Co-Executive Director

Elizabeth Pickett is Co-Executive Director of Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, where she began working in 2008. Elizabeth works with staff and partners across the state and Pacific region to implement wildfire mitigation, planning, and education projects. Through her time at HWMO, she has witnessed how important collaboration and inclusive processes are on all projects, and believes such a coordinated and respectful approach is the pathway to wildfire readiness and resilience in Hawaii. She is Vice President of the Big Island Wildfire Coordinating Group and helped co-found the Pacific Fire Exchange project to develop and connect fire and land management science and practice. She earned a Masters of Environmental Science degree from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelors Degree from University of California, Berkeley.

When not working, Elizabeth can be found kitesurfing, painting, sharing time with her family, and playing with her son Laith!

Wildfire Mitigation Program Manager

Jessica Santa Cruz is excited to be a part of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization as the Wildfire Mitigation Program Manager. She was born on Maui and raised on the Island of Hawaiʻi. She worked as a seasonal wildland firefighter for five different National Parks over 13 years. She initially started on a type 2 hand crew at Hawaii Volcano National Park and moved on to working on fire engines and helicopter crews on the mainland. Jessica received her B.A from Mesa State College in Mass Communication and Public Relations with a concentration in Print Media. She interned with the Student Conservation Association, Fire Education Corps for Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks as a Fire information officer. While being a seasonal wildland firefighter in Yosemite National Park she earned her Masters at Gonzaga University in Communication and Leadership. Most recently she has been working as a public information officer for Fire Information on large disasters in the mainland.

Jessica recently returned to the Island of Hawaiʻi with her husband, a firefighter at Pohakuloa Training Area, and their yellow lab, Cletus, a First Responder Therapy Dog.

Wildfire Collaboration Program Coordinator

Deven Aruda is HWMO’s Wildfire Collaboration Program Coordinator tasked to build and maintain relationships between working groups, networks, and stakeholders across the Hawaiʻi-Pacific region. She acts as a connector to foster meaningful and long-lasting partnerships.

Deven is a Maui local and stayed in Hawaiʻi for most of her life. She earned a bachelor's in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Prior to joining HWMO, she worked with Native Hawaiian college students, volunteered with community organizations, and traveled to different countries. In her free time, she enjoys anything outdoors and reading.

Pacific Fire Exchange (PFX) Project Coordinator

Melissa Chimera is the Pacific Fire Exchange's project coordinator, a science and knowledge communication project co-sponsored by HWMO and University of Hawai`i. Melissa works closely with Clay Trauernicht, fire scientist at University of Hawai`i to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and the latest Pacific fire science research among diverse stakeholders.

Melissa is a Honolulu native, having earned a B.A. in Natural Resources Management from UH Manoa. She has worked for two decades as a natural resources and volunteer manager in Hawai`i for the National Guard, The Nature Conservancy and Haleakala National Park conserving endangered species and restoring diverse native ecosystems. She now lives on the Hamakua coast with her son Theo, biologist husband Chuck and two egg-laying hens. The other half of her professional time is spent in her at-home art studio painting and exhibiting her mixed media work featuring endangered Hawaiian species in museums and galleries in Hawai`i, the mainland and abroad.

Wildfire Mapping Technician

Allyson “Ally” Earl, is HWMO’s Wildfire mapping technician who primarily supports efforts to map wildfires in Hawaii and the US Affiliated Pacific through the use of Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing methods. This position seeks to support and advance the current wildfire mapping strategy in order to facilitate collaboration and communication with our partners throughout the region.

Originally from Southern California, Ally has spent most of her adult life in the Pacific working as a field technician in Guam, Saipan, and finally Oahu, working with native species. She received an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2021, working extensively with remotely sensed data to understand wildfires in tropical regions. When not working she can be found outside paddling, hiking extremely ridiculous distances like from Mexico to Canada on the PCT, running, or just enjoying the sunshine.