Dr. Rhonda Loh has over thirty years of experience at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, starting out as a volunteer and now in the top position as Superintendent. Rhonda explains how her graduate experiences in science (she holds both a Master’s biochemistry and a PhD in botany) were in tandem with her discovery of Hawaiian ecology and conservation. We get into careers within the National Park Service, her community challenges in fencing and removing feral ungulates, and her perpetual wonder and amazement that Kilauea volcano continues to instill in both staff and visitors.

Husband-wife team Dr. .Susan Cordell and Dr. Pat Hart have made their conservation careers in Hawai`i since the early 1990s in their respective fields of native ecosystem restoration ecology and Hawaiian forest birds. In addition to Susan’s research with the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Pacific Island Forestry and Pat’s work on Hawaiian forest bird ecology at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo, the pair have undertaken the restoration of 20 acres of prime farm lands at their home in north Hilo since the early 2000s. Their son Colin Hart has led the transformation of former agricultural fields into the selection, cultivation, processing and selling of boutique chocolate for his company Honoli`i Orchards. The family describes their commitment to Hawai'i's land and people–from students learning about Hawaiian birds, to restoring endangered plants in native ecosystems, and finally cultivating the land to produce a homegrown agricultural product.

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.