Pilali Podcast
PILALI: A podcast by Funder Hui. Weaving trust and impact into our future. Pilali is a storytelling podcast rooted in Hawaiʻi, lifting up the vital role nonprofits play in our communities, while celebrating the kind of philanthropy that actually stick. Through conversations with grassroots leaders, community changemakers, and their funding partners, Pilali explores what it looks like when giving is reimagined. We dig into the relationships, the risks, and the reciprocity that make lasting community impact possible.
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Irie Love
<p>In this episode of Pilali, Ashley and Wren sit down with Kailua-born musician, vocalist, wellness coach, and Mana Wahine Movement founder Irie Love to explore music, identity, and the responsibility that comes with showing up authentically. From being booked by Madonna to finding an audience in Kenya through a single music video, Irie reflects on a career that has taken her around the world and why Hawaiʻi’s mana continues to keep her grounded.</p><p>Irie gets candid about the unpredictable income and mental health toll of the music industry, why she sees her energy rather than her...
Kyle Ellison
<p>In this episode of Pilali, Ashley and Wren sit down with Mālama Kula founder Kyle Ellison to explore what happens when disaster forces a community to become its own first responder. Kyle shares his experience of the 2023 Kula fires, from fighting flames behind his home to helping neighbors access water and supplies, and how that response ultimately grew into Mālama Kula.</p><p>The conversation explores the power and limits of community-led disaster recovery, from wildfire prevention and philanthropy to the long-term work of rebuilding. Together, they reflect on what Maui’s recovery reveals about tourism, housing, loca...
Upstream Solutions to Ocean Plastic Pollution | Kahi Pacarro from Nonprofit Leadership to Politics
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with environmental advocate and entrepreneur Kahi Pacarro to discuss ocean conservation, community leadership, and the evolving role of civic engagement in Hawaiʻi. Kahi reflects on his upbringing in Kailua, his early career in finance and real estate, and the moment when witnessing environmental degradation during his travels pushed him to rethink his path. That shift ultimately led him to found Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi, where he has spent more than a decade mobilizing communities to address marine debris and protect Hawaiʻi’s shorelines.</p><p>Ashley and Wren explore the scale of plast...
Why It Was Illegal to Bring Your Placenta Home | Maui Doula Sonya Niess
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with birth worker and advocate Sonya Niess to explore maternal care and birth options in Hawaiʻi. Sonya explains the roles of doulas and midwives and how the midwifery model of care centers emotional, physical, and community support throughout pregnancy and postpartum. The conversation highlights how Hawaiʻi’s maternal health system faces shortages of providers and structural barriers that make it difficult for many families to access the care they need.</p><p>Ashley and Wren also discuss the policy and cultural shifts shaping birth in Hawaiʻi today. Sonya shares her work with...
How Door-to-door Organizing Turned into Lahaina Strong after the Maui wildfires | Kaniela Ing
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with community organizer and former state legislator Kaniela Ing to talk about political power, grassroots organizing, and the future of democracy in Hawaiʻi. Kaniela reflects on his path from working in the pineapple fields and student activism at the University of Hawaiʻi to becoming one of the youngest legislators in state history. He shares how experiences inside government shaped his understanding of power and led him to focus on building movements outside traditional political institutions.</p><p>The conversation explores Kaniela’s work with Our Hawaiʻi and the importance of base build...
Hawaiʻi Locks Up More People Than Iran | Robert Perkinson on Incarceration
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with historian and educator Robert Perkinson to explore the intersections of incarceration, higher education, and public dialogue. Robert shares how his path from student activism to academia eventually brought him to Hawaiʻi and to the University of Hawaiʻi’s Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, a program designed to bring complex social issues into open, community-centered conversations.</p><p>Together they examine how systems such as mass incarceration and immigration detention shape society, and why prison should be a last resort rather than a default response. The conversation also looks at the role universities can...
How $11.5B in Bets Built 17,000 Climate Jobs | Nonprofit Investor Dawn Lippert
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with Dawn Lippert, founder and CEO of Elemental Impact, to discuss climate innovation, investment, and the role Hawaiʻi can play in developing solutions for a rapidly changing planet. Dawn shares how Elemental works with entrepreneurs building climate and energy technologies, combining investment with hands on support to help companies navigate capital, workforce development, policy, and community relationships. The conversation highlights how the organization has helped generate billions in follow on funding and thousands of jobs while recycling investment returns back into nonprofit climate work.</p><p>Ashley, Wren, and Dawn also explore the t...
Building an Ocean Tech Future | Chenoa Farnsworth on A New Vision for Hawaiʻi Business
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with investor and entrepreneur Chenoa Farnsworth to explore innovation, entrepreneurship, and the future of Hawaiʻi’s economy. Chenoa shares how her work with Blue Startups helps mentor and invest in Hawaiʻi-based entrepreneurs, particularly in ocean and climate technology. The conversation looks at how incubators support founders through mentorship, training, and investor networks while helping local companies scale beyond the islands.</p><p>Ashley, Wren, and Chenoa also discuss the broader vision behind this work, including the need to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy beyond tourism and the military. Chenoa reflects on the importa...
From Whole Foods Buyer to Farm Link Hawaiʻi CEO | Claire Sullivan is Betting on Local Farmers
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with Claire Sullivan to talk about the evolution of Hawaiʻi’s local food movement and the systems needed to support farmers and communities. Claire shares her journey from working in corporate communications at Maui Land & Pine to becoming deeply involved in the local food ecosystem through Whole Foods and later Farm Link Hawaiʻi. She reflects on how early efforts to scale local agriculture through retail partnerships helped open opportunities for small producers across the islands.</p><p>Ashley and Wren explore Claire’s experience supporting local farms through both relational and market-based approa...
Hawaiʻi's ICE Detentions Jumped 275% | Liza Gill on What's Behind It
<p>Ashley and Wren sit down with Liza Gill of the Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights to discuss immigration, belonging, and the realities facing immigrant communities across the islands. Liza explains how HICIR works to build power for the nearly 20 percent of Hawaiʻi residents who are foreign born through coalition building, policy advocacy, and efforts to expand access to legal counsel. The conversation explores the recent rise in immigration detention in Hawaiʻi, the fear and uncertainty many families are experiencing, and the civil nature of immigration law that often leaves people navigating the system without representation.</p><p>A...
