Melanie Moore, President
Melanie has 25 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, ranging from international aid and refugee assistance organizations, to small local non-profits helping targeted communities. She has raised more than $10 million for her diverse clients through grant writing, donor cultivation, and fundraising events. She also has led strategic planning sessions for some of the top nonprofit organizations in Hawaii, assisting them in setting goals and expanding their capacity to achieve their mission. Melanie is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and holds a Masters Degree in International Development and Economics from American University. She has served as the head grantwriter for several organizations, including Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Camp Mokuleia, and Honolulu Habitat for Humanity. Melanie specializes in guiding her clients to be more successful in their grant applications through building lasting relationships with funders and developing strong internal systems for post-award financial accounting, deliverable tracking and reporting.
Kandice Johns, Maui Nui Impact Strategist
Marina Samylkina, Grants and Data Analyst
Born and raised on Maui, Kandice Johns has dedicated her career to community action and improving the lives of people in Hawaii for the past 20 years. She has executive leadership experience guiding both established and startup organizations, possessing a diverse and extensive background in program operations, grant writing and grants management, finance, strategic planning, fundraising, volunteer management, event planning and marketing. Kandice has worked with non-profit organizations throughout the state of Hawaii to address health and social services issues, ranging from cancer, HIV/AIDS and mental health, to victims services and autism, in addition to ‘aina-based initiatives such as environmental sustainability and conservation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College and a MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business, is a 2022 HANO Fellow and member of Wāhine Pō‘ai since 2021. Kandice serves on the board of the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association.
Marina has more than 20 years experience in finance and data analysis, and is able to assist non-profits with grant budget development, data analysis, expense tracking and monitoring, financial reporting, developing financial reporting systems, and creating automated templates and reports to optimize workflow. She has extensive experience with MIP, Quickbooks, Bloomerang, GrantHub, Excel and Google Sheets. Marina has served as the director of several businesses, and worked as a financial and data analyst both in Ukraine and here in Hawaii. She has a degree in Financial Management from the St. Petersburg State Transport University, an MBA from the International Institute of Business in Ukraine, and a certificate in bookkeeping from the LD Accounting School in the USA.
