Program Directors
Mawae Morton
Mawae Morton is originally from Aotearoa (New Zealand). Mr. Morton has affiliations with several iwi, including Ngäti Tuwharetoa, Ngäti Pukenga, Te Atihaunui a Paparangi, and Ngäti Maniapoto. Mr Morton holds a Bachelor of Agriculture degree from Massey University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Victoria University of Wellington. He has served in key Maori governance roles, notably as Chairman of the Tauponuiatia Management Board on appointment by the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board; and as a founding Trustee and Director of the Putahitanga o nga Ara Trust, which is the governance entity for the Pouakani Treaty Settlement. Mr. Morton has held several policy positions with the New Zealand Government in the area of Maori development, Maori land and natural resource management, and Treaty of Waitangi issues. As a Senior Consultant with KPMG Consulting and in private practice, Mr. Morton advised many Maori trusts and incorporations on Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations, governance issues, strategic planning and business planning.
Mr. Morton currently serves in a managing director post leading a subsidiary company of Merica International, a holding corporation recently established by Hawai‘i resident Michael Saalfeld for a complementary collection of bio-energy and resource management interests. This role is part of the management team for KS’ 365,000 acres of agriculture and conservation land in Hawai'i. It also involves business and program development. Mr. Morton has acted as the interim program director for the First Nations’ Futures Program since it was first proposed three years ago. He is currently also Senior Vice President of Planning with a new corporation, Hawaii BioEnergy, formed by Kamehameha Schools, Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Grove Farm, Vinod Khosla and Finistere Ventures.
Peter Vitousek
Peter M. Vitousek is Morrison Professor of Population and Resource Studies in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. He was born in Hawai'i, and now does most of his research there – making use of the extraordinary environments and ecosystems of the Islands as a model for understanding ecology and human-environment interactions globally. There is no truth to the rumor that his interest in Hawai'i is anything but academic. He graduated from HPA, Amherst College (BA Political Science), and Dartmouth College (PhD Biology), then taught at Indiana University and the University of North Carolina before joining Stanford’s Department of Biological Sciences in 1984. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was named “America’s Best Ecologist” by Time/CNN in 2001. Peter is married and has two children.
Neil Hannahs
Neil J.K. Hannahs directs the Land Assets Division of Kamehameha Schools that manages Kamehameha’s 350,000 acres of agriculture and conservation lands in Hawai`i. This land legacy of Hawaiian royalty provides an enduring linkage for indigenous Hawaiians to places that shaped their unique cultural identity. These natural and cultural resources are managed to promote the integration of sound asset management, place-based eco-cultural education, land stewardship and sustainable community-based economic development.
Mr. Hannahs is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and received his BA and MA degrees from Stanford University. He joined the Kamehameha Schools staff in 1974 and has performed various roles, including coordinating development of Kamehameha Schools’ Strategic Plan for 2000-2015 and directing the initial Native Hawaiian Educational Assessment Project for the U.S. Congress.
Mr. Hannahs is active in community affairs, serving as trustee of Queen’s Health System, Queen’s Medical Center, Moloka`i General Hospital and Bishop Museum. He also performs leadership roles for the First Nations Futures Program, Polynesian Voyaging Society, Wai`anae Community Re-Development Corporation, `Ike `Āina Hawaiian Land Trust, National Science Foundation’s Hawai`i Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Steering Committee, the University of Hawai`i Sea Grant Advisory Council, Ka Huli Ao Advisory Board of the University of Hawai`i William S. Richardson School of Law and Native Hawaiian Advisory Council to the U.S. Army Garrison Commander of Hawai`i. Reaching beyond Hawai`i, Mr. Hannahs was named to an international work group of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to create assessment instruments to measure the effects that changes in coastal and marine ecosystems have on cultural values.
His prior community service extends to numerous other cultural, civic and community organizations in Hawai`i and is highlighted by over twenty years of leadership of the Public Broadcasting System, including contributions as founder and long tenure as chairman of the Hawai`i Public Television Foundation.
In 1993, in remembrance of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Mr. Hannahs created and served as executive producer of "Schifrin Symphony No. 1: Lili`uokalani" composed by acclaimed artist Lalo Schifrin and recorded by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
He has been a contributing author for “Wayfinding through the Storm: Speaking Truth to Power at Kamehameha Schools 1993-1999,” as well as “The Theory & Practice of Ecosystem Service Valuation in Conservation.” Mr. Hannahs has also written liner notes for compact discs that have earned him multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano nominations and he received a Gold Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators.
Mr. Hannahs is married to Mariane Holu Hannahs. She also matriculated from Kamehameha Schools and Stanford University and serves as a kindergarten & first grade resource teacher at Kamehameha’s Kapālama campus. They have three accomplished adult children.
Their son, Kale Kaho`okeleholu Hannahs, holds degrees from Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawai`i – Mānoa. He is employed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and is a professional musician with numerous Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards.
Daughter, Kalikolīhau Hannahs, is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and holds bachelor degrees, as well as a Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Jurisprudence from University of Hawai`i – Mānoa. She serves as a legal consultant and has also earned Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards for her musical talents.
Daughter, Moanilei`awapuhi Hannahs, is a Kamehameha Schools alumni and graduated Cum Laude from Hawai`i Pacific University. She is employed by Abe Lee Realty and also works as a professional model and wedding planning consultant.
