OUR TEAM

  • Eric and Lyn Taylor

    FOUNDERS

    Originally from South Africa, the Taylors are the visionaries behind Makanalani and the Residency. After raising their family in Irvine, California and leaving Corporate America in the early 2000’s, the journey of building Makanalani began. Read more about how we started.

  • Noah R.

    RESIDENCY DIRECTOR

    Noah loves our precious Lord Jesus, and wishes to see Gen Z ignited by the flame of His Spirit. Noah oversees sheep flocks, directs programming and staff, and collaborates with Genesis on teaching curriculum. He has prior experience in media and film, was an NCAA athlete, and studied philosophy at Wheaton College. 

  • Lydia

    RESIDENCY COORDINATOR

    Lydia has a heart for worshipping the Lord through service and mentorship. She served at a church plant in O’ahu before coming to Kauai. She has a background in camp ministry, mentoring, farming, and entrepreneurship; and is thrilled to be using all of these experiences to serve as a coordinator. She coordinates operations, schedules, and oversees farm-to-market products.

  • Brendan

    Brendan is a 23 year-old lover of Jesus who helps lead at Makanalani farm and with discipleship. He is a recent college graduate from Kansas, studying Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He loves building up and caring for people on their Christian journey. He enjoys adventure, reading, fitness, and being out in nature!

  • Noah W.

    Noah Wyatt is a passionate, radical Jesus follower with a heart to know Christ and make Him known. Noah is a culture-creator and also works with our media. He's deeply passionate about creativity, prayer, and worship, and desires to see people encounter the presence of God and be transformed by the love of Jesus. Noah formerly led at the camp “Crestline” in California and tends to various personal creative projects.

  • Gabi

    Gabi’s heart is stirred to serve the Lord through discipleship, service, and hospitality. A pastor’s kid her whole life, she has found that following Jesus is the greatest adventure she’s ever known, and loves inviting others into the abundant life He extends to everyone. Through high school ministry, camp, and one-on-one discipleship, she has had the immense joy of walking alongside many girls in their faith journeys. Gabi holds a degree in Communication and Organizational Leadership and is grateful to be serving with HLR. Her Italian roots and deep love for bread have her stoked to lend a helping hand in leading farm-to-market production.

  • Jennae

    Jennae desires to bring God glory by pouring into the lives of young adults, sharing her creative spirit, and living faithfully. She graduated from Biola University with a BFA in design and has previously worked in camp ministry, taught second grade, and served as an intern with HLR for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 sessions. She feels incredibly blessed to be a part of the program and looks forward to growing alongside residents as they discover God’s unique calling for their lives.

MAKANALANI KIDS: FOUNDING

HLR proceeds from the “Makanalani Internship Program” and remains partnered with Makanalani, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides incredible free-of-cost camp experiences to the underprivileged and to island youth. 

We are very much a part of the Makanalani ecosystem: our residents have the opportunity to lead Kid’s camps, maintain the Kid’s House tend the gorgeous land (‘Āina), harvest fruit, and care for animals. Historically, former residents have stayed on island and managed Makanalani’s business (Jojo’s shaved ice)

GENESIS COLLECTIVE: GLOBAL

We have an apostolic partnership with the Genesis Collective, a group of Global adventurers, Gospel storytellers, and Jesus-community creators spanning dozens of churches that sow into the nations.

Eric and Lyn Taylor (HLR founders) met Chris and Meryl Weinand (Genesis) and together they dreamt to augment the program with robust teachings and a discipleship culture.

The collective collaborates with HLR to craft curriculum and send in families to pour into residents. Most weeks of teaching are led by GC leaders. In turn, residents are connected to a global network– pastors, church planters, and marketplace leaders with Biblical motives. Residents have access to this network for the rest of their lives: to keep up with mentors, to travel on mission, and to get connected with careers or living situations. Genesis Collective also provides spiritual oversight and accountability to our staff team.

LOCAL

While our church and missional home is the Genesis Collective, we seek to be connected with other local church communities. Residents will have the opportunity to visit, encourage, and serve with other ministries including Calvary North Shore and Kaua’i Christian Fellowship North. We also have a relationship with Amen Podcast, a nonprofit dedicated to preaching the word both digitally and on island.