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: Sarah McLane Bryan
Mrs. Bryan is the President of the Board of Directors for NKMC 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 23 years of experience in the field of Geographic Information Systems, 21 years working with conservation and non-profit groups in Hawaii and 11 years of specific project management experience. Sarah is also an advisor for the NASA Lifelines project, Board Director for Malama Kahalawai Inc. and has also served for 18 years on the Maui Conservation Alliance, promoting 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.
Vice President: Bryan Berkowitz
Bryan Berkowitz is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for NKMC and continues to contribute his extensive technical, leadership, media, and community-focused conservation expertise to the organization. He serves as the Director of Technology at Seabury Hall where he oversees and manages all aspects of technology on campus including hardware and software assets, purchasing and implementation of network infrastructure, equipment and devices, and classroom and teaching technology. Bryan is also the owner/operator of Berktech Solutions LLC, a technology and photography business.
Secretary: Sara Tekula
Since 2004, Sara has served Maui’s communities as a strategic business consultant, non-profit leader, and media producer for dozens of local businesses. She has planned successful community events, including The Noble Chef for the University of Hawai‘i Foundation and TEDxMaui, which she co-founded and directed. A member of the University of Hawai‘i business department faculty, Sara has taught undergraduate courses since 2011. Deeply passionate about protecting and restoring native habitats in Hawai‘i and abroad, she is co-founder of Plant a Wish, a native tree planting initiative that has planted trees in all 50 States and hundreds on Maui. For 12 years, she worked with Maui nonprofit The Merwin Conservancy, an organization co-founded by U.S. Poet Laureate and environmentalist W.S. Merwin and his wife Paula Merwin. She is currently involved in response and recovery efforts, including land restoration, following the August 2023 wildfires.
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: 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.
Director: Erin Johnson
Erin has over ten years of experience working with conservation groups and nonprofits across South America, New Zealand and Hawai'i. She holds a Master of Conservation Biology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and graduated from the University of Montana with a B.A. in Biology. Her first job was with a conservation start-up non-profit, which led her to pursue innovative conservation biology practices in New Zealand. She began pursuing conservation in Hawai'i in 2016 with the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project and the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project. In 2019, she assisted with the translocation of the kiwikiu to Nakula Natural Area Reserve and efforts to track and monitor the home ranges of wild birds in the Hanawi Natural Area Reserve. Over the past five years, she has been involved with supporting operations for the Maui Invasive Species Committee and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.
