HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER - Hawai’i Land Trust Promotes Makana Reilly to Director of ʻĀina Connection

Hawaiian Islands Land Trust Promotes Makana Reilly to Director of ʻĀina Connection

The nonprofit created the position to enhance community ties to the lands it protects

On The Move Excerpt from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kāhili, Kauaʻi, December 8, 2020 – Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT), a Hawaiʻi 501(c)3 nonprofit that protects and stewards the lands that sustain Hawaiʻi, has promoted Makana Reilly to Director of ʻĀina Connection. In this new position, Makana will work to enhance community connections to HILT’s public lands throughout Hawai‘i. This includes coordinating educational and cultural programming initiatives on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island.

Makana started at HILT in August 2019 as the organization’s office manager and executive assistant to the CEO. Born and raised on Oʻahu, and with deep family ties to Kauaʻi, Makana earned a Master of Arts Degree in ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i from the University of Hawai‘i with a focus on Familial Land Management Options, and a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Miami. She is graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama.

Her previous work includes serving as a manager of the community gathering space Ka Waiwai, where she built relationships with community leaders, helping to breathe life into a new visionary workspace for activists, educators, ‘ohana and learners. In addition, Makana volunteers with Kanaeokana (a network supporting Hawaiian language, culture, and ʻāina-based education), Mānoa Heritage Center, Nā Leo Kākoʻo (Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Ānuenue’s parent organization), and ʻAha Kauleo, a Statewide council advising the Superintendent on Hawaiian language immersion charter schools. 

“This new position plays a critical role in supporting HILT’s focus on helping people throughout Hawaiʻi build reciprocal relationships with natural places in their community,” said Laura H.E. Kaakua, CEO of HILT. “Makana deeply understands the importance of building communities that are connected to and feel a responsibility to care for their coastlines, Hawaiian cultural landscapes, and farms. HILT’s Kāhili Beach Preserve on Kauaʻi’s North Shore is a strong example of a community-owned and stewarded preserve, so it makes sense for this new position to be based on Kauaʻi.”

Mahalo to The Garden Island who also shared this story on December 20th, 2020.