The University of Hawaiʻi marked the success of a first-of-its-kind pilot program designed to strengthen the next generation of conservation leaders in Hawaiʻi by blending academic training with hands-on professional development.
The inaugural Conservation Program Management Intensive over two weeks in August 2025, collaboratively offered by the UH Mānoa Outreach College and College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM), with support from the UH System Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and UH Sea Grant, brought together 22 participants: seven UH Mānoa conservation-focused graduate students and 15 conservation professionals, many from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Divisions of Aquatic Resources and Forestry and Wildlife, one from The Nature Conservancy and several from across the UH System. Students represented all four counties in Hawaiʻi.
Participants learned directly from more than two dozen expert instructors and professionals representing agencies and organizations across the Hawaiʻi conservation landscape, including UH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, UH Hilo, UH Mānoa NREM, Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, Heʻeia Ahupuaʻa Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, Paepae o Heʻeia and National Estuarine Research Reserve, The Nature Conservancy, DLNR Chair’s Office and the Divisions of Aquatic Resources, Forestry and Wildlife, and Conservation and Resources Enforcement, the Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Congressman Ed Case, Kupu, and UH Mānoa’s Lyon Arboretum, among others.
The course covered a wide range of topics essential to conservation program leadership and management, including:
- Cohort building, ʻāina-based learning and Hawaiian life pathways
- Community engagement and co-stewardship management
- Strategic planning and decision analysis
- Administrative procedure and state/federal government functions
- Human resource management, budgeting, grant writing and management
- Public meeting facilitation, environmental law and congressional processes
- Project management, communications and leadership development
“This course was created to directly address needs expressed by statewide public and non-profit organizations working in conservation,” said UH Director of Land and Ocean Conservation Futures Director and Course Co-instructor Suzanne Case. “While early-career professionals often bring strong disciplinary expertise, many organizations identified a critical need for training in program administration and leadership. It looks like the course hit this need spot-on.”
Co-instructor Linden Schneider reflected on the real, lasting impact, saying, “This program not only delivered practical knowledge, but also created a powerful cohort-based learning community where participants shared their own challenges and created solutions, collaboratively, in real time.”
Alan Hunley of the UH Outreach College praised the program’s collaborative design.
“Our goal was to make this course accessible and impactful for both students and working professionals,” Hunley said. “We were thrilled to see the energy and dedication of the participants, and the positive feedback confirms this model is working.”
Participants also expressed high praise:
- “Such a great course, filled with knowledge from many knowledgeable speakers, very informative and fun excursions to actually go to different entities and see their facilities and hear from their work experiences. I would recommend this class and take it again every five years to revitalize and remember why I love my job.”
- “I feel incredibly grateful for the relationships I built with the kumu, fellow students and presenters throughout this experience. The thoughtful balance between classroom learning and site visits made the program truly unique.”
Encouraged by the pilot’s success, Case and Schneider anticipate offering the course again in summer 2026 to a mix of graduate students and early-career professionals in conservation-related fields. Tuition is expected to be $1,000 for 80 hours of instruction, with applications opening in early spring 2026. Applicants will be selected based on their ability to immediately apply the course content to their work. For more information about the course, visit this website.
