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Writer's pictureJenna Miller

From Maui to Mile High

We made a big change in 2020 when we decided to spend the majority of our time living on Maui. It was the pandemic. We weren’t hanging out with friends and family. We didn’t have tickets to any good concerts or plays. Travel wasn’t really a thing. And we’d visited Maui consistently over the years - both independently and together - every time feeling at home with the laid back lifestyle, connection to nature, and the cultural values that many Hawaiians live by, so we decided to give Island Life a try.

One Hawaiian concept resonated so deeply with us that we incorporated it into our business name - Pono Coaching & Consulting. Living pono means striking a balance in all your relationships with other people, places, and things.We strive to live pono and help our clients find the right balance for their own lives.


Living in more than one place is a balancing act of its own, and is not without its challenges, but we soon settled into a new routine of six months on Maui and splitting the rest of the year between Denver, San Francisco, and business travel that was slowly but surely picking up. We’re not going to lie, it was pretty sweet.


Then the unthinkable happened. On August 8th, Historic Lahaina Town and other significant parts of West Maui were decimated by wildfires - the likes of which had never been imagined. As of this writing, nearly 100 people died and dozens remain missing. Upwards of 2,200 buildings were demolished, leaving thousands of families with no place to call home.


A housing crisis existed on Maui even before the fires, so we knew of at least one way to help. Our condo is now home to a spry 80-year old couple who lost their home of 50 years in the fires. They have a two-year lease, which we will extend if needed, to give them a place to feel safe, start to heal, and eventually, plan to rebuild. We hope to have even a bit of their resilience when we are that age.


While we are sad not to be in our Maui home for an extended period of time, we know that housing someone else is the pono thing to do. The Aloha spirit runs deep on Maui and we're honored to do our part to support our Maui ohana however we can. If you’d like to send kokua (help) to Maui, please consider a gift to the Maui Strong Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation. You can give to them directly, or if you have a DAF, we invite you to join our giving group at Grapevine.


For now our main hub will be the Mile High City, with frequent stretches in the Bay Area. We look forward to seeing friends, family, and clients with more regularity. And if you're looking to make some positive changes in your own life, our door is always open. Reach out anytime to learn more about our individual and corporate coaching programs.


A hui hou (until we meet again)!

Deb & Sharna


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