About the Organization:

Pūlama Lānaʻi is a land and resource management company, a cultural steward, and a community builder. They develop solutions ranging from conservation programs to hydroponic gardening to freshwater systems that serve both residents and guests. We bring together people and companies to promote preservation, progress and sustainability on Lānaʻi.

Mission: To build a sustainable future for the island of Lanaʻi by preserving our culture, building economic opportunity, stewarding our lands and investing in people. 

Pulama Lānaʻi Development and Construction works on housing, commercial, and other projects supporting their mission, vision and values. More importantly, they work to develop the infrastructure to enable Lānaʻi and its residents to grow sustainably.

Meet Our Internship Mentor: Charlie Palumbo, Project Manager

For over 9 years, Charlie has worked at Pūlama Lānaʻi on projects and for the past several years has focused on drone mapping and GIS (geographic information system). For his entire life, he has been around flying and has always been an aviation buff, and when he discovered the world of flying drones several years ago, he developed the skills to take his hobby into a full time career.

Currently, his position allows him to combine his interests in aviation to flying drones full time and creating GIS maps for Pulama Lanaʻi. This includes mapping construction projects that use drones to map and collect information, creating aerial videos and site photographs for planning future projects. The map information is shared with project managers and contractors to assist the team to get the projects completed in a timely fashion.

Charlie grew up in Hawaiʻi and lived much of his high school years attending Lānaʻi High School. He has also lived in Japan and the East Coast of America for several years.

Internship duties and responsibilities:

For this internship, students will gain experience in drone mapping, photography and creating videos. They will also have an introduction to GIS and map making by using drone information to support construction and development.

Interns should be comfortable with and able to:

• maintain good grades (3.0+).
• be self-motivated with a positive attitude. 
• be college bound.
• have an interest in construction and architecture.
• be comfortable in working both indoors and outdoors.
• have some computer skills.
• have a desire to learn about processing maps online.
• Be able to commit to a work day: one or two days for four hours per day, as needed to complete the 40 hours of internship/mentoring.

Tentative Summer Internship Schedule:

• Spring 2023 – 8 hours during Spring Break (March 13th – 17th)
• Summer 2023 – 40 hours beginning the first week of June

*Schedules are tentative and are subject to change. Interns will be required to work 8 hours in the Spring 2022 and 40 hours in the Summer 2022.

Internship Meeting Locations: Interns will start each session at

Pulama Lanai
Central Admin Building
1311 Fraser Ave.
Lanai City, HI 96763