MOIRA PIRSCH, PHD

Co-Founder

Moira Pirsch supports individuals and organizations who work in arts and culture to ​develop inspired, participatory, arts-based, and culturally sustaining pedagogical, ​research and evaluation processes - so that practice can be aligned with the ideals, goals ​and dreams of project stakeholders. She is a poet, educator and scholar. She is 5th ​Generation Irish American with roots in the Midwestern United States, currently based in ​Maui, HI. She has over a decade of experience working with community initiatives on ​social justice, the arts, and education. She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and ​her Masters Degree from Harvard University. She continues her research as a Coyle Fellow ​at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Literacy. Her work focuses on the power of the ​arts to transform, uplift and empower communities. She believes in miracles.

ERIN BROTHERS

Co-Founder

Erin Brothers is an artist and nonprofit leader originally from Oahu and currently based in ​Hawaii Island. She holds a BA in Visual & Media Arts from Emerson College and a Masters ​in Social Practice Art from the University of Indianapolis. Erin began her professional ​journey working in film & television production in Los Angeles before transitioning to ​Programs Manager at the San Francisco Circus Center, where she led community ​outreach through initiatives such as an Artist Residency and Youth Circus program. In ​2015, Erin became the Executive Director at the Lahaina Arts Association where she ​championed free arts education for underserved communities and collaborative art ​engagements. In 2019, as the Director of Impact at the Reno Generator, Erin led the ​organization through its transformation into a 70,000 square foot community-centered ​non profit makerspace. Currently, Erin serves as the Grants Manager at the Maui Arts & ​Cultural Center and co-founded the Archive for Health, Arts, and Spirit. Her extensive ​leadership and commitment to community arts make her a pivotal figure in arts ​administration and community development.

HOKU PAVAO

Co-Founder

Hoku Pavao is a performing artist and arts administrator with over 11 years in the nonprofit arts ​education sector and most recently a three year directing mentorship as Assistant Artistic ​Director under the tutelage of David C. Johnston. A born and raised Maui girl, Hoku started her ​schooling at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City with the end goal ​that she would return to Maui to share the arts knowledge and experience gained. She later ​continued her professional career in theatre and film in NY before returning home. Hoku's ​mission focuses on inspiring and educating the keiki of Maui to ask questions about the world ​around them. To experience a minute, an hour, a day looking through the lens of a perspective ​that might differ from one's own, leads to a better understanding of each other - ultimately ​connecting us to our shared humanity. Growing up in a vibrant community built upon the ​innate reverence for connection to each other and home, Hoku looks to intertwine her ​Hawaiian Culture with her Western knowledge to make the arts accessible to the keiki and ​community of Maui. Hoku is a firm believer that the arts hold an unapparelled ability to heal ​and transform individuals and communities.

ANNA PIRSCh, PHD

Co-Founder

Anna Pirsch is a public health nurse, community organizer, and researcher who completed her ​PhD in nursing from the University of Minnesota, focusing her dissertation on critical ​consciousness in public health nurses. Her practice specialty includes public health nursing and ​psychiatric/mental health. She currently holds an academic appointment in Nursing at the ​University of Augsburg in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Pirsch has extensive experience as a psychiatric ​nurse in Hawaii, NYC, and Minneapolis. She also served as a public health nurse for the Nurse ​Family Partnership, where she focused on supporting mothers and babies in transitional ​housing for three years. Her research and practice are dedicated to fostering critical ​consciousness among social service workers, enhancing their understanding of the ​sociopolitical realities of their work to improve social determinants of health across sectors.