
We Serve the Community of Lahaina
We are Lahaina-rooted advocates, supported by trusted attorneys and kiaʻi who will hold space until Lahaina is ready to make long-term decisions.
VISION
A thriving community, rooted by kamaʻāina, and generational Lahaina ʻohana, where our relationship with ʻāina breeds collective well-being.
The Lahaina Community Land Trust is led by dedicated, Lahaina-rooted professionals, committed to the long-term recovery of Lahaina. We see the rising of Lahaina as an ʻohā, a next generation offspring of the makua that came before. Our intention is to nurture that ʻohā to ensure it grows healthy and strong, a beautiful reflection of the previous generation.
MISSION
To protect and perpetuate Lahaina, by empowering the Lahaina community to live, engage, and prosper, restoring and caring for its ʻāina and ea.
Our goal is to help keep Lahaina families in Lahaina, protect cultural and environmental sites and explore values-based economies as Lahaina rebuilds. Experienced and educated kiaʻi, we are organizing to ensure Lahaina lands will remain in the hands of our community for future generations.
Land Trust Team
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AUTUMN NESS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Autumn Ness serves as LCLT’s Executive Director nurturing the long-term vision and holding steadfast to bring more āina into community ownership. On a personal level, she has intimate experience with the influx of outside wealth and displacement that too often unfolds after disasters after being displaced after the Japan tsunami and nuclear meltdown. She previously served as Senior Affordable Housing Policy Advisor for Council Member Johnson, chair of Affordable Housing. They worked with Maui County Council to implement a progressive package of affordable housing bills that include the strongest anti-displacement policies in Hawaiʻi, and increased funding mechanisms for infrastructure and affordable housing. She is also the founder of the Maui Food Hub, a response to COVID that has now become vital and permanent farm-to-consumer infrastructure.
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CAROLYN AUWELOA
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Carolyn Auweloa is the Chief Operations Officer. Everything about Carolyn’s life revolves around ʻāina momona – meaning fertile or rich land. She currently serves as a board member of Nā Maka Onaona, a state-wide non-profit focused on cultivating ʻāina momona, and formerly served as the State Rangeland Management Specialist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. During her time with USDA, Carolyn provided planning, implementation and contract management oversight for 86 federal contracts totaling over $12 million.
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SIMON WINDELL
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Simon Windell is LCLT’s Chief Financial Officer. Simon is a leading expert in the development of community land trusts and has served land trusts, including the Methow Housing Trust. Prior to working in the community land trust space, he spent 14 years in corporate operations at a large consulting firm. He has also served as a Winthrop Planning Commissioner and the treasurer of the board of the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition.
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DEBORAH MADER
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Deborah Mader is the Vice President of Operations for LCLT, where her duties include customization of a SalesForce based property and grant management system, operational support, compliance management and donor relations. Deborah previously managed a company in New York with more than 100 employees, coordinating support/communications for 20,000 families in the largest soccer program in Long Island.
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KA‘I NILES
PROGRAM MANAGER
Ka‘i Niles is the program manager for LCLT, overseeing the trust's efforts to secure and steward property for generations to come. Born and raised in Lahaina, Ka‘i brings decades of experience as a small business owner, real estate professional and accounts executive to her work growing and managing LCLT's portfolio of lands held in community ownership. She brings her generational ‘ike of Lahaina as well as professional expertise gained through years in real estate to foster the relationship between Lahaina's people and āina.
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MARINA STARLEAF RIKER
COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR
Marina Starleaf Riker is the Communication Director for LCLT, where she works to educate community members and policymakers on the social, economic and ecosystem-wide benefits of expanding community ownership. Born and raised on Maui, Marina previously spent nearly a decade working as a journalist, with a focus on investigating barriers to equity in housing, health care and disaster recovery.
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JULIE BRUNNER
CONSULTANT & POLICY ADVISOR
Julie Brunner is a consultant and policy advisor for LCLT. She is a housing consultant specializing in Community Land Trusts, who has also served as the Housing Director for OPAL Community Land Trust on Orcas Island, Washington since 2002. Julie’s work has focused regionally and nationally, focusing on housing and community needs assessments, board development, program design, project feasibility, project work-outs and project implementation. She also regularly provides training through the Grounded Solutions Network.
Board of Directors
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MICHAELLYN "MIKEY" BURKE
BOARD PRESIDENT
Michaellyn “Mikey” Burke is a fire survivor and founding member of the LCLT. Mikey is the West Maui Community Liaison for Hawaiian Electric, board member for both Lahaina Canoe Club and Maui Facilities and Engineering Leadership Council, and past Treasurer for Nā Leo Kālele, a support organization for Hawaiian language immersion education in Lahaina. She is an active participant in many recovery-focused organizations, an advocate for ‘āina (land), ʻohana (family) and lifeways of Kanaka Maoli, Hawai‘i’s Indigenous people. As a keiki o Lahaina (child of Lahaina) and a mother of four young boys, she is deeply committed to nurturing the future and protecting the character of the place that raised her.
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KAIPO KEKONA
BOARD SECRETARY
Kaipo Kekona was born and raised in Lahaina. He manages the 12.5 acre farm site known as Ku'ia Agricultural Education Center, in the ahupua'a of Ku'ia on Legacy Lands of Keʻelikolani. His mission is to not only reclaim space as a native historical food property, but also introduce to the community to traditional practices that encourage a healthier food system and ecosystem. He is passionate about perpetuating heritage and culture, and has studied under the tutelage of olohe/ali'i Ke'eaumoku Kapu for the past 16-years in the tradition's and religious rites of Hawai'i. Kaipo has donated his services to the Kaiapuni 'O Lahaina Hawaiian immersion school programs and serves as the state President of Hawai'i Farmer's Union United. He and his wife have four children and are lineal descendants of Maui.
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KAPALI KEAHI
BOARD TREASURER
Kapali Keahi is a lineal descendant and lifetime resident of Lahaina. He is an active advocate for Kanaka Maoli rights and a fierce defender of wai (water). Kapali and his ʻohana (family) were integral in restoring wai to Kahoma and Kanahā streams by pressing the Hawai‘i Commission of Water Resource Management to adopt instream flow standards, providing mauka to makai (mountain to sea) streamflow for native stream animals and traditional and customary practices.
Motivated by a deep passion for our land, we are Lahaina-rooted advocates and skilled organizers, bolstered by the unwavering support of esteemed attorneys and vigilant kiaʻi. Together, we stand firm, holding space with patience and dedication, as Lahaina prepares to chart its course for the future.
Our commitment is unwavering: to ensure that Lahaina's lands remain forever in the hands of its people.
what drives us
Pono
Ea
Kaiaulu
Lokomaikaʻi
Pono Ea Kaiaulu Lokomaikaʻi
Advisory Board
Kai Keahi, Ginger Prince, Audrey Cabrera, Tonata Lolesio, Kanoe Steward, Kalamaʻehu Takahashi, Leah Santos, Jesica Basques, and Debra Andres-Arellano.
The Lahaina Community Land Trust Advisory board is made up of Lahaina community members that identify with LCLT’s values, in wanting to preserve the character and livability of Lahaina, and represent that we are a diverse community with different experiences and histories. They each are trusted members and recognized leaders of various facets of the Lahaina community and can facilitate 2-way communication between the interests of the community and the LCLT Board of Directors. The advisory board will weigh-in on key decisions such as LCLT priorities, land use decisions, management strategies, and how decisions about land will affect the diverse communities that make up Lahaina.
LCLT Advisory Board will:
Engage with the board of directors and advise the trust on:
The future direction of LCLT
Priorities, strategy that will guide land acquisition
Input on specific parcels: land uses, parcel management and highest & best use of parcels for the Lahaina community
The advisory board will serve as a communication channel between LCLT and your network of friends, family and coworkers in Lahaina. Weigh in on how trust activities may affect diverse subcommunities in Lahaina.

Why We Exist
The August 8, 2023 fire sparked deep concern about the future of Lahaina. While many focused on immediate recovery, we quickly recognized the looming threat of disaster capitalists targeting our town, and how that could harm future generations. This urgency led to the creation of Lahaina Community Land Trust, a nonprofit that protects Lahaina’s lands for Lahaina's people. We offer landowners a community- centered alternative to selling to investors, ensuring that lands sold stay in Lahaina’s hands.
Founded by a hui of advocates, experienced kia‘i, and supported by trusted attorneys, LCLT is guided by an advisory board made up of diverse and trusted members of the Lahaina community. This advisory board shapes our policies, land use decisions, and long-term vision. In the future, residents of land trust properties will also become "members" of the trust, with the power to elect board members and oversee leadership staff managing day-to-day operations.
Supporters & Collaborators
Seeds of Inspiration

Interested in volunteering with The Lahaina Community Land Trust?
Our mission depends on the energy and expertise of community members like you!