Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Blanch McMillen also known as AuntyBlanche. I have been meaning to meet this amazing woman and share her story for a while, and today is the day. She is the founder of Hui Mahi’ai’Āina, a homeless community program that provides village style housing, essential facilities, and long-term support for those facing hard times in Hawaii. Affordable housing for the state of Hawaii is one of our top sustainable initiatives...
Jun 11, 2025•58 min
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Judy Meredith with PRMG Hawaii. Today we will be discussing land loans and how someone can obtain land to build on. A topic of discussion by many who are looking to find that perfect family land larger than the typical 5-10,000 square foot lot, something you can grow food on, live off of, have space away from the hustle bustle and stillafford it. Is this possible many ask and what does it take? Judy is an Expert Loa...
Feb 18, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Councilwomen, Andria Tupola. We will talk about affordable housing in Hawaii. The hurdles we face, how we are tackling the hurdles…also some solutions, ideas and action items worth discussing. Councilwoman Andria Tupola: Andria Tupola, Ph.D., was born in Kahuku, Oʻahu. She attended Kamehameha Schools and attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She holds a doctorate from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. ...
Oct 19, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Mindy Jaffe, the worm lady. We will discuss composting, vermicomposting and how worms play a significant role in our food waste reduction and the hierarchy to reduce food waste while growing our community. We will share the hurdles and challenges faced over the last 20+ years in this waste sector and what we have overcome and accomplished thus far. Let’s learn together how we can support Hawaii’s future through comp...
Jul 17, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Chad Waters, the founder and CEO of Hawaii Construction and Development Consulting HCDC. We will hear about a developers journey to sustainability and finding his true passion in green and sustainable building and development here in Hawaii. The hurdles, challenges and what he is doing to overcome them. With over 25 years of experience in the real estate and development industries, Chad combines proven strategies an...
Jun 18, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Todd Cullison, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Nature Center. We will learn about the Hawaii Nature Center, their keiki programs, education and volunteer opportunities. Todd Cullison has over 25 years in non-profit experiences with the majority concentrated on watershed restoration and environmental education. Mr. Cullison started his tenure as the Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Nature Center in August 2019 ...
May 15, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Jacob Roberts, Eco Rotary Club of Kakaako’s current president. We will chat all about our Rotary Club, how it differs from some of the other Rotary clubs out there, the environmental impact and the cool volunteer projects we work on in Hawaii! Jacob is a field sales consultant at Sunrun, Specializing in helping homeowners transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy sources, he emphasizes reducing carbon foo...
Apr 15, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Ryan Naka, Director of Philanthropy and Marketing for Project Vision Hawaii. We will zero in on Project Vision Hawaii, homelessness and how we are tackling this housing crisis we face as a state. From Emergency Proclamations, respites, shelters, and long-term housing for the houseless, we will share how Project Vision Hawaii is making a difference! Ryan Naka is the Director of Philanthropy & Marketing for Projec...
Mar 20, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Rob Van Tassell, the President and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii. Not only will we learn about their expansive services, we will zero in on housing for the people of Hawaii. Robert “Rob” Van Tassell is a leader with more than 20 years of experience in non-profit management, including social service, affordable housing, community development and organizational leadership. Named as CEO and President of Catholic Cha...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Rebecca Staron the founder of HI-RES Grant Writing and Consulting. We will learn about the world of grant-writing and what it takes for sustainable nonprofits to secure grants and funding. Rebecca began her career in a small Connecticut restaurant and was immediately hooked on feeding people. She attended Johnson & Wales University earning Bachelors degrees in both Culinary Arts and Nutrition. During this time, ...
Jan 10, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Neil Sims the founder and CEO of Ocean Era, Inc. We will learn more about fisheries, farming fish and limu and the innovative work he is doing in this space to be more sustainable, regenerative and kind to the environment we live in. Neil is Founder and CEO of Ocean Era, Inc., in Kona, Hawai’i, working in developing offshore culture systems for marine finfish - such as kampachi, snappers, mahimahi, and herbivorous r...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 66
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Dr. Albie Miles, where we will be discussing Hawaii’s food systems, the need for a comprehensive food system plan and food system resilience and disaster preparedness for Hawaii. We will learn about the Hawaii Food Summit coming up in December 2023 and how we can participate in Hawaii's food security, plan and legislative session in 2024. Albie Miles is Associate Professor of Sustainable Community Food Systems (SC...
Nov 21, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Quinn Vittum, Executive Director of Reuse Hawaii. We will learn about construction and the huge carbon footprint it leaves behind. From demolition to new build its waste is massive and we must find solutions to this problem…thanks to Quinn and his team, they are paving the path to our future! Quinn Vittum is the Executive Director of Re-use Hawaiʻi. He co-founded the organization in 2006 after founding a Habitat for...
Oct 12, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Matthew Gonser, the Chief Resilience Officer and Executive Director of Oahu’s Resilience Office: Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. We will learn what Oahu as a county has for Resiliency Goals and how we are implementing those goals. Since January 2021 Matthew Gonser serves as the City and County of Honolulu Chief Resilience Officer and Executive Director of the City’s Office of Climate Change,...
Sep 22, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Nicole Chatterson, the Director of Zero Waste Oahu. We will dive into their mission, partners, initiatives and resources for our community and breakdown waste and how we can tackle this beast! Nicole is the co-founder and Director of Zero Waste Oahu and also has her own consulting firm focused on developing sustainable strategies, corporate sustainability and responsibility metrics and business plans that focus on t...
Aug 21, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Brittany Zimmerman, the CEO and Chief of Innovation of Yummet. We will go into depth on Circular Living and focus on the future of waste. How we can transform our waste to concrete, hydrogen, water and biochar through Yummet's technologies, biomimicry and indigenous practices to empower communities to truly become sustainable. Brittany Zimmerman: Before founding Yummet (Yamay), Brittany served as a NASA Principal In...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Michael O’Keefe, the Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Services. Jumping into landfills and hurdles we face with our waste here on Oahu. Mike has worked in the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services (ENV) for 15 years, including 10 years in its Refuse Division, 3 years in its Office of Administrative Support (OAS), and 2 years as Deputy Director. In Refuse Mike oversaw ...
May 20, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Indy Rishi Singh who will be discussing community development, cooperatives and why regenerative civic engagement is so important to our communities today. Indy Rishi Singh is a well-being engineer & amateur social scientist. He's a co-founder of 2 cooperative businesses reimagining education, community development and regenerative civic engagement. Indy's podcast, “Political Hope with Indy Rishi Singh” , explor...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Hiro Nago, the President of EM Hawaii, LLC and one of the team members of the Genki Ala Wai Project. We will learn about EM ®, Effective Microogranisms ® and ways we can use them to heal our soils, fresh water sources like our Ala Wai Canal (with Genki Balls) and more! EM ® in many countries is providing solutions to problems we face globally such as food production, depletion of natural resources, environmental pol...
Mar 09, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Sean Anderson and Greg Williams w/ Full Circle Farm. We will talk about the Full Circle Farm they established and how their regenerative practices with composting, chickens, food scraps and more lead to healthy soils. From what was once waste going to our landfills and our H-POWER incinerator we now have alternatives that can be solutions for Hawaii’s future. Gregory Williams, began working in regenerative agricultu...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Joseph Valenti w/ the Albizia Project. We will talk about the Albizia tree, an invasive tree here in Hawaii and solutions due to it’s rapid growth as it takes over our Hawaii forests. From building homes, furniture and now surfboards, there is much to learn about this species and how we can restore our native ecosystem. Joey Valenti is founder of the Albizia Project & co-founder of Bizia Surf. Albizia Project wa...
Dec 16, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Sandy Ward, the co-founder and executive director of the Malama Puuloa Program. Greatest goal is to restore Puuloa, Pearl Harbor and they focus on community stewardship, education and partnerships. We will learn more about what they do, how they support our keiki and students and how they work within the community for a more vibrant and thriving community in the future. Sandy is a Retired public teacher with 38 year...
Oct 20, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Jake Johnson at Hale Partners where we will be discussing the successes and hurdles of building affordable housing in Hawaii. We will also learn about Homeaid Hawaii and what they do for our community, the newly built Kama’oku Kauhale, tiny home community for veterans and the homeless and where we see these developments headed as we tackle affordable housing. Jake Johnson: For over 15 years in Hawaii, tastemaker Jak...
Oct 13, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Bavan Nadarajah, as he shares the Lunch Out Of Landfills program he started in his high school. We will learn about a program that can be adopted in just about any town across America to help keep food, waste and recyclables out of the landfills while working with our youth. We will also dive into the mind of this 18 year old to get a better understanding of the younger generation’s views on sustainability, climate ...
Sep 08, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Lindsay Correa, the Business Development Director of AirCare Hawaii and also a Healthy Homes Consultant. AirCare Hawaii helps create a safer, cleaner environment in your home, office or building. From indoor air quality, extensive mold testing, allergen testing, duct cleaning (HVAC) or emergency response to environmental problems they are here to serve and educate you! Today we will dive deeper on ways to make your ...
Aug 12, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Kiersten Faulkner, the Executive Director of Historic Hawaii Foundation. We will learn how Hawaii’s Historic buildings, structures, objects and sites play a huge role on our future. Diving into our past and our Hawaiian culture not only reveals a sustainable way of life they once lived but also unfolds a thriving community that worked together with the land, ocean and people. Preservation is precious…lets learn why ...
Jul 02, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 51
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Noel Morin, the leader of Hawaii Electric Vehicle Association and the Big Island EV Association. We are going to learn about Electric Vehicles from the basics up to the latest and greatest! And also discussing our carbon footprint around transportation and how we as a state can improve. From being more efficient with your gas cars to not needing a car at all, we will learn some tricks, tips and truths about EV. Noel...
Jun 02, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Todd Boulanger, Executive Director of Bikeshare Hawaii, aka Biki. We will dive a little deeper into Bike Sharing, transportation, parking, traffic and mobility and how to solve these problems we face as a city, state and community. Todd Boulanger: Boulanger has more than 20 years of experience in transportation planning and mobility consultation with a special focus on roadway safety audits, researching trends, oper...
May 07, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Jim Murphy, CEO of Honolulu Habitat For Humanity. We will learn how Honolulu Habitat for Humanity works and serves the community with every house that they build. They work with the community, government agencies and homeowners to build the homes while helping solve our affordable housing shortage or should I say crisis. Let’s find out how we can support them in their mission of seeking to put God’s love into action...
Apr 15, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Today we will continue our Sustainable Leaders series and have a Talk Story with Joshua Powell the CEO of Revolusun. We will jump into the future of solar, HECO’s new program that pays cash upfront to get battery storage on your home and how this helps create a more resilient grid through virtual powerplants. We also discuss Revolusun and their additional projects, services and programs w/ HECO that differentiates them from others. What you learn from this podcast is very timely and relevant wit...
Mar 07, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 47
