Our 2025 Fellowship Cohort

De Andre Makakoa created Remembering Wai, a place-based documentary tracing the history and present impacts of water diversion in West Maui. Through archival plantation footage, community testimony, and on-the-ground documentation, the film examines how extractive water practices reshaped ʻāina, ecosystems, and cultural identity. Featuring watershed expert Jordan Tabura, generational kalo farmers, families stewarding Kauaʻula Valley, and water rights advocates, the film connects past injustices to present-day restoration efforts and envisions a future of community-led water reclamation. 

Mariane Torres Belfort Rezende built four Vensim submodels supporting Hulihia’s Lahaina Watershed Restoration model, emphasizing Kauaʻula. Her work examined relationships between fire resilience, food security, soil moisture, reforestation, and community energy needs. Developed through research and collaboration, these submodels now serve as foundational components for Hulihia’s integrated systems modeling. 

Daniel Reyes advanced stakeholder engagement through art and design by creating an interactive 3D ahupuaʻa model illustrating mauka-to-makai systems, water diversion, and land-use impacts. The model serves as an educational tool, translating complex sustainability concepts into accessible, place-based learning, and supports future integration of GIS and 3D printing for community and county planning. 

Melelani Jones reviewed and coded hours of Lahaina community testimony to extract themes, needs, and priorities identified by residents. This qualitative analysis directly informed Hulihia’s modeling framework, ensuring community voices guide recovery planning and future program development. 

Jordan Hocker developed a systems model analyzing housing outcomes for survivors of the August 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfires, with a focus on predicting pathways into houselessness. The project reframes “homelessness” as “houselessness” to reflect cultural ties to place, particularly for Native Hawaiian residents. The model identifies drivers, projected outcomes, and key intervention points to prevent displacement and inform recovery policy.