Let it grow, let it grow

New ag foundation director likes bringing people together to make things happen

Question: You took what was once just an idea for a First Friday arts event and helped make it happen. How did you do it?

Kim Coffee-Isaak » New job: The Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii hired Coffee-Isaak in June to be its first executive director since its founding in 1982. » Old job: Her background is primarily in the arts. She previously served as managing director for the Arts at Marks Garage and executive director of the Hawaii Craftsmen. She helped the First Friday monthly arts event in Chinatown become a reality, adding to the revitalization of the area. » Age: 48. » Born and raised: Florida. She moved to Hawaii in 1975.

Answer: From the very beginning, the Marks Garage project was based on partnerships and working together, and identifying our common goals and just working toward getting to them -- which frequently meant people had to give up a little on the individual needs. And somehow I was able to rally the troops to do that.

I think our strategy was, whoever wants to play in the beginning gets to play. As it got successful, more and more people wanted to be on board and we were able to accommodate them. The secret was getting everyone in the same room and sharing our hopes and dreams and visions and values in various and sundry different ways. It wasn't always easy, because some people wanted to do things differently. Some people were afraid and all those things. ... First Friday is not a new concept; it's done all over the country. So it was a model that we could just pick up on.

Q: How did you rally the troops?

A: I think that there were enough reputable people that were going to go in that direction that sometimes you almost just have to just do it. If they play, they play. It was actually pretty much a no-brainer; it wasn't that hard. Some of the nitty-gritty of it, who's on the map, who's not on the map ... those kind of things were more contentious. ... Those that were skeptical or reluctant for whatever reason, we didn't say you can't play, you can't do this.

Q: Chinatown is now undergoing a renaissance. What more is needed?

A: I just hope that the creative industries aren't lost sight of, and it doesn't just turn into a retail and entertainment Mecca. I think it could slip away if it's not held up (to scrutiny) on an ongoing basis. The artistic community really needs to continue to speak out and be a part of the direction of the neighborhood. It could go a couple different ways in the next five to 10 years. That could include working artists or not. I would just hate to see them go the way of the typical gentrified neighborhood and have to move out to Sand Island. It would be nice to keep it in the Chinatown neighborhood.

Q: Why are you shifting personally from arts to agriculture?

A: Some of it was just personal needs to move on to another project, and when I realized I was ready to do that, I didn't know I was going to agriculture. I just started looking to see what was out there. I knew I wanted to stay in the nonprofit world. I did know I wanted to do something that I could be passionate about that would be either the arts or something that would really help Hawaii get through the next century. I just saw the job. I started cruising Craigslist and started seeing what was out there.

It just reminded me of when I first started in my career in the nonprofit world. I worked for Hawaii Craftsmen -- exact same thing: an excellent program that had been run by volunteers and partners and such. I started working for them as a volunteer, became executive director, moved it out of my home office and it became Marks Garage.

The ag industry has gone through a lot of changes here, and is on the cusp of making more significant strides.

Q: Tell us about the foundation's courses.

A: It's a pretty big commitment. This session is 16 months. We do it in two-year cycles. We have anywhere from 10 to 14 students. They make a commitment to meet eight to 10 times.

Each seminar is three to four days long. The seminars are part classroom facilitated conversations, presentations, training. The first one we did a lot of exercises on group dynamics and group values: How you work in a room so that you work with a group of people, figure out ways to get everyone going in the same direction.

And then we do field trips. It's a combination of classroom learning, about leading collaboratively and planning and field trips, where we go out and meet farmers and businesses that are doing well. Sometimes they are not doing well. And we do a two-week mainland trip as well.

We have over 100 alumni from our program. Some of them are living examples of good farming practices, sustainable practices, economically viable. Some of them are leaders and they lead by example, participating in the nonprofit organizations that support their industries. I think one way that we can enlighten the public is tell these stories.

Q: What's one of the stories?

A: We've visited this farm, it's called the Wailea Agricultural Group. They have an acreage and they started planting tropical fruit trees years ago. Their property probably has 100 different trees on it. Their cash-cow product is the heart of palm. They are testing mangosteens, bananas and nuts. As they determine what trees are doing well, they try to make some money off them.

What's distinctive about them, they took a piece of property and made a farm that is a model for how to make a business viable. Their farm is so diverse now. They're considering turning their property into a foundation, making it more of a learning environment for people to follow the same path.

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