Staff

Joseph Lapilio is the President and CEO of Wai’anae Economic Development Council (WEDC). Joseph has worked on the Wai`anae Coast for more than forty years. He is a community and organizational development consultant. He was executive director of the Wai`anae Coast Coalition for eleven years and coordinated community projects focused on economic development. He was appointed to the Governor’s Economic and Community Navigator Task Force and is a member of the State House of Representatives Select Committee on Economic and Financial Recovery to help with post-COVID planning. Joseph is the immediate past president of the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, active in the community including the Wai`anae Coast Rotary Club, the Lualualei Hawaiian Civic Club, among others. Joseph is a Native Hawaiian and a resident of the Wai`anae Coast.

Annie Ferreira graduated from Wai’anae High School, Class of ’65. Her father, Floyd Loving was an active Model City Board member and was instrumental in bringing the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and Kaiser Permanente to Wai’anae. Annie sees herself following in her father’s footsteps, leaving a legacy of community development initiatives that will benefit the coast for years to come. Her community work also began in Wai’anae with Model Cities and continued in a succession of jobs, serving the community through Alu Like, Self-Help Housing and USDA Rural Development’s Housing Program.

Verna Landford-Bright has lived on the Coast most of her life and is a Job Specialist with the City and County, Department of Community Services, WorkHawaii Program. Prior to this, Verna worked at the Wai`anae Mental Health Center. She volunteers for the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai`i and assists visitors in need. Verna is the Co-Founder of the Wai`anae High School Alumni Foundation and was President for five years. She is also a member of the Wai`anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center Research Committee and Secretary of Valley of Rainbows.

Croccifixio “Cross” Makani Crabbe was born and raised in Wai’anae, attending primary school on the coast, then later graduated from Kamehameha Schools. In 2020, he graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in Pre-Med: Life Sciences, and Pre-Law: Social Justice and Cultural Studies from Seattle Pacific University, and returned to Hawai’i. Throughout college and beyond, he has been actively involved in various non-profits along the Wai’anae Coast and abroad, fueling his passion for public services. He is currently the Office Manager, Committee Clerk, and Legislative Aide for Representative Cedric Gates.