This Week's Speaker
Martha is contracted by the Hawai‘i Intergenerational Network (HIN), working with the HIN Board of Directors to launch and grow HIN’s Homesharing Hawai‘i pilot project on O’ahu. Homesharing Hawai‘i launched late 2019, and its inventory of vetted applicant home owners and home seekers is expanding, despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic.
HIN is safely moving forward with outreach to home owners and home seekers on O‘ahu because Homesharing Hawai‘i is a way for any one of us to increase the ability of seniors to stay at home independently longer without living in isolation, and to increase affordable housing.
Martha lives in Waimānalo, and is a consultant working with people who want to start and grow strong, successful nonprofits and businesses from their dreams and ideas. She provides customized start-up services, conducts workshops, offers 1-to-1 assessment, referrals, follow up, and facilitates group meetings for results. Martha believes nonprofits and small businesses are the backbone of communities.
Martha’s experience working on and leading initiatives in the government and private sector, spans about 40 years. She has conducted training and research, written journal articles, taught students and interns as adjunct faculty/lecturer, and co-led the start and growth of a community cooperative, a statewide peace promotion consortium and other projects.
January 2016 – May 2019, Martha served as Hi‘ilei Aloha LLC’s Capacity Building Manager. Hi‘ilei Aloha’s focus: culturally-appropriate, sustainable opportunities that benefit Native Hawaiians. 2013 - Martha and others opened the Waimānalo Market Co-op, and she served as the 1st General Manager, working with members, customers, local farmers and crafters. Fulfilling staff and board leadership roles at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for 16 years, one accomplishment is establishing the OHA Washington, D.C. office as its first Bureau Chief.
She has managed grants, led policy advocacy, facilitated groups and community organizing efforts and focused on community priorities such as, home sharing, workforce development, community-led economic development, victims’ rights and services, violence prevention, and social justice for Native Hawaiians.
