Maunakea Management Board

The Maunakea Science Reserve Master Plan, and the Maunakea Comprehensive Management Plan reflect extensive community influence. The Maunakea Management Board provides the community with a sustained direct voice for the management of the Maunakea.  The Board is comprised of seven members from the community who are nominated by the UH Hilo Chancellor and approved by the UH Board of Regents.  The volunteer members represent a cross-section of the community and serve as the community’s voice providing input on operations and activities, developing policies, reviewing and providing recommendations for land uses planned for Maunakea.

Board members in 2014 include:

Gregory Mooers (Chair) - Mr. Mooers is the President of Mooers Enterprises, LLC, a company that specializes in analyzing and implementing land use alternatives. Mr. Mooers has over 25 years of experience in West Hawaiʻi real estate development, both in the public and private sectors. He served as the Deputy Managing Director for the County of Hawaiʻi, as well as a member on numerous State and County boards and commissions relating to development. He has experience in preparing and securing permits for development, including Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Conservation District Use permits and leases from the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Mooers has successfully processed hundreds of permits with State and County agencies. With respect to Maunakea, Mr. Mooers served on the OMKM design review committee and provided valuable input as a community planner in the final design of the TMT project. Mr. Mooers’ experience will benefit OMKM as it begins the process of reviewing the decommissioning plan, including the necessary permitting processes, for the CalTech Submillimeter Telescope. 

Greg Chun - Dr. Chun is the former Vice President of Kamehameha Schools where he oversaw the Keauhou-Kahalu‘u Educational Group. His primary responsibilities included strategic and operational oversight of education and cultural programing and cultural asset management within Keauhou Resort. Previously, Chun was President of Bishop Holdings Corporation, Kamehameha Schools for-profit holding company for investment and real estate development activities. He is active in the community and serves on several boards, including chair of the Hawai`i Island Economic Development Board and Ulumau Leadership Series, and serves as a trustee of the Kona Community Hospital Foundation and Historic Hawai`i Foundation. He is principle of Awa Kele LLC, with core services of strategy and business development, and asset re-positioning, focusing on the development, education, and renewable energy sectors. The vision of Awa Kele LLC is to enrich the communities within which we live through the establishment of social and business networks, with particular interest in doing so by honoring our kupuna and the Hawaiian culture.

Roger Imoto - Roger Imoto recently retired from the Department of Land and Natural Resources after a long and successful career spanning 34 years.  After beginning his career as a survey forester, Mr. Imoto was promoted to various forestry positions including protection forester and resources forester.  He eventually took on the position of Hawai`i (Island) Branch manager for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DoFAW).  Most recently he was promoted to statewide administrator for DoFAW.  With the exception of his first and last positions at DLNR, Mr. Imoto’s career with DLNR has been on the Island of Hawai`i.  He was born and raised on the Island and through his years with DLNR has become extremely knowledgeable about the Island’s resources and the need to protect them including those on Maunakea.  Following his retirement, Roger returned to the Island of Hawai`i to be with his family and continues to take an active interest in protecting the Island’s resources.

Herring Kalua - Mr. Kalua has worked for over 39 years for the state Department of Transportation. His current position is Supervisor for Construction and Highway Maintenance on the Island of Hawai`i. Mr. Kalua was born and raised on the Island of Hawai`i, having grown up on Hawaiian homestead property in Keaukaha. Except for his time serving in the Hawai’i National Guard and service in Vietnam, he has spent most of his professional career on the Island of Hawai`i. He is actively involved in numerous community organizations and activities including the Governor’s Advisory Board on Veterans’ Services,  Kamehameha Schools East Hawai`i Advisory Committee, Hawaiian Home Lands Commission, Keaukaha Panaewa Association, Task Force for Siting of a Rehab/Prison in East Hawai`i, and Advisory Committee during the development of the 2000 Maunakea Master Plan, to name a few. The knowledge and experience he gained from serving on the Maunakea Master Plan Advisory Committee gives Mr. Kalua valuable background into management issues addressed by the MKMB. His extraordinary commitment to community affairs, his intimate knowledge of the Big Island issues, and his prominent role as a leader in the Native Hawaiian community assures that Mr. Kalua will provide an effective voice on its behalf as a member of the Board.

Douglas Simons - Douglas Simons is the Executive Director for the Canada-France-Hawai`i Telescope (CFHT) on Maunakea.  After receiving his Ph.D. in astronomy from the Institute of Astronomy at UH Mānoa, he began working as a staff astronomer for the CFHT.  He later joined the Gemini 8-meter telescope project as a systems scientist and eventually was named manager of Gemini’s instrument development program.  In 2006, he was appointed Director of Gemini, but in 2012, he returned to CFHT as its executive director.  He has devoted countless hours of volunteer service to the Waiākea Elementary and High schools and serves as guest lecturer in the classroom on astronomy and other science fields.  He has been an advocate for the University’s management of Maunakea including providing supporting testimony on the Comprehensive Management Plan, and has volunteered on several occasions with the Office of Maunakea Management’s volunteer invasive weed pulls at Halepōhaku.  Dr.Simons presents a balanced perspective of advancing astronomy on Maunakea with an approach that does minimal harm to the resources.

Hannah Kiahalani Springer - Ms. Springer is a well-known kama`aina of the Ka`upulehu ahupua`a (land division) in North Kona where her family has been associated with ranching for several generations. She is also a long serving member of the Hawai`i Island community and brings a kama`aina perspective to a variety of appointed, elected, professional, and voluntary positions she holds including the Daughters of Hawai`i, Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Council, Ka`upulehu Marine Resources Advisory Group and West Hawai`i Fisheries Management Council. Springer is a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee, The Nature Conservancy Hawaii Trustee and a present Trustee of Hawai`i Preparatory Academy.

Lehua Veincent - Mr. Lehua Veincent currently is the high school principal at Kamehameha Schools, Keaau Campus on the Island of Hawai`i.  Prior to coming to Kamehameha Schools, he was the principal at Keaukaha Elementary School where he established the Mauli Keaukaha philosophy of knowledge that links academia with culture through teacher collaboration to align academia content areas to cultural learning.  Mr. Veincent is the co-founder of Ke Ana La`ahana public charter school where he helped develop curriculum, instruction, and assessment, discussion, implementation and evaluation.  He served as the intermediate and high school principal.  Mr. Veincent also taught various topics within the State of Hawai`i Department of Education, as well as at UH Hilo and Hawai`i Community College.  He has also served as a mentor and community coordinator.