The 6th Cohort is Underway! Support their Leadership Journey!
In case you missed the announcement, our 6th Cohort of Kuleana Academy kicked off this past weekend, and we are very excited to welcome 18 new dedicated community leaders to our growing network. We know that these 18 grassroots leaders will positively impact their communities, like the 79 other Kuleana Academy alumni before them.
Many other alumni have returned to their communities to deepen their grassroots organizing work and have partnered with each other or with HAPA to continue to fight for progressive change
Kuleana Academy’s goal is to give grassroots and community organizers the knowledge and tools they need to run for elected office, manage political campaigns or deepen their community organizing and engagement.
So far, our graduates have accomplished so much, from passing legislation to giving back to their community. Here are just a handful of the great things that have grown out of the Kuleana Academy:
Councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez (KA class of Spring 2017) was able to direct $2.5 million of Maui County Tourism funds to create $25,000 micro-grants for small farmers in her role as Maui County Budget Chair.
Representative Amy Perruso (KA class of Spring 2017) continues to set the bar for elected officials elevating community members: in 2019, she hosted a meeting between community members and the Hawaiʻi State D.O.E., which provided an opportunity for concerned parents to voice their opposition to using herbicides around keiki. The following day, the superintendent issued a memo clarifying that herbicides are banned on all public school campuses.
Representative Tina Wildberger (KA class of 2016) helped facilitate large tent donations through her local business to benefit South Maui schools, providing outdoor shade areas to help them reopen safely during the pandemic. She also passed HB424 which prioritizes electric vehicle rentals and helped secure funding in the State Budget HB200 to save South Maui’s water source, Nā Wai ʻEhā, from private acquisition.
Shannon Matson (KA class of 2016) spearheaded a weekly food donation drive at the beginning of the pandemic, serving between 50-70 kūpuna in Puna for over a year.
Together with you and all of our 79 Kuleana Academy Alumni & counting, we can grow the civic engagement of our communities in Hawaiʻi, particularly in communities most likely to be impacted by environmental, economic, and/or social injustices.