Commission members as of July 2008
• Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli
• Charles P. K. M. Burrows, PhEd
• Milton M. Arakawa, AICP
• Laura H. Thielen
• Craig Neff
• Amber Nāmaka Whitehead
• John D. Waiheʻe IV
Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli
Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana
Term expires June 30, 2009
Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli is currently the Chairperson of the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) and represents the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana (PKO). He has served as a KIRC Commissioner since 1993.
Dr. Aluli is a physician currently in private practice on Molokaʻi and serves as the Co-Medical Executive Director at Molokaʻi General Hospital. Dr. Aluli is a founding member of the PKO and Na Puʻuwai, Inc., the Native Hawaiian Health Care System.
In 1976, Dr. Aluli lead a group of Native Hawaiians in occupying Kahoʻolawe to protest the island's bombing by the U.S. Navy and establish Kahoʻolawe as a symbol of the renaissance of the Hawaiian culture, including the principle of malama ʻāina, the ethic of caring for the land. Since that time, he has led the PKO through a court-ordered consent decree, signed in 1980 by the U.S. Navy and the PKO, granting access to the island and requiring the Navy to protect historic and cultural sites, clear surface ordnance, begin soil conservation programs, eradicate goats and limit future ordnance training to the central part of the island. Since 1980, the PKO has facilitated access to Kahoʻolawe for native Hawaiians and the general public for religious, educational and scientific activities.
In 1990, Dr. Aluli was appointed to the congressionally established Kahoʻolawe Island Conveyance Commission to establish the terms and conditions for the return of the island to the State of Hawaiʻi. In 1993, the Legislature of the State of Hawaiʻi created the KIRC. Dr. Aluli was appointed as a founding member and original chairperson of the KIRC.
During his tenure, he has overseen the conveyance of Kahoʻolawe back to the State of Hawaiʻi and helped establish the vision for the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve. The vision calls for a rebirth of the land and the ocean surrounding the island and acknowledging the island as the "crossroads of past and future generations, from which the native Hawaiian lifestyle is spread."
Dr. Aluli completed his undergraduate studies at Marquette University in Biology and Chemistry and was in the first graduating class of the John A. Burns School of Medicine in 1975. Following a year in the University of Hawaiʻi Integrated Flexible Residency program, he moved to Moloka'i to join a Family Practice Clinic.
Charles P.K.M. Burrows, PhEd
Native Hawaiian Organizations - Aha Hui Malama I Ka Lokahi
Term expires June 30, 2012
Dr. Charles Burrows (Doc Burrows) sits on KIRC as a representative of native Hawaiian organizations. He was appointed by the Governor in 2000, and was recently reappointed and confirmed by the Senate in April 2004. He is serving his second term.
In addition to his work as a commissioner on the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission, Dr. Burrows currently serves on the boards of the Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation, Sierra Club High School Hikers Program, Hawaii Science Teachers Association, and Kailua Historic Society. He is a member of the Hawaii Academy of Science, Hawaii Audubon Society, Hawaii Nature Center, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ' Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council.
Dr. Burrows co-founded Ahahui Malama I ka Lokahi, a Hawaiian environmental organization. Through partnerships with the State of Hawaiʻi, federal government and other environmental organizations, the organization has made significant strides in conserving and protecting Hawaii's marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including the ecological and cultural restoration of Kahoʻolawe Island. Among its other projects is the rehabilitation of Kawainui Marsh on Oahu.
During his 35 years as a science teacher at Kamehameha Schools, Dr. Burrows conducted numerous Hawaiian Natural and Cultural Field studies with students on each of the main islands of Hawaiʻi and in 1981 led the first group of high school students and science and cultural resource specialists to Kahoʻolawe to conduct a field study of the island.
Dr. Burrows is unique among the commissioners, not only in his scientific background with regard to environmental issues, but also in his ability to combine scientific knowledge with a passion for cultural issues. With the transfer of control of the island back to the state, the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission will be increasing its environmental restoration and marine research activities. Much of the guidance and oversight on scientific and natural resource issues will be provided by Dr. Burrows.
Dr. Burrows' efforts have been recognized with awards from the Hawaii Audubon Society, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation, the American Red Cross, Tesoro, Sierra Club High School Hikers Program, Conservation Council for Hawaii, National Wildlife Federation, the Honolulu City Council and the Hawaii State House of Representatives. He was presented by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs 2001 the Ka Poʻokela O Kuhio Award for service to the Hawaiian Civic Club.
Dr. Charles P.M.K. Burrows was born on July 28, 1933 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in 1951. He earned his BA in Biology and Chemistry from Linfield College, an M.Ed. in Biology and an M.S. in the Earth Sciences from Oregon State University. He received his Doctorate in Education from Indiana University. He is the co-author of articles on Mastery Learning and the author of Hawaiian Conservation Values and Practices. He recently retired from the Kamehameha Schools where he served for 35 years as a science educator. Prior to that position he taught science for five years in Beaverton, Oregon.
Milton M. Arakawa, AICP
Maui County - Director, Department of Public Works & Environmental Mgmt.
Term expires June 30, 2011
Mr. Milton Arakawa serves as the Maui County representative on the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). His experience as a senior administrator and planner in state and county government make him a valuable resource to the KIRC staff and fellow commissioners. He has worked in both the public and private sectors as a planner in the areas of land use, environmental and community development. As a consultants for Maui County in the development of the Kahoʻolawe Island Community Plan, Mr. Arakawa possesses experience in issues specifically related to Kahoʻolawe.
Mr. Arakawa was a principal in the planning firm of Munekiyo, Arakawa & Hiraga where he worked with clients as a project manager and environmental planning consultant. He also served in a variety of planning positions with the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi State Department of Planning and Economic Development, and the Hawaii Community Development Authority. Since 2001, he has been with the County of Maui, Department of Public Works and Environmental Management where he currently holds the position of director.
A graduate of Maui High School, Mr. Arakawa received a BA degree in History and Sociology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he graduated with distinction. He also holds an MA in Urban Sociology and a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Laura H. Thielen
Department of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson
Term expires December 31, 2010
Laura Thielen is a member of KIRC as Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
In assuming the duties of Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources – responsible for managing Hawaiʻi’s unique and fragile natural and cultural resources – Laura H. Thielen comes to Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission well-credentialed.
With her father an award-winning general contractor and her mother an environmental and land use attorney and state representative, Oʻahu-raised Laura Thielen was literally born into a family who fostered community service and environmental protection.
Following her graduation from the University of Colorado-Boulder and, later, Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve School of Law, Thielen launched her legal career specializing in litigation and environmental law. Returning to Hawaiʻi in 1990, she served as a managing attorney for the Legal Aid Society before assuming sole proprietorship of LHT Services, which provided business consulting to non-profits and state agencies including the Hawaiʻi Justice Foundation, Hawaiʻi Commission on Access to Justice, Hawaiʻi Foster Parent Association, the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and state departments of Health and the Attorney General. She has also contributed her talents to an array of organizations including Hawaiʻi Women’s Lawyers, Hawaiʻi Women’s Legal Foundation and the Hawaiʻi Bar Association.
In 2000 Thielen received her master’s degree in public policy from the Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University. In 2002, she was elected to the state Board of Education.
Appointed by Governor Linda Lingle in 2005 to direct the state Office of Planning, Thielen worked to provide statewide strategic and policy planning coordination among government agencies prior to her 2007 gubernatorial appointment to chair the Department of Land and Natural Resources, overseeing all state lands and 11 operational and regulatory divisions.
Thielen lives in Kailua, Oʻahu with her husband and two daughters.
Craig Neff
Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana
Term expires June 30, 2011
Craig Neff is a member of the KIRC Commission as a representative from the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana (PKO).
A self-employed commercial artist and designer, Craig Neff is the owner of “The Hawaiian Force” – a Hilo-based retail clothing store where his distinctive artwork and designs are featured. Craig has been an active member of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ‘Ohana (PKO) for more than 25 years and is one of three ʻOhana representatives on the Commission.
Neff ranks among the PKO’s distinguished Moʻolono – men who have taken the responsibility to learn and conduct ceremonies and rituals on Kahoʻolawe that are sacred to Lono, the Hawaiian god of agriculture. Neff also serves as a member of the PKO ocean safety team, sharing the responsibility for traditional canoes and their crews who paddle over to Kahoʻolawe to engage in traditional and customary spiritual practices and ceremonies. To encourage the use of the Hawaiian canoe as a living classroom and not just as part of a competitive sport, he helped organize the Hui Waʻa O Kahoʻolawe with PKO members.
From 1994 through 1999 and again in 2001-2002, Neff served as a commissioner on the KIRC and thus brings a wealth of experience to the KIRC.
Prior to Kahoʻolawe’s return to the people of Hawaiʻi, Neff served on the ʻOhana preparation team for negotiations with the US Navy, and on the Governor’s Kahoʻolawe Planning Committee that developed a land use and management plan for the island and its surrounding waters.
Neff has also served the community in the protection and repatriation of iwi kupuna (ancestral burial remains) on Molokaʻi and Kahoʻolawe.
Neff is a graduate of Kalani High School and earned his AA degree from Kapioʻlani Community College before completing his bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Hawaʻii-Mānoa in 1982. He and his wife reside in Pāpaʻikou on Hawaiʻi Island.
Amber Nāmaka Whitehead
Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana
Term expires June 30, 2012
Amber Nāmaka Whitehead is a member of KIRC Commission as a respresentative of PKO.
A graduate of Kamehameha Schools in 1997, Nāmaka went on to earn a B.A. in Hawaiian Studies and Botany from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2002. She currently is enrolled in the Department of Botany in a PhD program specializing in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation.
Since 2004, Nāmaka has been employed by the Kamehameha Schools as an Ecologist for lands on Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Maui. Nāmaka manages the natural resources, stewardship activities and partnerships for over 360,000 acres of land and she oversees and is responsible for a budget of 2 million.
With the activities and achievements noted above, Nāmaka has been actively involved with the PKO for over 14 years. With each experience Nāmaka has grown and dedicated much of her time and her young life to caring for Kaho'olawe. With each year of growth, she has also acquired more and more responsibility and has become an Access Guide for the PKO, which requires attention and responsibility to participants in visits to Kahoʻolawe, to the operations undertaken by the PKO and to general caring for Kahoʻolawe itself. Namaka has been trained in health and safety measures, in ordnance identification, in cultural customs and.
John D. Waiheʻe IV
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Term expires June 30, 2009
John D. Waiheʻe IV serves on the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) in the seat reserved for a trustee or representative of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Mr. Waiheʻe has several years of valuable experience as a Trustee At-Large for OHA. Since becoming an OHA trustee in the year 2000, he has served in several capacities, including Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Committee on Policy and Planning, Chairman of the Committee on Program Management, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Legislative and Government Affairs. His experience and responsibilities at OHA enable him to help guide the KIRC toward the fulfillment of its strategic plan.
Recognized as a Valuable Community Leader by Pacific Magazine in 2004, Mr. Waiheʻe will bring his leadership experience and fresh outlook to bear on the issues and responsibilities that face the KIRC now and in the future. His concern for literacy and the performing arts, in addition to his commitment to a variety of community organizations, are also important components in his leadership.
