Jornal Kuʻualoha Kukuiolamekanaʻauao Maunakea-Forth

Jornal Kuʻualoha Kukuiolamekanaʻauao Maunakea-Forth is the Co-Founder and current Executive & Programs Director of the Waiʻanae Community Re-Development Corporation and MAʻO Organic Farms. For more than 25 years, she has advanced youth leadership, food security, ʻāina-based education, and community development throughout the Waiʻanae moku.

Kukui helped establish MAʻO’s nationally recognized model integrating organic agriculture, college education, workforce development, and cultural learning. Her leadership has supported generations of ʻōpio (youth) through paid internships, scholarships, mentorship, and pathways from the farm to college, careers, and community leadership. She has also guided the organization’s expansion across nearly 530 acres in Lualualei and Mākaha, creating new opportunities for food production, ecological restoration, housing, and community stewardship.

Kukui holds a Bachelor of Arts in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi. Inspired by her grandmother, Hawaiian language teacher and cultural educator Kupuna Katherine K. Maunakea, she leads with aloha, service, and a commitment to empowering future ancestors. Kukui and her husband, Gary, reside in Mākaha, where they raised their four children and remain deeply rooted in service to Waiʻanae families and communities.