Hale Akua Garden Farm

Farm Director Mary Wooldridge directs all farming operations at Hale Akua Garden Farm including training, scheduling and supervision of interns and farm workers, crop selection and planting, harvesting, and marketing of produce. For the past year she’s been working on increasing biodiversity at the farm. Mary’s mission is to educate people about the importance of living sustainably and growing their own healthy food. She has a B.S. in Plant Science and Horticulture from Louisiana Technical University with a specialization in sustainable agriculture. Mary has been working with plants since 1996, and has worked as a consultant on Maui since 2005 helping people implement sustainable farming practices. She is a member of many environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund.

Lisa Hotchkiss is a farm manager at Hale Akua Garden Farm. She is an organic crop inspector for Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) on Maui. She has worked many years on farms on Maui and Big Island.