Board of Directors

Nā Koa Manu Conservation consists of an all volunteer board of directors, each bringing their own unique value to the organization.

President: Bryan Berkowitz

GIS/ Operations Specialist for Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC) a program of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai’i (RCUH) by day and owner/ operator of Berktech Solutions LLC, a boutique technology & photography business by night, Mr. Berkowitz brings extensive technical, leadership, media, and community-focused conservation expertise to the organization.

Vice President: Sarah McLane Bryan

Mrs. Bryan is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Na Koa Manu Conservation and has been with the organization since its founding. She is also the Senior Disaster Services Analyst for the Pacific Disaster Center in Kihei, Maui and the owner/founder of the Makali'i Group, a GIS and project management consulting firm. Mrs. Bryan has more than 13 years of experience in the field of Geographic Information Systems, 11 years working with conservation and non-profit groups in Hawaii and 6 years of specific project management experience. Currently serving as the Chair of the Maui Conservation Alliance, she has spent 10 years with that grassroots organization to promote conservation issues across Hawai'i. She loves to help organizations find new funding sources, planting native plants, cooking for friends and enjoying the beach and ocean with her family.

Secretary: Sara Tekula

Since 2004, Sara has has served as a strategic business consultant, cause marketer and publicist for nearly 50 different local businesses, start-ups and nonprofits in Hawai‘i. She has produced and directed dozens of events, including The Noble Chef for the University of Hawai‘i Foundation and TEDxMaui, which she co-founded and directed. Since 2011, Sara has taught undergraduate business, management, and marketing courses at University of Hawaii Maui College, as part of the business department faculty. Sara has a degree in psychology from the University of Southern California, studies the connections between people, nature, and creativity, and is deeply passionate about caring for and restoring native habitats in Hawai‘i and abroad. She is co-founder of Plant a Wish, a Maui-based native tree planting organization that has taken part in native habitat restoration in all 50 States, and she works full-time as Director of Programs & Communications for Maui nonprofit The Merwin Conservancy, an organization co-founded by U.S. Poet Laureate and environmentalist W.S. Merwin and his wife Paula Merwin.

Treasurer: Brad Eichhorst M.D.

Brad Eichhorst, M.D., is a Minnesota native who majored in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota and spent the first part of his professional life studying placental permeability before electing to pursue a career in medicine. After completing his medical training at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science, Brad joined the staff of Mayo Clinic. He served as Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale and directed the implementation of one of the first paperless electronic record systems at Mayo Thunderbird Family Medicine Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1996, Brad left clinical practice to join Epic Systems Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin, and spent the next 16 years promoting the development and use of computerized health records. He was named Vice President for Clinical Informatics in 2001 and retired from Epic in 2012. Brad and his wife, Sherry, have been regular seasonal visitors to Maui since the early 90’s and became Maui residents following retirement. They divide their time between homes in Maui and Rochester, Minnesota.

Director: Kelly McHugh

With 20 years of experience as a nonprofit business administrator, Kelly McHugh specializes in the advancement of conservation, arts and cultural programs that leverage community engagement in order to strengthen visibility, credibility and "fund-ability." A New York native, she joined the Maui community in 2008 to administer the marketing, fundraising and youth arts programs at Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center followed by a 5-year tenure as Public Information Specialist for the State of Hawaiʻi, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission. She has served in a freelance capacity for the County of Maui-Maui Redevelopment Agency, Spellbound Theatre, Edible Hawaiian Islands, the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Merwin Conservancy and Art Maui. She currently serves as Director of Marketing & Development for Pacific Whale Foundation, President of Adaptations Dance Theater, and Coordinator of County of Maui’s SMALL TOWN * BIG ART. She joined the Nā Koa Manu Conservation Board of Directors in February 2018.

Director: Janet Six, PhD

Dr. Janet Six, a long time Maui resident, has been conducting research in Hawaii since 2003 and served on the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission (2013-2018). Over the years Dr. Six has led efforts – working alongside native Hawaiian cultural practitioners – to restore endangered cultural/ecosystem at several of Maui’s most sacred sites partnering with students and faculty from UH-Maui College and New York University to head up archaeological excavations at Lo`iloa in `Iao Valley and Moku`ula in Lahaina. She is also the writer and co-producer of the documentary film Ho`okele Wa`a: Turning the Canoe – Navigating a Sustainable Future for Maui winning the Audience Award for Best Film made in Hawai`i at the 2010 Maui Film Festival and is an Associate Producer of Na Kupu Mana`ola: Seeds of Hope. She has served on the Steering Committee on UH-Maui College’s Sustainable Living Institute of Maui, the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club Maui Group and the Cultural Resource Commission for Maui County. And she just finished her second Semester at Sea as an instructor.

Ex-Officio Board Member: Hanna Mounce, PhD

Hanna developed a passion for island ecosystems while completing her undergraduate degree at Humboldt State, CA and Lincoln University in New Zealand. Hanna has worked in public and private sectors of avian conservation across North and Central America. Hanna joined the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project (MFBRP) as a field technician in 2006, now the Coordinator of MFBRP. Hanna completed her doctorate in biodiversity conservation at the University of Kent, UK and then spearheaded the incorporation of Na Koa Manu Conservation in 2015. Hanna serves on the Maui County Board of Water Supply, the vice chair of the Maui Conservation Alliance, a small business owner (Hanna's Handmade on Maui, LLC, producing products focused on reducing dependency on single use plastics), a Maui County Ka Ipu Kukui fellow from 2013, and the mother of two.