Island-wide Thinking
Local-Led impacts
Since 2002, KPAA has brought together diverse organizations across the island of Kaua’i to achieve community goals.
Kaua’i has changed and the strategy needs to change. To develop an action plan and refine KPAA’s current priorities, our team is actively seeking input from the community on:
- Kaua’i’s most urgent islandwide challenges
- Creative, community-led solutions
- Who needs to be at the table
Morgan Hannan (center) and former KPAA President Alice Luck (center right) at their Aloha and Mahalo Board Meeting.
New Leadership
Aloha, Morgan Hannan!
A New Chapter for Kaua’i Planning & Action Alliance
KPAA is proud to announce the appointment of Morgan Hannan as its new President and CEO. Morgan brings with him a background in community engagement, policy advocacy, place-based planning, regional economics, and capacity development for governance and civic organizations. He has led initiatives that bridge local voices with global best practices, helping communities improve their built environment, supporting sustainable practices in small businesses, and tracking regional development to map and enhance the impact of non-profit networks.
Our Work
Core Action Areas
01. Planning
Islandwide Knowledge
We conduct research, compile information, and analyze data so that our communities and their leaders can clearly understand challenges and opportunities.
02. Action
Local Support
With 600+ diverse local community organizations, nonprofits and initiatives across the island, we provide focused support and targeted services when and where needs are identified.
03. Alliance
Strategic Collaboration
We stay focused on the big picture, so that our partners can focus on their unique missions. When broader collaboration, cooperation and alliances are needed, we are ready to connect the dots.
Our Place-Based Approach
Kauaʻi is one island, but many communities, and the same is true for how we approach regional development issues. We see our work through a long-term, island scale perspective but our solutions are designed for efficient, local led and place-based changemaking. We do this by:
- Recognizing and building from the different strengths, relationships, culture, and knowledge of each of Kauaʻi’s unique regions rather than applying blanket solutions.
- Providing a safe and open forum where local residents, organizations, and stakeholders co-design priorities, actions, and measures of success.
- Prioritizing capacity development, ensuring all of our communities are given the data, resources, training, strategies and connections they need.
Exemplifying Project
Keiki to Career
Keiki to Career began in 2012 as a working group of KPAA, composed of community leaders who wanted a better future for all Kaua’i youth. The mission of Keiki to Career is to unite our community so that our young people are healthy and thriving, academically successful, connected and contributing, and ready for college and career.
As with all KPAA projects, Keiki to Career is founded on the belief that greater progress can be made toward real and sustained social change when nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and the community work together towards common goals.
Below, see how Keiki to Career illustrates our three Core Action Areas.
Islandwide Knowledge
Our Kauaʻi Youth Report is a snapshot of how Kauaʻi’s keiki are growing up healthy, safe and thriving from birth to adulthood. See the most recent report here.
Our Parent and Keiki Advisory Councils are groups of everyday residents who review, discuss and provide feedback on policy, projects and problems direct to the state departments responsible.
Local Support
We connect 20+ youth focused organizations to their audience through 25 Resource Kiosks across Kauaʻi. There we provide partners’ support information, and free supplies direct to community.
We connect our collaborating organizations to training opportunities to develop their strategic, organizational and impact capacity. In the last year this has included 70+ individuals receiving training from the Collective Impact Forum.
Strategic Collaboration
Our Maternal and Child Health Specialization Lead collaborates and connects the full network of family support services, providing invaluable resource navigation to the provider network, and where needed, directly to families in need.
Working with our education institution network KPAA hosted an Early Childhood Education facilitator to evidence the need and impact of the position to the County of Kauaʻi, successfully handing the role to the county in 2025.