‘ĀinaQuest Advisory Board Announcement
We are excited to announce ‘ĀinaQuest has secured an Advisory Board consisting of knowledge holders with expertise in Hawaiian plants, mo’olelo, culture/community, and the Hawai’i focused publishing industry. We are honored that they will help inform our project’s journey.
The Advisory Board will share feedback and insights guiding the development of our fun and exciting card game about building pilina (relationships) with plants. The advisory board will meet three times via Zoom in 2024-2025. Their contributions will include reviewing and giving feedback and guidance on the plant-mon characters, design of the cards, plant information, mo’olelo (stories), and printing.
A big and warm welcome to our 6 Advisory Board Members:
Dr. Jeannette Soon-Ludes (Executive Director, Māla'ai)
Jeannette Soon-Ludes, PhD, was born on Oʻahu and raised in Koʻolaupoko where she developed a deep love for the lands and waters of her ancestors. With their guidance, Jeannette navigated college education abroad and eventually found her way back home. Today, Kalōpā, Hāmākua is the ʻāina that she strives to nurture and, in turn, the ʻāina that will sustain her descendants to come. As a professional with experience at the intersections of equity, education, and agriculture, Dr. Soon-Ludes serves as the Executive Director for Mālaʻai, a Waimea-based non-profit that operates the Culinary Garden at Waimea Middle School and is the hub of the Hawaiʻi Island School Garden Network. Their mission is to cultivate connections between people, land, culture, and food through school gardens.
Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer (Nui Now! of Pu'uhonua Society)
Manulani Aluli Meyer is the fifth daughter of Emma Aluli and Harry Meyer who grew up on the shores of Mokapu, Kailua and Hilo Palikū. She comes from ʻohana dedicated to ʻike kupuna and aloha ʻāina as embodied principles expressed in the world. Dr. Aluli Meyer has been an athlete, coach, wilderness instructor, professor, scholar-practitioner, writer, and wahine kalai pōhaku. Her work is in Indigenous epistemology (philosophy of knowledge) and its role in world-wide awakening. Aunty Manu is a haku hoʻoponopono. A moʻowahine, she knows purpose through the beauty of our Hawaiian natural environment and affirms every expression of that connection. Aloha ʻāina. Aloha ʻāina. Aloha ʻāina.
Dr. Noa Lincoln (Associate Professor, University of Hawai’i, Mānoa)
Noa Kekuewa Lincoln is an Associate Professor with a focus on Indigenous Crops and Cropping Systems, in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, and the PI of the Indigenous Cropping Systems Laboratory. He is the President and founder of Māla Kalu‘ulu Cooperative, a demonstration farm restoring traditional agroforestry methods in the kalu‘ulu breadfruit system of South Kona. He is the production advisor and a board member of the Hawai‘i ʻUlu Producers Cooperative, a farmer-owned business focused on the mid-tier value chain of several indigenous crops, including breadfruit. He is the co-founder and Vice Chair of the community-based organization that owns and operates the Amy BH Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, which preserves rare native Hawaiian plants as well as traditional crop varieties. He sits on numerous boards of community-based non-profits, such as ʻAina Momona and Ulu Mau Puanui, and governmental advisory boards, such as the Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Council.
Noa is kanaka ‘ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) with mixed German, Welsh, Irish, and Japanese heritage. He received his BS in Environmental Engineering from Yale University, his PhD in Biogeochemistry and Social Ecology from Stanford University, and was a post-doctoral researcher with the Ngai Tahu Research Center at Canterbury University focused on Indigenous Resource Management. Despite his academic training, he credits much of his knowledge and practice to learning from indigenous practitioners, farmers, and other place-based knowledge holders.
Jack K.J Hobbs IV (Co-Founder, Theorycraftist Games)
Jack K.J. Hobbs IV is the son of Jack K.J. Hobbs III and Carla Chillingworth-Hobbs. He was born in Honolulu on the island of Oahu and was raised in Nanakuli. While attending Nanakuli High School, he began working in the gaming industry as a game developer and assistant media director through afterschool programs such as Pals Hawaii and Olelo Community Media.
Under the mentorship of Jeff Vierra, Sean Pottenger, and Alika Spahn Naihe from Pals Hawaii, he was able to create and produce three games for the market while assisting in the development of ten others before graduating high school. Following this, he co-founded a Native Hawaiian gaming company called Theorycraftist Games LLC with Jeff and Alika.
Currently, Jack is involved in several non-profits, serving as either a board member or founder, aiming to provide assistance to those in need. He is a founder of KA MAKANI KAILI KOA and leads their Indigenous Game Design program. Additionally, he serves as the Unit Commander for Aloha Cosplay Theater for the Aloha Shriners.
While continuing his career as a game developer, Jack collaborates with the gaming community, whether through Tabletop Oahu or Vex Robotics. Despite being the youngest of seven, he cherishes his family deeply and strives to be a strong role model for his nieces and nephews, aiming to make his parents and ancestors proud.
Kawehi Young (Outreach Specialist, Big Island Invasive Species Committee)
Kawehi Young has dedicated her career to protecting Hawaiʻi’s unique ecosystems from the impacts of invasive species. With a BA in Environmental Studies and an MS in Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Kawehi blends her deep-rooted passion for ʻāina and lāhui to drive meaningful change. As the Public Outreach Coordinator for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, she is committed to working with communities to develop collaborative solutions for the many invasive species problems affecting our islands.
David DeLuca (Director of Publishing/COO, Bess Press)
David DeLuca is currently the Director of Publishing and COO of Bess Press Inc, one of Honolulu’s leading educational and general trade book publishers. Today the publishing company has expanded to include an online learning platform, distribution, and managing collaborative media projects with other businesses and community organization. David is also the co-owner of da Shop: books + curiosities, a local independent bookstore and events space. David serves on the Board of Directors for Hawaiʻi Public Radio and was previously Chairman for the Hawai’i Book and Music Festival and President to the Hawaiʻi Book Publishers Association, all 501(c) 3 non-profits.
We are grateful and honored to have this deeply knowledgeable board to learn from and guide us. Together, we aim to grow ‘ĀinaQuest in a way that uplifts community plant knowledge, past and present, Hawaiian knowledge frameworks, and grow interest in the project through our community gatherings.
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