Hawai‘i Land Trust is pleased to host Mālama ‘Āina Kākou! The event brings together Hawai‘i’s conservation advocates for an island-style sunset pā‘ina on the historic grounds at Lanikūhonua on O‘ahu’s west side.
Guests will be treated with ‘ono fare featuring locally gown and produced foods, complimentary cocktails, and live entertainment. This benefit provides much-needed operational support for Hawai‘i Land Trust to protect and steward the lands that sustain us. Your support of this event will bolster our efforts to protect lands in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua as well as ensure the protection of coastlines, wahi kupuna, and farms and ranches that produce healthy food for our community, across the island chain. E Mālama ʻĀina Kākou!
2025 Kahu o ka ʻĀina
Herb Lee Jr.
Herb Lee, Jr., is a Native Hawaiian and the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific American Foundation (PAF), a Native Hawaiian serving non -profit established in 1993. Herb retired in December 2024 after serving for 25 years. Herb has led highly successful and innovative education and leadership projects, that has benefited over 150 schools, trained over 7,000 teachers and formed over 200 community and industry partnerships over a 30-year period. In 1995 he founded the Waikalua Fishpond Preservation Society to protect and steward a 400-year-old ancient Hawaiian Fishpond, one of the few remaining in the 21st Century. He also has 36 years of experience as a community involvement specialist and has been a recording artist, Hawaiian musician, a cultural practitioner for 46 years and a member of CREA (Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment) Hawaii since 2015. He was one of twelve that served to develop Na Hopena A’o, adopted by the Hawaii Board of Education in 2015.
In 2007, PAF received its first “Partners in Excellence” Award from the Hawaii Department of Education and in 2011, he received numerous awards including the Historic Hawaii Foundation’s highest Preservation Award for the work at the Waikalua Loko Fishpond; the Hawaii Maoli and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Club’s “Ka Mana o ke Kanaka, the Spirit of the Hawaiian” award; the Rotary Club of Honolulu’s, “Peacemaker Award,” and the O’O award from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce. In 2014, he was one of ten in the country to be awarded a “Cesar Chavez Champion of Change” by President Obama and in 2022, the “Distinguished Kama’āina Award from the Ko’olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club and “Lighting Our Way” award from the Pacific Buddhist Academy. In 2024, he was selected one in ten in the country to receive a Luce Fellowship from the First Nation’s Development Institute to share indigenous knowledge with future generations. Finally in 2025, The Peace Award from the Wholistic Peace Institute for his lifetime achievements in modeling peace and aloha in the world.
Featured Entertainment:
Sistah Robi Kahakalau
Robi Kahakalau is one of Hawaii's most recognized female voices. She first came into the music scene as the featured female vocalist in the extremely popular group, Hawaiian Style Band, as "Sistah Robi” and quickly became a favorite among Hawai`i’s music industry and fans. She has since had a very successful solo career that has spanned over two decades, with her albums earning her multiple Na Hōkū Hanohano Awards and a nomination for a GRAMMY® Award for a collaboration with fellow Hawaii musician, Sean Na‘auao. Robi's multi-cultural, multi-lingual background is reflected in her musical range from: soft Hawaiian rhythms to funky reggae beats and American pop songs to Polynesian traditional songs with lyrics in English, Hawaiian, and Tahitian. As long as it feels good, as long as it's fun, she sings it in her own special way, and her effervescent personality shines through, thus making her a favorite vocalist who has toured and performed with many of Hawai`i’s music legends. This includes the Iconic Makaha Sons, with whom she was blessed with not one, but two performances at Carnegie Hall. No doubt, “Sistah Robi” has held her spot as one of Hawaii’s most beloved and recognized voices for the past two decades.
Kala'e Camarillo
Kala’e Camarillo was born and raised in Kihei, Maui. He is a third-generation musician/music educator and is currently the Kanikapila Kumu at Kamehameha Middle School, Kapālama Campus. In 2004, at the age of 12, he began performing weekly with his father, Rama, at the Maui Coast Hotel. In 2009, as a high school senior at Kamehameha Maui, he and his cousin, Dane Lum Ho, won the Hawaii statewide “Band Champ” competition, awarding the duo the opening act for two major groups: The Stylistics and America. Today, after three solo releases, he has received 6 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award awards, most recently for his original song, “Sands of Old Lahaina,” which was awarded Song of The Year, Single of The Year, and Music Video of The Year.
Featured Restaurant Partners:
This year’s event will include a delicious menu curated to feature local restaurants and chefs who prioritize supporting local farmers and food producers. Hawaiʻi Land Trust works to support food sustainability in Hawaiʻi by protecting local farms and ranches. We are proud to work with these local chefs and restaurants celebrating Hawaiʻi’s vibrant food culture and local farmers.
Chef Keaka is a local boy, born in Honolulu, Hawai’i. He received his culinary and pastry arts degrees from the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College. He was part of Team Hawaii that won Gold at the national American Culinary Federation. Keaka’s love for cooking developed at local Hawaii restaurants: 3660 on the Rise, Alan Wong’s, and the Pig and the Lady. He learned about Hawaii Regional Cuisine and the importance of supporting local farmers and ranchers. He has trained with chefs in San Francisco (Benu) and New York City (Gramercy Tavern, Studio Café, Le Bernardin, Café Boulud, EMP). In December 2020, Keaka opened Kapa Hale, a neighborhood eatery in Waialae-Kahala. He strives to continue the story of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. He works with the local farmers and fisheries to create fun dining experiences for lunch, brunch and dinner. Chef was named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific in 2023.
Ed Kenney is an influential champion of the local farm-to-table movement that has transitioned from movement to culinary norm. He opened his first restaurant, TOWN, in 2005, followed by Kaimukī Superette, Mud Hen Water, and Mahina & Sun’s. His restaurants are lively gathering places guided by the mantra, “local first, organic whenever possible, with aloha always” and have received accolades in local and national press. In 2015, he founded FoodShed Community Kitchen which provides incubator kitchen space for small local food-centric businesses.
There’s no doubt about Roy Yamaguchi’s impact on island cuisine. Over the course of his career, the James Beard award-winning chef co-founded the Hawaiʻi regional cuisine movement, and in 2011 with Alan Wong and Denise Yamaguchi, he co-founded the Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival. Roy Yamaguchi Hawaiʻi Restaurants are an involved and active member of their communities and take pride in their responsibility to give back. Roy Yamaguchi has long been a proud supporter of local farms and fisherman, serving locally grown foods and products in all his restaurants, growing efforts to support as many local agricultural resources as possible.
Mahalo to our Table Sponsors!
Mahalo to our In-Kind Sponsors!
