RISE Maui 2026 - Aloha Bridge

Aloha Bridge

October 12, 2026

The Hua Momona Foundation has built an Aloha Bridge to bring talent and resources to support our mission to restore Lāhainā through our Farm to Table Community Food Program, our youth music program HYP, Rain to Resilience, RISE Maui Summit, and the Maui Music & Food Experience. Since August 8, 2023, our Farm to Table program has served 100,000 fresh meals to those facing food insecurity on Maui.

To honor this ongoing work, we have been partnering with @michaelweintrob, a renowned music and portrait photographer, on the Aloha Bridge photography series celebrating the many people from different backgrounds who are coming together to support our programming and mission.

These are the 2026 Aloha Bridge Collection, including Billy Cox, Bernard Fowler, Lisa Fischer, Nicholas Tremulis, Naiwi Teruya, Chef Zach Laidlaw, John Cruz, and Michael Weintrob.

100,000th fresh meal to those facing food insecurity on Maui

July 14, 2026

On Friday July 10, 2026, the Hua momona Foundation served their 100,000th fresh meal to those facing food insecurity on Maui since August 8, 2023.

Aloha – An endeavor of this magnitude takes so many people, so much help, so many volunteers, and we have so much gratitude for everyone who has lended a helping hand for this important cause here on Maui and who have been involved at every level. Mahalo to every chef, every sponsor, every volunteer, every restaurant, every donor and everyone who has taken this journey with us. Food and the cost of everyday goods continues to escalate for Maui families, and your generosity is what keeps meals on the table, one at a time.

We need your assistance more than ever as food insecurity is not going anywhere. Here is how you can allow us to keep sharing the Aloha for those in need:

DONATE – Every donation goes directly toward more meals, more water access, and more community resilience for Maui families. Donations can be made online at at RISE-Maui.org

ATTEND MAUI MUSIC AND FOOD EXPERIENCE – Two days of music and food on Maui, August 21-22, benefiting Hua Momona Foundation. Featuring Los Lobos, Taimane, Kanekoa, Lisa Fischer, Bernard Fowler, John Cruz, and many more. Purchase tickets and passes and view full lineup at MMFE-Maui.org

ATTEND RISE MAUI SUMMIT – A new summit exploring sustainability and innovation in West Maui, August 17-21, with proceeds directly benefiting Hua Momona Foundation. Purchase passes and view full schedule at RISE-Maui.org

Whether you donate or join us at one of our amazing events, you’re assisting us to continue to help those in need. Together, we are stronger, and together, we can make a lasting difference. Hua Momona Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to food insecurity, water access, and community resilience on Maui, showing up week after week to make sure Maui families have a meal on the table. Mahalo nui loa, The Hua Momona Ohana 💜🌴🙏

RISE Maui Full Lineup

July 14, 2026

This August, the Hua Momona Foundation is launching the first annual RISE Maui, a new era summit designed for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow.
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Visionaries, innovators, healers, and changemakers will gather in Maui, on the most remote and eco-diverse island chain on the planet, for candid conversations and workshops on Regeneration, Innovation, and Sustainability.
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Featured speakers and panelists include a keynote by Sasha Luccioni on AI and Climate Change, renowned inventor Jason Resch presenting a quantum entanglement demonstration alongside Rod Roddenberry, executive producer of Star Trek. Bernard Fowler of the Rolling Stones will discuss career sustainability, and there will be an excursion to Oliver Dukelow’s off-the-grid taro farm. Visit rise-maui.org for the full speaker list and schedule.
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RISE Maui Summit passes also include a 2-day GA pass to the 3rd annual Maui Music & Food Experience at the Hyatt Regency Maui, August 21 + 22, 2026.
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Join us August 17 – 21, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Maui and Hua Momona Farms and take advantage of early bird pricing before June 25th. We look forward to seeing you on Maui.

Gary Grube, Founder of the Hua Momona Foundation

July 9, 2026

Please meet Gary Grube the founder of Hua Momona Foundation.

Gary is the Founder of RISE Maui and Hua Momona Farms and Foundation. In 2017, Gary built Hua Momona Farms and Foundation in Lahaina to serve unsheltered and food insecure families on Maui. In 2024, the Foundation launched the Maui Music and Food Experience to celebrate Maui’s traditions while raising funds to feed the community in the wake of the Lahaina fire.
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Gary is a tech world pioneer with 651 lifetime patents and still inventing, and an early-stage AI icon whose AI inventions represented 15% of all globally submitted AI patent applications at the US Patent Office in 2018.

In 2026, Gary conceived RISE Maui, a new era summit where visionaries, innovators, healers, and changemakers gather in West Maui to share their inspiration on regeneration, innovation, and sustainability.

Gary will join us on the Innovation track for a RISE Maui Talk on Innovation and Culture, and as co-moderator of “The New Intelligence: Where Innovation Meets AI” alongside Rod Roddenberry, with Jason Resch and Dr. Jun Yao.

W. Kamaunu Kahaialii

July 6, 2026

We are honored to welcome W. Kamaunu Kahaialii to RISE Maui 2026.

A cultural practitioner, educator, and entertainer rooted in Lahaina, Kamaunu carries a living connection to Hawaiian tradition that runs deep. Descended from a legendary line of Hawaiian musicians including the late Uncle Willie K, he has dedicated his life to preserving and sharing that legacy with the next generation, teaching middle school students in Lahaina about Hawaiian language, heritage, and cultural identity.

As the founder of Kahaialii Productions, Kamaunu brings Hawaiian culture to life across the islands and beyond, through music, hula, fire knife dance, and ceremonial protocol. He is a trusted voice in the West Maui community, offering spiritual guidance and cultural grounding for gatherings both intimate and large.

At RISE Maui, Kamaunu will open the summit in the way it deserves to begin. At 8:00 am, at the water’s edge, he will share the origin story of these islands and the meaning of Hā-wai-i, breath, water, higher power. Later, he joins the Climate Change and Technology panel alongside Dr. Sasha Luccioni, Professor Matthias Scheutz, and Tom MacTavish, bringing a Native Hawaiian perspective to one of the most urgent conversations of our time.

Some questions cannot be answered by data alone. Kamaunu reminds us what we are here to protect.

Kat Wissner

July 5, 2026

Please join us in welcoming Kat Wissner to the RISE Maui Summit 2026!
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As Program Director at Hua Momona Foundation, Kat focuses on designing systems that advance sustainability, community engagement, and long-term change. Her efforts drive Rain to Resillience (R2R), the Foundation’s newest program designed to impact water conservation efforts and food access.
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Drawing on a background rooted in science and experimentation, she supports our mission on Maui through evidence-based approaches to problem-solving, optimization, and impact measurement.
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She will join us on the Sustainability track at RISE Maui Summit 2026 for the Sustainable Farming panel alongside @chef_zacharia, “Uncle Oliver” Dukelow, and moderator James Carpio.

Bernard Fowler

July 3, 2026

Please join us in welcoming Bernard Fowler to RISE Maui Summit 2026!
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@bernardfowlersings is an artist who career has been defined by regeneration, innovation, and sustainability and that is why he is one of the most highly respected vocalists in music, with a career spanning more than 40 years and over 500 recording projects. Best known for touring and recording with The Rolling Stones since 1989, more than 35 years and counting, Bernard has also worked alongside Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, John Mayer, Gil Scott-Heron, Yoko Ono, Sly & Robbie, Bootsy Collins, Michael Bublé, and Michael Hutchence.
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At RISE Maui Summit, Bernard joins Nicholas Tremulis for a conversation on career regeneration and sustainability, drawing on his 35+ years on the road with The Rolling Stones to explore what it takes to build a lasting creative life and the universal language that connects music across every culture and generation.
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Bernard will also reunite with vocalist Lisa Fischer, who he performed with for over 20 years while they were both in the Rolling Stones, in Maui this August as lead vocalist of What Mongoose? at the Maui Music & Food Experience, marking his third appearance at the festival.

Chef Zach Laidlaw

July 2, 2026

Please join us in welcoming Chef Zach Laidlaw to the RISE Maui Summit 2026!
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You’ve probably seen him on Next Level Chef Season 3 with Gordon Ramsay on Hulu or Chopped on Food Network, then you know — Chef Zach Laidlaw is something special. At RISE Maui Summit 2026, you’ll get to experience him and his delicious food in person.
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With a degree in both Culinary Arts and Hospitality Restaurant Management, his career took him from Chicago to South Beach Miami, the British Virgin Islands, Australia, and ultimately to Maui, where he served as Chef de Cuisine at Fleetwood’s on Front St. In 2017, he helped build Hua Momona Farms in Kapalua from the ground up, and in 2019 stepped fully into the farm itself, dedicating himself to local agriculture, self-sustainability, and supporting Maui’s farmers, fishermen, and ranchers.
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Today, Zach is Co-Founder, Executive Chef, Lead Farmer and Vice President of Experiences at Hua Momona Farms and Foundation. At RISE, he’ll be joining Moderator James Carpio, “Uncle Oliver” Dukelow, local taro farmer, and Kat Wissner from Hua Momona Foundation for the panel “Sustainable Farming” at 1:30 pm — and serving a farm-to-table lunch and farm tour at 12:00 pm that you won’t want to miss.
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Professor Matthias Scheutz

June 30, 2026

Please join us in welcoming Professor Matthias Scheutz to the RISE Maui Summit 2026!
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Matthias Scheutz is a Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Human-AI Interaction Center at Tufts University. He will join us on the Innovation track at RISE Maui Summit 2026 for the Climate Change and Technology panel alongside Dr. Sasha Luccioni, Tom MacTavish, and W. Kamaunu Kahaialii.
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A Fellow of both AAAI and AAAS, Professor Scheutz has authored over 450 peer-reviewed publications spanning artificial intelligence, artificial life, agent-based computing, natural language understanding, cognitive modeling, robotics, human-robot interaction, and the foundations of cognitive science. His current research focuses on complex ethical AI-enabled robots with natural language interaction, problem-solving, and instruction-based learning capabilities in open worlds.

Dr. Jun Yao

June 30, 2026

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jun Yao to the RISE Maui 2026 stage for the panel “The New Intelligence: Where Innovation Meets AI,” joining co-moderators Rod Roddenberry (Star Trek and Roddenberry Foundation) and Gary Grube (inventor and Founder of Hua Momona Farms and Foundation) in conversation with Jason Resch.
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Dr. Jun Yao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Physics from Fudan University, a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Rice University, and completed postdoctoral training in Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard. His honors include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2019), a Sony Group Corporation Faculty Innovation Award (2021), a National Institutes of Health Trailblazer R21 Award (2022), and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2022). He was named a Spotlight Scholar at UMass Amherst (2026) and received the Barbara H. & Joseph J. Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the College of Engineering (2021).