2026 Executive Committee Elections
The 2026 Executive Committee elections will run from November 17 to December 19.
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 on November 17.
If you do not know your membership status or member number, 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, 2026-2027.
2026 Candidates
Hawaiʻi Chapter
Nanea Lo
Nanea serves on the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi and is dedicated to uplifting ʻŌiwi voices and protecting Hawaii’s people, lands, and waters. With over a decade of experience in community engagement, Indigenous storytelling, and nonprofit leadership, she has worked with organizations such as Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Native Stories, and the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action. Nanea’s work centers on ea, aloha ʻāina, cultural preservation, and building community power for a more just and sustainable Hawaiʻi.
Jodi Robinson
Jodi is a policy and advocacy leader with over a decade of experience advancing environmental and social justice across Hawai‘i. From 2016 to 2020, she served as O‘ahu Group Coordinator and later as Chapter Policy Advocate for the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, leading grassroots campaigns, engaging volunteers, and lobbying on environmental issues at the county and state levels. She went on to serve as a Policy Analyst at Blue Planet Foundation and now as Policy Director for the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO). Born on Kaua‘i and raised on O‘ahu, Jodi is passionate about fostering community-led movement building for systemic change and strengthening Sierra Club’s impact throughout the pae ʻāina.
Letani Peltier
Letani is from Heʻeia, Oʻahu. He is a proud graduate of Castle High School and holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Puget Sound, a master's degree in economics from Portland State University as well as a Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Native Hawaiian Law from the William S. Richardson School of Law. Letani currently services as chief of staff for City Councilmember Matt Weyer. Growing up, Letani spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains, playing on the beaches, and fishing in the ocean. Through these experiences, he developed a deep appreciation for how blessed he is to call Hawaiʻi home.
Sean Aronson
Sean is an attorney working for the State Legislature as an advisor to the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. Born on Maui, Sean spent much of his youth on the continent before returning to O‘ahu in 2008. Sean and his wife Abbey are fortunate to be living in Palolo and he is privileged to serve on the neighborhood board. He enjoys hiking and traveling.
Hawaiʻi Island Group
Photo: Ke Ola Magazine
Kara Dumaguin
Janine "Kara" Dumaguin, M.Ed., is the Cultural and Wellness Specialist at Innovations Public Charter School. Growing up on a farm in the Kaʻawaloa ahupuaʻa, her family's go-to beach was Keʻei and she gathered from mauka to makai the way her kūpuna taught her. Kara also comes from a long line of Kaitiaki, guardians of the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand who manages resources based on Māori worldview. She serves on the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee and has worked with Jean-Gabriel Cuby, Executive Director, Canada France Hawaiʻi Telescope, as an educator and advocate for culture-based approaches in social change.
Kencho Gurung
Kencho Gurung grew up predominantly in South and Southeast Asia and belongs to a tribe Indigenous to the Himalayas. She now lives in Kohala, where she tries to grow as much of her own food as possible. Since childhood, Kencho has been a fierce advocate for equality and justice for BIPOC people and for the climate. She currently works at Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, and is a Kuleana Academy graduate, food justice advocate, organizer, volunteer and educator. She hopes to continue helping to strengthen the environmental justice movement in Hawaiʻi.
Emily Garland
Emily Garland is a lifelong environmentalist—passionate about living simply and sustainably. As a 2017-2019 Hawai'i Island Group Executive Committee member, Emily managed the group newsletter and facilitated community events. Emily is an elementary special education teacher and writer. She has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cambodia, written for newspapers and magazines, and managed grants for several environmental nonprofits. Emily is excited about the opportunity to rekindle her activism with Hawai'i Island Group ExCom.
Chuck Flaherty
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.
Photo: Big Island Video News
Cindi Punihaole
Cindi Punihaole is the Director of the Kahaluʻu Bay Education Center (KBEC) a program of The Kohala Center; home to rich historical, cultural, and environmental treasures. Cindi's work to preserve Kahalu'u Bay and protect it against heavy visitor and wastewater pressures is featured in the Emmy-nominated film 'Keeper of the Bay'. The film highlights her efforts to blend Hawaiian cultural practices with scientific data to foster marine conservation." Ms. Punihaole also initialed the first cauliflower coral spawning closure at Kahalu‘u in 2018, a reef rejuvenation strategy that has continued in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. This successful project is embraced by the community and serves as a model for other bays around the island. In 2021 State Parks at Waialea Bay on Hawai‘i Island followed Kahaluʻu’s lead by commencing its first cauliflower coral closure days.
Brent has been an advocate of unbroken wilderness since he first began fly fishing in Montana in the early 70's. With his background in Geography (GIS systems), Brent has mapped mining tailings outwashes at superfund sites, monitored riparian areas, and supported GIS software from a developer perspective. He has done mapping stints at start ups, Microsoft, and recently as a contractor for a geo-centric health care application on Maui, though the DoD. Throughout it all, Brent has been outspoken in his love for, and defense of, our wild places. He's testified at HI County meetings, and supplied written testimony on numerous occasions in efforts to retain some aspect of 'wild' here in the islands. Brent is also an accomplished musician and composer, with his last record nominated for best instrumental release in the 2020 Na Hoku Hanohano awards here in Hawai'i. In the last few years, Brent has felt the pull of community service. That, coupled with the continued debasement of our Islands for corporate gain, has led him to this point of reaching out and getting involved. It's time to make a difference.
Maui Group- candidates coming soon…
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Oʻahu Group- candidates coming soon…
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Kauaʻi Group
Judy Dalton
Judy has served on the Kaua‘i Group Executive Committee for 30 years. She facilitated blocking the construction of a 3.5-mile long beach-destroying seawall fronting the Wailua Golf Course in 1996. She initiated the formation of Mālama Māhā‘ulepū in 1999; and succeeded in legally challenging the Planning Commission to increase coastal setbacks for the Kealia Kai subdivision at Kuna Bay (Donkey Beach). Recently, Judy was a key player in the legal action to stop the high-density Hokua Place development when they sought to amend the Land Use District Boundary of 97-acres of Agricultural District land to Urban District.
David Dinner
David has had a deep connection to nature and conservation throughout his life and being a member of the Excom has deepened that experience over the years. He has served on the board of many community groups including 1,000 Friends of Kaua‘i and Rotary. Recently, he is part of a group working to shift the context of aging from “old" to “elder" to restore the value our society places on wisdom. And, he is expanding his writing to include poetry, and the exploration of how our understanding of the environment can be enhanced to retain the pristine beauty of Kaua’i.