Board of Directors

Hannah Kihalani Springer is a kamaʻāina of Kaʻūpūlehu, North Kona, where she and her family homestead at Kukuiʻohiwai. Her grandchildren are the seventh generation to call Kukuiʻohiwai home. From Kukuiʻohiwai they can look to the shorelines of Kūkiʻo and Kaʻūpūlehu, where Hannahʻs maternal and paternal ancestors lived, respectively, during the generation of Kamehamehaʻs rise and Captain Cookʻs arrival.

Hannah has held a variety of elected, appointed, and voluntary positions, always bringing kamaʻāina perspective and sensibility to her civic engagements. She presently serves of the Boards of the Kanu O Ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana, the Kona Historical Society, Kua ʻĀina Ulu ʻAuamo, and Mānā Christian ʻOhana. Hannah is actively engaged in community based resources management with the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee, the Kai Kuleana Network, the Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Community Based Subsistence Forest Area, and the Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Advisory Committee. From mauka to makai, Hannahʻs joy is that the ʻāina be vibrant, alive with community, people with aloha for the ʻāina, and each other, from one generation to the next. The Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests supports this joy. Her prayer is that it long be so.

Daniel “Kaniela” Kahikina Akaka, Jr. born in Honolulu, attended the Kamehameha Schools for 13 years. His educational career continued at the University of Hawai‘i where he received a bachelor’s degree in the Hawaiian Studies Program. For the past 33 years, Mr. Akaka has been employed at the Mauna Lani, on the Island of Hawai‘i. He is presently the Director of Cultural Affairs, where he educates the public about Hawaii’s history and culture. Mr. Akaka’s business career has also included Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian Holidays, Hawaiian Foliage & Landscaping, the Hawai‘i Maritime Center and the Director of Corporate Affairs for American Hawai‘i Cruises. In keeping with the Hawaiian culture, he has had the opportunity to be a crewmember of the Hokule‘a for three of its voyages.

In his work today, Mr. Akaka is involved in perpetuating the culture, the essence, and the Spirit of Hawai‘i. Mr. Akaka is an active Board Member of the Bishop Museum, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, the Pohakuloa Cultural Advisory Committee and the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests.

Dr. Michael J. Chun is a seasoned Native Hawaiian executive with diverse experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. From his appointment in 1988 until his retirement in 2012, Dr. Chun served as President of The Kamehameha Schools and Headmaster of its Kapalama Campus. Prior to his appointment as President, he taught at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa in the College of Engineering and School of Public Health from 1970 to 1981; served as Chief Engineer of the City and County of Honolulu from 1981 to 1985 and was Vice President of Park Engineering from 1985 to 1988.

Active in professional, community and business organizations, Dr. Chun serves on the boards of Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, Bishop Museum, Partners in Development Foundation, Hawai`i Medical Services Association, YMCA of Honolulu, Matson Navigation Company and the Bank of Hawai`i.

Through his service to these organizations and institutions, Dr. Chun has received several awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Hawai`i and the “Distinguished Service Award from the University of Kansas”. Dr. Chun earned his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and doctorate degree in Environmental Health Engineering from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. He is a 1961 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools for Boys.

Robert McKendry currently serves at W.M. Keck Observatory as a Controller supporting financial, budgeting, and compliance requirements. Previously, Robert spent over 12 years in the independent educational environment, first at Parker School as their Business Manager and Treasurer, and most recently at Hawaii Preparatory Academy as their Chief Financial Officer and then Head of School. Prior to Parker School, Robert served as a licensed Certified Public Accountant with David Ramos, CPAs and Associates in Waimea. On the mainland, Robert held corporate positions in financial management, including Regional Controller and Management Accountant.

Robert grew up in Oregon and has a B.A. in Business Administration with dual concentrations in management and finance from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Accounting from Baker College. His wife, Fiona, is from Waimea, and they relocated to Hawaii from the San Francisco bay area in 2003 to raise their family.

Dr. Akaka is the Vice President of Native Hawaiian Affairs and Clinical Support at The Queen’s Health Systems. He joined Queen’s in 2002 as Medical Director of The Queen’s Emma Clinics and is a Clinical Faculty member in the Department of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawai‘i.

Prior to coming to The Queen’s Medical Center, Dr. Akaka served as an internist and Medical Director for the Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech from the University of Hawai‘i and his M.D. at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). He completed his intern and residency programs at JABSOM. Dr. Akaka was named Queen’s “Outstanding Physician of the Year” in 2004. In Dr Akaka’s work with patients, physicians and other care providers, he strives to serve with "humble strength".

Dr. Douglass Jacobs is the Fred M. van Eck Professor of Forest Biology and Associate Head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. He is also the Co-Director of the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC), a regional collaborative research, development, and technology transfer effort for hardwood stewardship. He has specific responsibility for leading TropHTIRC, the tropical branch of the center that is focused on tree breeding and silviculture of Pacific Island forest trees. Dr. Jacobs' research focuses on nursery propagation and field establishment of forest trees for reforestation and restoration. Since 2010, he has served as Editor in Chief of New Forests, an international journal on the biology, biotechnology, and management of afforestation and reforestation. Dr. Jacobs has conducted a wide variety of research project in Hawai‘i dealing with Acacia koa and other native Hawai‘i trees for the past decade. He is currently stationed in Hilo, Hawaii for a 1-year research sabbatical working with the University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and USDA Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. During this period, he will be supervising TropHTIRC staff and projects, networking with collaborators across Hawai‘i, and working with the TropHTIRC advisory committee to develop a new 5-year strategic plan. In the past, Dr. Jacobs has served on the Board of Directors of four forestry-related foundations.