Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii

Providing Leadership Development Opportunities For Hawaii's Agricultural Community

As an organization, the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii recognizes that a healthy, thriving, sustainable agricultural sector is an important component of Hawaii’s future. As such, we focus on those in agriculture who will help to lead us there. Because food and energy security, working ag lands, open green space and a diverse economy are key elements in the economic, social and environmental fabric of our community, an investment in the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii is an investment in Hawaii and its sustainable future.

History

The Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii (ALFH) was founded in 1982 in response to the major shift in Hawaii away from plantation agriculture. This shift critically affected nearly every sector and in particular the small agribusinesses which formed the emerging foundation of the industry. Through the foresight of several key leaders in the agricultural industry, ALFH, the only leadership organization in the state focused on agriculture, was created. These leaders, led by Monty Richards, Yoshi Watanabe, Dr. Tadashi Higaki Slim Takayama and Jane Yamashiro acted on their vision of building a cadre of leaders to help support businesspeople and their businesses during the important transition from plantation to diversified agriculture.

With initial support from the Kellogg Foundation the program was launched in 1982. In 1986 the Foundation partnered with UH-CTAHR and Donna R. Ching, Ph.D. coordinated and delivered the training activities. For the next 20 years, Donna developed the program into a multidisciplinary, well-networked program. In 2006, as a result of a completed strategic planning process, the Board of Directors hired a full time Executive Director. This year, 2007, the Foundation will celebrate its 25th Anniversary.

Organizational Assets

The Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii’s assets include:

A 25-year commitment of serving the community
A reputation for its excellent Leadership Training Program
Key partner in planning and implementation of the Statewide Agriculture Conference
Over 125 alumni who are active and successful leaders across the state
Relationships with many others both in and out of the agricultural industry
A current and viable strategic plan being actively implemented
A qualified and dedicated board of directors
An experienced and highly committed executive director.
A reserve fund that allows stability and flexibility as we launch our efforts to increase our program offerings and diversify our revenue stream