My Great-Great-Grandfather Gerrit Parmele Judd sailed to Hawaii from New York in 1827. He was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii. He later renounced his American citizenship and became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.

I was born and raised on Oahu but spent many summers in Kona as my Grandmother had a place at Keauhou Bay. My husband, Herb, is also from Oahu and likewise spent much of his youth in Kona. We moved to the Big Island in 1971 and have lived up in Holualoa since then.

Although I am not a Founder of Pulama Ia Kona, I came on board as Treasurer in 1995 to assist Sam Rosen with the bookkeeping. The mission of Pulama, which is to preserve, protect, and enhance the special qualities of historic Kona has been a vision I have carried for many years. Kona has changed drastically since the days of riding my bike to White Sands beach along a deserted Ali’i Drive and I think it is up to us and our perseverance to keep historical Kona alive.

Preservation is important because it enables future generations to appreciate their heritage. I am a third generation resident of Hawaii. I was one of the founders of Pulama and served as vice President with the late Scott Seymour as President. My experience writing grant applications for a school district gave me skills that can be used to describe Pulama’s goals in a clear and distinctive manner. Over the next five years I look forward to collaborating with fellow Board members to achieve Pulama’s objectives.

Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian has contributed to East Hawaii nonprofits since 2005 in various capacities. Her work continues to this day in assisting non-profit boards with governance, advocacy, strategic development and planning. Tanya was the Business Manager at Hawaii Island Adult Care, Inc. (HIAC) a non-profit caregiver respite and adult day care services provider in Hilo from 2014 - 2023. She also served the agency as Interim Director in 2021, and again in 2022. 

Additional leadership positions include serving as Chief Executive Officer at Volcano Art Center, where she revitalized marketing and promotions, expanded arts programs and performance events for increased aesthetic, financial and community impact. Her most impactful contribution included Occupy Art, the first art exhibit nationwide to celebrate the Occupy Wall Street movement. 

Tanya served on the board of Bay Clinic, Inc in Hilo from 2005 - 2014, serving as Board President twice. Here she assisted in the rebuilding of the board and helped stabilize board and staff leadership, hire successive CEOs, build advocacy and grow services. During Tanyaʻs leadership and service, Bay Clinic grew from a $6M agency with four locations to a $20M agency with additional womenʻs health and dental services and a new facility in Kaʻu.

Tanya is a creative, community-based producer, having started the Paradise Patriots, a Facebook-based video show created with Ana Nawahine-Kahoopii after the 2016 election to talk about current events and the need to show up politically which continued through 2019.

Tanya shifted gears and partnered up with co-songwriter, friend and activist Sherri Thal and started the Singing Lobbyists to address issues through song, including personal and political boundaries (The Art of Saying No), aerospace development in East Hawaii (A Spaceport is Coming to Town) and emotional healing after the Pahoa lava flow in 2018 (Wanna Go Home and The Aina That Was Once Our Home).  In 2023, Tanya produced a four episode podcast series, Ola Ka Moku, to dive deeper into Hawaii Island issues: restorative justice,  fentanyl crisis, reflections on the Mauna Kea movement, and feeling the beauty of our moku through the eyes of a local photographer.  Tanya also was the Advertising and Operations Manager of Ke Ola Magazine from 2019-2023.

Tanya currently serves as the principal contractor for the stateʻs Chamber of Sustainable Commerce and is writing a book, Leadership for the Soul, due to be published by Christmas 2025.