Hawai‘i Land Trust is pleased to host Mālama ‘Āina Kākou! The event brings together Hawai‘i’s conservation advocates for an island-style sunset pā‘ina on the historic grounds at Lanikuhonua on O‘ahu’s west side.
Guests will be treated with ‘ono fare, complimentary cocktails, and live entertainment. This benefit provides much-needed operational support for Hawai‘i Land Trust to protect and steward the lands that sustain us. Your support of this event will bolster our efforts to protect lands in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua as well as ensure the protection of coastlines, wahi kupuna, and farms and ranches that produce healthy food for our community, across the island chain. E Mālama ʻĀina Kākou!
Sponsor a table or purchase individual tickets here.
Learn about the Table Sponsorship benefits here.
2024 Kahu o ka ʻĀina
Denise Antolini
Hawaiʻi Land Trust is pleased to announce that Denise Antolini will be recognized as our 2024 Kahu o ka ʻĀina. Each year, the Mālama ʻĀina Kākou event honors a person, group, or organization that has made a substantial impact in conservation and sustainability in Hawaiʻi.
Denise has made meaningful direct and systemic impacts on ʻāina stewardship in Hawaiʻi by cultivating law students for decades in environment-focused studies, building partnerships among key public and private entities, leading research and publications, working on landmark legal cases, and founding and serving on important community non-profits and government boards.
Denise served on the faculty of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, for nearly 30 years, including 9 years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She retired from the Law School in 2023 and now is Professor Emerita.
After Denise joined the Law School in 1996, she co-directed and then served as Director of the nationally ranked Environmental Law Program (ELP) from 2004 until 2011. She taught courses in torts, environmental law, legal writing, and advanced environmental law. Denise also worked on the creation and support for the Hawaiʻi Environmental Court, the first state-level natural resources/environmental civil and criminal court in the U.S. Starting in 2015, she partnered with the Judiciary to provide extensive programming and materials in bi-annual trainings for the Environmental Court judges statewide. Working with former Law School Dean Avi Soifer, she helped imagine, plan, design, and build the new Law School Clinical Building, a $9.2M LEED Gold certified project that opened for students, faculty, and legal community use in 2019.
From 2006 to 2023, she managed the Enviromental Law Program’s placement of over 30 law graduates in eight divisions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and with partners as “Law Fellows.” Denise also worked with the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) on the design of the new Officer Academy launched in 2021, legislation authorizing DOCARE to use drones for enforcement, and the community-based Makai Watch Program through her role as President of Mālama Pūpukea-Waimea since 2005.
At the international level, she extensively engaged ELP students and faculty in the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Congress in Honolulu, then went on to serve as the Deputy Chair of the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) (2016-2020).
Denise has also participated extensively in environmental community and pro bono service, including: State Water Commissioner (2014-2015); inaugural Chair of the City and County of Honolulu Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission (2008-2011); Member, Governor Linda Lingle Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group (2008-2010); Community Representative, Governor Neil Abercrombie Turtle Bay negotiations advisory group (2013-2014); Chair, State Environmental Council (2005-2006) and Rules Committee Chair (2004-2005); and Chair, Vice Chair, Program Chair, and member of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association's Natural Resources (now Energy and Environment) Section (1996-present).
A graduate of Princeton University, she earned joint J.D.-M.P.P. degrees from the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D.) and the Berkeley Public Policy School. After clerking for a federal judge for two years in Washington, D.C., she started her career with Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now Earthjustice) in Seattle and then transferred to Honolulu in 1990, serving as Project Attorney, Staff Attorney, and Managing Attorney (until 1996), where her litigation focused on environmental citizen suits including water pollution, endangered species, water rights, and environmental review.
Denise was a founding director of the North Shore Community Land Trust (1998-2012; Advisory Board, 2012-present); Save Waimea Valley Coalition (Co-Coordinator 2006-2008); Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea (President, 2005-present); Save Sharks Cove Alliance (2014-present); Aloha Marconi Alliance (2024-present). In 2023, shortly after retiring, she was elected to the North Shore Neighborhood Board. Denise lives in Pūpūkea and enjoys volunteering for numerous North Shore ‘āina advocacy and community conservation projects.
