Who We Are

Ahas in other languages: English - surprise,  Hawaiian - ʻaha 1. n. Meeting, assembly, gathering, Irish - áthas means "happiness" or "joy."

AHAS: Archive for Health, Arts & Spirit came together and realized the need for long-term recovery work in Hawaii and the world after the fires in Lahaina in August 2023. AHAS seeks to understand how the arts, health and spirituality can foster resilience and recovery in the face of adversity. Utilizing the arts for healing helps individuals process trauma and promote emotional well-being. Creative outlets like poetry, music, and visual arts connect individuals to the transcendent, providing solace and renewal. Spirituality, beyond traditional religious contexts, shapes responses to crises through practices like meditation, nature exploration, and self-reflection. Despite their acknowledged importance, the combined impact of spirituality and artistic practices on healing during crises remains underexplored. AHAS aims to fill this gap by investigating how these elements work together to enhance recovery, drawing on the concept of social prescription to integrate arts and spirituality into health practices.

Four women smiling outdoors with mountains and trees in the background, wearing colorful tops and floral necklaces.

OUR FOUNDERS

AHAS was co-founded by a collective of artists, educators, and health leaders with a shared vision: to grow systems of care through creativity, culture, and collaboration.

  • Moira Pirsch, PhD

    Co-Founder, Director of Strategic Illumination

    Moira Pirsch supports individuals and organizations who work in arts and culture to develop inspired, participatory, arts-based, and culturally sustaining pedagogical, research and evaluation processes - so that practice can be aligned with the ideals, goals and dreams of project stakeholders. She is a poet, educator and scholar. She is 5th Generation Irish American with roots in the Midwestern United States, currently based in Maui, HI. She has over a decade of experience working with community initiatives on social justice, the arts, and education. She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and her Masters Degree from Harvard University. She continues her research as a Coyle Fellow at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Literacy and as a Research Affiliate at Columbia University's Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME). Her work focuses on the power of the arts to transform, uplift and empower communities. She believes in miracles.

  • Erin Brothers

    Co-Founder, Director of Alchemy and Vision

    Erin Brothers is an artist and nonprofit leader dedicated to fostering community through the arts. Originally from Oʻahu and a graduate of Kahuku High School, she holds a BA in Visual & Media Arts from Emerson College and a Master’s in Social Practice Art from the University of Indianapolis. Erin has led arts organizations across Hawaiʻi, California, and Nevada, serving as Executive Director of Lahaina Arts Association, Programs Manager at Circus Center San Francisco, Director of Impact at the Reno Generator, and Grants Manager at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Currently Erin resides in Hilo, Hawaii, as the Executive Director of East Hawaii Cultural Center and the Engage Program Manager at Prince Dance Company. With a passion for arts access and community engagement, Erin continues to champion the role of the arts in social impact and cultural resilience.

  • Hōkū Pavao

    Co-Founder, Harbinger of Hidden Narratives

    Hōkū Pavao is a Kanaka Maoli performing artist, teaching artist, arts administrator, and co-founder of AHAS: Archive for Health, Arts & Spirit, a nonprofit born out of the Lahaina wildfires to support long-term recovery through the arts. With over 13 years of experience in nonprofit arts education and a mentorship as Assistant Artistic Director under David C. Johnston, she is dedicated to using theatre as a tool for storytelling, healing, and social change. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, Hōkū returned home to uplift Maui’s diverse voices and preserve its cultural narratives. Hōkū now develops and leads trauma-informed arts initiatives with AHAS, using the arts to foster resilience, cultural preservation, and collective healing. She collaborates with artists, educators, cultural practitioners, community leaders, and government entities to develop sustainable, arts-based resilience programs. Rooted in the belief that the arts are essential to individual and collective well-being, she continues to advocate for their role in long-term recovery and cultural preservation across Maui and beyond.

  • Anna Pirsch, PhD, PMHRN-BC

    Co-Founder, Steward of Healing Collaborations and Purposeful Discovery

    Anna Pirsch is a public health nurse, community organizer, and researcher who completed her PhD in nursing from the University of Minnesota, focusing her dissertation on critical consciousness in public health nurses. Her practice specialty includes public health nursing and psychiatric/mental health. She currently holds an academic appointment in Nursing at the University of Augsburg in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Pirsch has extensive experience as a psychiatric nurse in Hawaii, NYC, and Minneapolis. She also served as a public health nurse for the Nurse Family Partnership, where she focused on supporting mothers and babies in transitional housing for three years. Her research and practice are dedicated to fostering critical consciousness among social service workers, enhancing their understanding of the sociopolitical realities of their work to improve social determinants of health across sectors.