the candidates for the Hawaiʻi Chapter and its four groups below. Candidates elected this year will serve a two year term, 2023-2024.
2023 Candidates
Hawaiʻi Chapter
Kauʻi Pratt-Aquino
Kau‘i Pratt-Aquino is a Native rights and environmental advocate who has dedicated her life to improving the status of kanaka and the greater community through education, cultural stewardship and pono leadership. She believes the Sierra Club can play a critical role in strengthening the alliance between native and environmental advocates to effect positive change. As a mom and lawyer, she is committed to creating a better future for our keiki.
Randy Ching
Randy has volunteered with the Hawaiʻi Chapter and Oʻahu Group for over 25 years and has been instrumental in building and maintaining countless trails around the state, planting thousands of trees, advocating for climate change mitigation and adaptation, mentoring new outings leaders, and so much more.
Hawaiʻi Island Group
Bill Coney
Co-Founder – Legacy Reef Foundation, Kona, Hawaii. After retiring from the tech industry in 2015, Bill co-founded Legacy Reef Foundation in Kailua-Kona Hawaii, a coral preservation and restoration non-profit foundation. Bill’s love of the ocean and desire to improve the quality of nearshore marine habitats has driven him to seek opportunities in Hawaii, South Pacific, Caribbean, and the East Coast to open restoration projects. Bill has been involved over the years in several reef restoration projects and restoration NGO’s around the world. Currently, Bill is a board member of the Oyster Recovery Partnership in Maryland. For over 20 years ORP has worked to restore oyster beds in the Annapolis Bay. As of this year ORP has successfully planted over 10 billion oysters. Bill lives in Hawaii and Maryland.
Cory Harden
I encourage people to vote for new faces, to keep Sierra Club strong for years into the future. We long-term members continue to participate in meetings to provide continuity. I had the great good fortune to grow up in Hilo in the 1950s and 60s, and travel in the United States and several foreign countries. I worked in human services for 25 years, mostly with people with disabilities. I’ve been active in the local Sierra Club for 25 years or so. At home, I’m attempting to grow native plants and food with very mixed results!
Hannah Hartmann
My name is Hannah Hartmann and I am a settler with the privilege of calling Hilo, Kānaka maoli homelands, my home. I am currently pursuing my M.S. in Tropical Conservation Biology here at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and my undergraduate work from Humboldt State University (Wiyot homelands) is in Ecological Restoration, Wildland Soil Science, Fire Ecology, and Geospatial Analysis. I am also a Mycorestoration Ecologist, so I work with fungi to remediate soil and water from environmental pollutants. While much of my formal training is in western scientific disciplines, I have become increasingly involved in political and social advocacy here on Hawaiʻi island. I am working with the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi on the Shut Down Red Hill campaign, and serve on the core and communications committee for HuliPAC, a political organization with the goal of empowering our local community to elect pono leaders who inspire environmental, social, and economic well being for the ʻāina and the people. I strongly believe in making and holding space to uplift the voices of my community, and thatʻs exactly what I plan to do if elected to the board of the Sierra Club HI. May we all strive to live in reciprocity with one another, because healing the ʻāina is healing ourselves.
Keith Neal
A three decade career in aerospace engineering, flight testing, commercial aircraft division of the Boeing Co.
A three decade membership in SPEEA, IFPTE local 2001. See https://speea.org/
Member elected shop steward 7 times (over a decade and half)
General membership elected IFPTE SPEEA delegate to international convention (over a decade)
Lead project manager for site acquisition, design, and construction of Everett SPEEA new union hall.
B.A Humanities, B.S. Biology, B.S.A. Sustainable Building Science Technology, M.S Project Management.
Photovoltaic Design and Implementation - Certificate
Alpine ski and certified windsurfing instructor.
SCUBA
Three term president: Boeing Employees Windsurfing club
Washington Alpine Club
Mountain Oriented First Aid (expired)
Volunteer Disaster Responder
Issues/Interests:
Supporter of resilient energy systems: wind, solar, geothermal (not in a rift/fracture zone)
Core member of Hawaii Citizens Climate Lobby; advocating for Carbon Fee & Dividend
Hawaii: SB3150 'Carbon Cashback'
National: HR 3207 https://energyinnovationact.org/
With thoughtful choices, Hawaii can have a thriving astronomy industry, if not an international area of excellence.
hobby gardener and supporter of local food resiliency.
Jon Olson
I grew up in California, hiking the Sierras every summer. After a couple of years of college, I worked in the family business, building and repairing boats, and piloting them to various destinations. I piloted my sailboat to Hawai’i in the mid-1970s…and never left. I’m a past commander and current member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and teach boating safety. I served on the Puna Traffic Safety Council, the Puna Community Development Plan group, the Environmental Management Commission, and the Integrated Resource Planning group (dealt with power generation). I’ve been an active member of the Sierra Club for 25 years or so.
Maya Parish
Maya Parish is the Director of Kohala Food Hub, an entity working toward increased food sovereignty and access to fresh locally grown produce. She is co-organizer of Hawai'i Institute of Pacific Agriculture’s Seed to Market Initiative and owner/operator of Maya Parish Yoga. She sits on the North Kohala Community Development Plan Advisory Group and Agriculture Committee. As a volunteer community organizer, she worked on the Kohala Country Fair, the Kona Women’s March Rally, the People’s Climate March, and Democratic Party County and State Conventions. She has served as an Elected Representative on the Hawai'i Democratic County and State Leadership Committees, and resides in North Kohala with her 3-year old daughter and husband.
Keomailani Von Gogh
My name is Keomailani Von Gogh. I live on Moku O Keawe in the land area known as Ola’a. I am a carpenter by trade, and presently practice woodworking at home in my shop. I’ve always wanted to grow food and I am currently transitioning into small scale food production on my land. I support the work of Sierra Club as I am committed to the health and wellbeing of our world and planet. I have worked for two decades to protect the land and the people of Hawai’i while serving as Vice President of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, since its inception in 2000. We have done work throughout the years, with Sierra Club and some of its members, including in various administrative contested case hearings, and cases that have gone before the Hawai’i State Supreme Court as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Aloha and Mahalo for considering me to serve on the Sierra Club Board of Directors.
Debbie Ward
Debbie Ward is a forty-year member of the club, and has served the Group Excom in numerous roles. She is excited that so many new members are willing to serve on Excom, and though she will continue to work vigorously on behalf of the club, she encourages our members to vote for new blood! Debbie lives and farms in East Hawaii, after retiring from the University of Hawaii. She serves on the Hawaii County Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resource Commission., and the Environment Committee for Mauna Kea’ Center for MK Stewardship.
Maui Group
Clare Apana
Clare is a native of Wailuku, Maui, and is a cultural practitioner and teacher who is deeply involved with cultural preservation issues throughout Maui. Clare received the Sierra Club’s Onipa‘a Award in 2013 for her long dedication to research and advocacy to protect Maui’s traditional cultural landscapes and burial areas. She has a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy and has a private practice in both Maui and Honolulu.
Lucienne de Naie
Lucienne de Naie is a long time Club member who currently serves as Chair of the Sierra Club Maui Group. She is a researcher and writer whose passion is protection of native plants, streams, watersheds, and cultural sites.
Rich Lucas
Rich Lucas served on the Maui Group in the past. 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.
Gary Savage
Gary is a life-long Sierra Club member, inspired by John Muir's writings in high school and his activist parents. He describes himself as: “Artist, Hippie, Amateur Naturalist, Radical environmentalist, Vegan, Waterman, Lover of Wilderness Adventures.” Gary fell in love with the Hawaiian Islands on his first visit in 1966 and moved to Maui permanently in 1999. Gary has served as Vice-Chair of Maui Group.
Dr. Diane Shepherd
Diane is a veterinarian, working and residing in South Maui. She was twice president of the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Society. Her family moved to Maui in 1970 from Oahu. She served on the Maui Planning Commission in the early 90’s. As a diver she has seen the sad decline of Maui nearshore waters and over the years, has testified at numerous public meetings on marine conservation issues. A year before the pandemic she moved to Oahu to take coursework in marine biology at UH Manoa; but rushed back (literally) to Maui just before travel restrictions were imposed.
Oʻahu Group
Natasha Baldauf
Natasha was born and raised in Kailua, O‘ahu and now resides in Mā‘ili. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools in 2004, she received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hawaii Pacific University in 2008 and her juris doctor from the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law in 2011 with a Native Hawaiian law certificate. Prior to joining the Law Offices of Vladimir Devens LLC this year, Natasha served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lisa M. Ginoza of the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals, and spent 10 years as an attorney at a prominent Honolulu boutique law firm focusing on complex real estate and commercial litigation where she advised clients and litigated proceedings in federal and state court, before administrative agencies and in alternative dispute resolution forums including numerous legal matters concerning iwi kūpuna, historic preservation, water and environmental law. She is passionate about preservation of Hawai`i’s natural and cultural resources and in her free time, enjoys spending time with her two keiki (ages 8 and 6).
Elena Bryant
Elena was born, raised, and educated on O‘ahu, receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Hawaiian Studies with a focus in Native Hawaiian perspectives on Resource Management, and her law degree from the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law with certificates in both Environmental Law and Native Hawaiian Law. Elena serves as an Associate Attorney at Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific Office where she specializes in complex litigation in the areas of Environmental and Native Hawaiian law. Elena spends her free time exploring the outdoors with her son (14) and daughter (9). She especially enjoys paddling, surfing and diving in the ocean, and hiking, climbing and chasing waterfalls in the mountains and valleys of her island home.
Dyson Chee
Dyson Chee is a youth activist living on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. In 2018, Dyson founded Project O.C.E.A.N. Hawaii to take on single-use plastics, and since 2019 he has been serving as a director for the Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition (HYCC), a youth-led, community advocacy organization dedicated to fighting for climate justice. Dyson is currently at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Communicology, Economics, and Political Science. In his free time Dyson loves playing tennis, drinking boba tea, and chilling at the beach.
Rebekah Garrison
Dr. Rebekah Garrison received her Ph.D from the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California in 2021. Radically reshaping the discourse around settler positionality within spaces of demilitarization struggle, Garrison situates settler responsibility as critical to a demilitarized world. Centering island activist networks and voices in Bieké, Guåhan, and Hawaiʻi, her scholarship and community work within grassroots movements reimagine the possibilities of Indigenous-settler solidarity while simultaneously unraveling colonial cartographies. Dr. Garrison is currently the lead community organizer for the Shut Down Red Hill campaign at Hawaiʻi Peace and Justice and is a founding member of the Oʻahu Water Protectors and the Shut Down Red Hill Coalition.
Marti Townsend
Marti’s mission is to build a movement to reverse the climate crisis. She is currently the Regional Engagement Specialist at Earthjustice and in her previous posts as the director for the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, The Outdoor Circle, KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, Earthjustice and the Hawaiʻi State Capitol, she has been instrumental in establishing Hawaiʻi’s Environmental Court, protecting Mauna Kea’s conservation district from overdevelopment, establishing the Papahānaumokuakea Marine National Monument (and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands State Refuge), combating environmental racism and much more. She is a graduate of University of Hawaiʻi’s William S. Richardson School of Law, Boston University, and Moanalua High School. She is married with three kids. As a result, she has the patience of a saint, a knack for fixing broken things, and extreme sleep deprivation. Marti loves her job, but can’t wait for the world to be saved so she can kick-off her dream career as a stand-up comic.
Kauaʻi Group
Kip Goodwin
I am a retired building contractor and sixteen year resident of Wailua Homesteads. Being on the Executive Committee has allowed me to act on urban sprawl, water justice, particularly the misappropriating diversion of Wai ʻale ʻale waters, militarization and the effects of climate disruption. I was an organizer for the sailboat Golden Rule's two week visit to Kauaʻi as it sails on a transpacific voyage to Hiroshima, Japan promoting a nuclear free future. I'm the director of the youth outreach program 808truth2youth.org. Kauaʻi is a very special place that holds special promise. I want to be part of fulfilling that promise.
Rayne Regush
Rayne has served on the Group ExCom since 2004 and as Chapter Group Rep for five years. Passionate about preserving Kauai’s rural character, waters and cultural resources, her grasp of state/county environmental regulations has contributed to many successful outcomes including: the denial of Coco Palms permits for a commercial fitness center/spa in the Open District; a legal appeal of the state’s certified shoreline at Waipouli Beach Resort resulting in an 80-100’ wide lateral public access area; a contested case hearing which increased the coastal setback of the County Bike Path at Coconut Plantation Resort; and leading the Group’s effort to oppose Hokua Place’s petition to the LUC to upzone 96-acres of Ag-land to Urban. Rayne also serves on the State Na Ala Hele Kauai Advisory Council to help preserve traditional/customary trails.