Meet Our People

Introducing our Board of Directors and Staff

Staff

Amy Hodges

Executive Director

Amy has been with MNMRC since 2012 and keeps its many programs and grants running smoothly. She appreciates the critical importance of community participation in effective marine conservation efforts and supports a number of Maui community groups that are working to restore the island’s native marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Amy holds a master’s degree in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from Colorado State University and a BA from Bowdoin College. Amy has a certificate in project management from UH Maui, has studied Hawaiian language and history, and is a graduate of the Ka Ipu Kukui Leadership program.

Mike Fogarty

Finance Director

Mike started his flying career as a bush pilot in Alaska; he retired in 2014 as a Captain for Alaska Airlines. During visits to Maui, Mike obtained his SCUBA certification. Shortly after retirement, Mike moved to Maui and led MNMRC in obtaining its 501c3 designation. He continues to develop MNMRC’s corporate structures, and oversees its fiscal management. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Western Illinois University and Certificate of Financial Management from Cornell University.

Jill Wirt

Project Manager

Jill holds a masters degree specializing in coastal and marine resource management from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management – University of California, Santa Barbara. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at San Diego State University in Environmental Sciences.

While pursuing her masters degree, Jill worked for Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as a Communication & Programs Assistant, where she coordinated with resort properties to arrange for the installation of the “Protect Maui’s Coral Reefs” informational signs, now located at 39 Maui shoreline locations. She also led marine debris educational programs. Wirt has also worked as a naturalist with Pacific Whale Foundation, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, and The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. She was the co-investigator for a NOAA Marine Debris Grant awarded to Pacific Whale Foundation, and was the social media coordinator for Skyline Eco-Adventures on Maui. After completing her masters, Wirt was an Eco-Entrepreneurship Fellow through the Bren School, where she laid the foundation to start her own nonprofit, Bringing Young Women to the Ocean, to engage and encourage young women to pursue marine science and other STEM fields through camps and mentor programs.

Jill manages Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Reef Friendly Landscaping” project, which encourages resorts, hotels, golf courses, businesses and homeowners to move away from synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that are causing harm to Maui’s nearshore coral reefs and populations of native fish and marine wildlife. The program offers “Reef Friendly Landscaping” certification to businesses, with complimentary consulting by a local organic landscaping expert to help properties move toward safer land care practices.

Jill also assists with field monitoring of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s Oyster Bioremediation Project in Må’alaea Bay, a vetiver-planting effort planned for this fall in Pohakea Watershed, along with social media. As part of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s ongoing support of the Maui Nui Makai Network, a network of community and partner groups that care for ecosystems on which Hawai’i’s people depend, Jill will provide assistance with their social media and outreach.

John Starmer

Science Director

John has spent over two decades as a student, researcher, and resource manager in the tropical Pacific, with much of that time spent working with local government and NGOs throughout Micronesia to support coral reef conservation. John brings diverse expertise in water quality, watershed management, and coral reef monitoring to our team. He currently manages the MNMRC diving program and is growing MNMRC’s capacity to evaluate and monitor the condition of coral reef habitats.

Kailea Tracy-Visintainer

Director of Communications & Development

Part-Native Hawaiian and Maui-raised, Kailea has always had the same dream: save the oceans.

That calling took her to Stanford University, where she earned a BA in Communication and went on to build a decade-long career in marketing strategy, storytelling, and relationship-building across tech startups, enterprise brands, and digital agencies.

If you share a love for Maui’s ocean ecosystem and want to explore how you can get involved (whether through donating, volunteering, or simply spreading the word), she’d love to hear from you!

Liz Yannell

Hui O Ka Wai Ola Program Manager

Liz joined the Hui as Senior Team Leader in 2022 and became the Program Manager in 2023. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Florida Gulf Coast University with a focus in environmental education. In 2022, Liz graduated from the Marine Options Program at UH Maui and worked as the assistant in the marine lab on campus. As Program Manager, she is primarily responsible for coordinating various aspects of the program, including field, lab, and logistical support, coordinating team leads, and managing the volunteer program. Her responsibilities include overseeing monitoring operations and data collection, entry, and record-keeping; team lead and volunteer training and coordination; preparing and maintaining supplies and equipment; and meeting with advisory Technical and Steering Committees to ensure successful continuity and growth of the program. She also often joins volunteers in the collection and analysis of coastal water samples in the field. Liz is from O’ahu and currently lives in Kula with her two kids and husband. She loves all things ocean-related and is very passionate about coral reef conservation.

Ylenia St-Louis

South Maui Team Leader – HOKWO

Ylenia started with Hui O Ka Wai Ola in 2021 as a volunteer for the West side, and eventually became a Team Leader for the South Maui team in 2022. Originally from New York City, Ylenia’s love for the ocean began at a very young age. She went to college in New Jersey where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology, then spent time in the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Ketchikan, Alaska, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, receiving her SCUBA instructor certification while in Cozumel, Mexico. Ylenia has been living in Hawai’i for 7 years.

Board of Directors

Lucienne De Naie

President

Lucienne lives in rural east Maui and is active with stream and watershed restoration projects. She is a founding member of Maui Cultural Lands, Inc. and the Maui Coastal Land Trust (now Hawaiian Islands Land Trust.) Lucienne has served on the Mayor’s Open Space Zoning Advisory Committee, the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee and serves as Conservation Chair and hike leader for the Maui Sierra Club.

Edwin “Ekolu” Lindsey III

Board Member

Raised on Maui (where he loved visiting his grandparents’ home in Lahaina to surf, swim and fish in the waters of Polanui), Ekolu graduated from Kamehameha Schools on O‘ahu, and earned a B.B.A. at University of Hawaiʻi at Mänoa. Ekolu’s parents — Ed Lindsey, a Native Hawaiian and lifelong schoolteacher, and Puanani Lindsey — co-founded Maui Cultural Lands in 2002. Ed Lindsey also co-founded Maui Nui Marine Resource Council in 2007 with marine biologist Robin Newbold. After his father passed away in 2009, Ekolu assumed the role of president of Maui Cultural Lands. He carries forward his familyʻs legacy of service and their vision of protecting and restoring Hawaiian cultural resources and the marine environment. In July of 2015, he completed a ten-day, 500-mile journey aboard the voyaging canoe Hikianalia to the Papahänaumokuäkea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to conduct reef surveys and fish monitoring to help better manage Hawai‘i’s marine resourceS. Ekolu also cofounded Polanui Hiu, the first Community Managed Makai Area (CMMA) on Maui. Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is proud and grateful for Ekoluʻs service and guidance as a member of our Board of Directors.

Larry Stevens

Secretary and Treasurer

Larry is a veteran software industry executive, who now makes Maui his home. He has helped establish the Council’s online presence and consults on management and planning. He also cleans up beaches! In addition to serving on MNMRC’s Board of Directors, Larry serves on the board of the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and is a board member of the Oneloa Colation. He is also a member of the Planning Committee and Marine Committee of the Kihei Community Association.

Hanalei Hoʻopai-Sylva

Board Member

Hanalei was born and raised on the island of Maui. As a fisherman, spear diver, and surfer, he understood how important Hawaiʻi’s marine ecosystem was in everyday life from a young age. He is currently working with Coral Resilience Lab and is helping to lead the Restore with Resilience (RWR) project on Maui. Hanalei is responsible for much of the data collection and analysis for RWR Honolulu and Kāneʻohe using structure-from-motion photogrammetry.

Tova Callender

Board Member
Tova Callender is a longtime partner of the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and its newest board member. In her current role as the Ridge to Reef Coordinator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (DNLR-DAR), Tova focuses on land-based solutions to protect Maui’s waters. Tova is also a member of the steering committee for Hui O Ka Wai Ola and is the watershed coordinator for the West Maui Ridge 2 Reef Initiative.

Tova grew up running wild with my brothers on 100 acres of forest, fields, streams, and orchards in Ontario, Canada. That early connection to nature eventually led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology at McGill University followed by graduate studies at UC Santa Barbara. The close relationship she has felt to nature since she was young and her passion for the environment naturally evolved into her career focus.

She moved to Maui twenty years ago to work in sustainable agriculture in West Maui. That experience deepened her understanding of the island’s unique ecosystems and people, which led to her current role as Ridge to Reef Coordinator for DLNR-DAR, where she focuses on land-based solutions to protect our coastal waters.

Robin Newbold

Board Member Emeritus & Co-founder

Robin helped found MNMRC in 2007. She is a past professor of marine biology and oceanography at Saddleback College in California. Beginning in 1995, Robin led and participated in coral reef research efforts around Maui Nui, and spearheaded the introduction of REEF to Hawaii to foster reef stewardship in Maui. She has made over a thousand research oriented SCUBA dives at many locations throughout the Pacific, and is committed to community-based reef restoration.