About Us
Our Story
Our work began during the devastating 2018 floods, when North Shore residents came together to respond to the immediate needs of our communities.
Long before we were formally organized as a nonprofit, we were neighbors helping neighbors — organizing volunteers, coordinating resources, clearing homes and roads, distributing supplies, preparing meals, and caring for families and kūpuna.
Following the 2021 Hanalei Hill landslide, which once again isolated communities on the North Shore, Kauaʻi Resilience Team became a formally established nonprofit organization so that we could strengthen and expand the community-led work already taking place.
When Hurricane Lowell devastated communities across Kauaʻi's North Shore in September 2026, our community didn't wait. People grabbed chainsaws, trucks, excavators, shovels and whatever else they had and started working.
Read the full story of our Hurricane Lowell response →
For us, disaster response does not begin when outside help arrives. It begins with neighbors checking on neighbors, ʻohana helping ʻohana, and people who know their community coming together to figure out what is needed and how to get it done.
COMMUNITY-LED. GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED
OUR PRIMARY FOCUS: DISASTER RESILIANCE
Today, our primary focus is disaster preparedness, emergency response, disaster recovery, and long-term community resilience.
On the North Shore, one road connects our communities. When it closes, we are on our own. We have learned that help may be hours or days away, and that the knowledge, relationships, equipment, and resources already here are what carry us until it arrives.
Kauaʻi Resilience Team works collaboratively with residents, community organizations, businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, volunteers, and other partners while keeping the needs and knowledge of the affected community at the center of the response.
Our Mission
AIA KE OLA KA HANA
Life and health is be found in action
To strengthen the resilience of Kauaʻi communities through community-led disaster preparedness, response and recovery, while supporting cultural, ʻāina-based, health, and wellness initiatives that contribute to the long-term well-being and self-sufficiency of our people.
Our Vision
LOA'A KE OLA I HāLAU-A-OLA
Health and wellness can be found in action.
We envision resilient communities that have the relationships, knowledge, resources, and capacity to care for one another before, during, and after disasters.
We believe our greatest strength is our people.
Our communities possess generations of knowledge and experience, along with young people who bring energy, innovation, and foresight. By bringing these strengths together, we can build systems that honor our kūpuna, protect our ʻāina, care for our families, and prepare future generations to meet the challenges ahead.
Leadership & Community Team
Megan Wong
Gabriela Edwards
Moku Chandler
Joel Guy
Joëll Edwards
Sharon Gottfried