Kimi Makaiau is a planner at the UH Mānoa School of Architecture's UH Community Design Center (UHCDC). During her 20 years in natural resource management, community planning, and higher education, she worked alongside Native Hawaiian communities, organizations, and advocates -- experiences that deepened her understanding of Hawaiʻi’s complex land use policies and planning challenges. She joined UHCDC after earning a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning, where she focused on community-based planning and land-use development. Since then, she has led and contributed to a number of public development initiatives across the State and in Central Oʻahu, including the Central Oʻahu Agriculture and Food Hub master plan, conceptual planning for the Whitmore High-Pressure Processing facility, the Food and Product Innovation Network, and Farm Fair Field days.