EP 67 Land stewards Cheyenne Hiapo Perry and Lisa Hadway Spain on the leadership challenges of forest protection on Hawai’i Island

In Melissa and Clay’s live recorded interview at ʻImiloa Center in Hilo, they talk with Cheyenne Hiapo Perry of the Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance and former state Forestry and Wildlife Administrator Lisa Hadway Spain about their respective leadership experiences in conservation. Each speaks to their early fascination with the marine world, while coming to the professional world of land conservation in very different ways–for Lisa, it was studying entomology at University of Hawai’i (UH) at Mānoa, while for Cheyenne he came to UH Hilo’s Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies after a military career abroad. Both Lisa and Cheyenne speak to the managerial challenges of dealing with difficult people, handling politics and marshalling stewardship resources during difficult financial downturns–and ultimately how it takes grit and determination to see things through.