Ashley McShane

Participant @Pi Ikū Co. Piiku.Co

Honolulu, HI, US

Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s RWJF Organizing Cohort is a 16-month leadership development training program made up of community leaders who meet at least twice a month to participate in community leadership training and actions around land use/zoning and last-mile connectivity issues. These issues focus around Hawaiʻi’s transit-oriented development in the Waipahu and ʻEwa areas. Participants are people with connections and lived experience in these communities who are passionate about making positive changes in the state through leadership, organizing, and action. This cohort is a new model that Hawaiʻi Appleseed is piloting in September 2025 to engage and prepare community leaders who are informed on housing and transportation issues, understand how to influence policymaking, and are trained to organize to create change. The RWJF Leadership Development Cohort strives towards one main objective: supporting fellow cohort members in using the organizing skills gained through training and mentorship, as well as their talents, to make changes and establish policies in their neighborhood, city, county, and/or state.