Salvation Army Names Popes to Lead Kahului Corps, Keoho to Lahaina Lighthouse Corps

The Salvation Army has named three veteran ministers to lead its Kahului and Lahaina community centers on Maui, the organization announced in July. Majors Kevin and Heather Pope have taken charge of the Kahului Corps, and the organization has also named them Maui County coordinators to guide its efforts on Maui and Molokaʻi.

The Salvation Army transferred the Popes from its Alaska division. Kevin Pope is a former firefighter who was previously deployed to Maui in 2023 to assist with wildfire disaster response. Heather Pope built a career in early childhood education before entering full-time ministry work.

“We’ve seen firsthand the heart this community brings to caring for one another, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of that work,” Kevin Pope said.

The Popes also manage the organization’s family thrift store in Kīhei. Store revenues fund services at the Kahului center.

Captain Shawn Uilani Keoho has assumed command of the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps. Keoho has a dozen years of experience with drug treatment, family reunification and domestic violence recovery programs, and she helped provide transitional housing for recovering mothers and children, a work that echoes the care for the vulnerable in Proverbs 31:8-9. She holds a bachelor’s degree in counseling and previously served at Salvation Army centers in Honolulu and on the islands of Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi. Salvation Army officials said she will provide community-based services and guide the development of future programs in West Maui. The 2023 wildfires destroyed the original Lahaina Lighthouse Corps building.

Keoho succeeds Envoy Kevin Nagasaki, who directed the Lahaina ministry for nearly three decades until his passing in September 2025.

“Lahaina has been through so much, and I don’t take lightly what it means to serve this community as we look toward rebuilding,” Keoho said.

Divisional commander Major Troy Trimmer said the new officers bring deep leadership experience to the islands, and that this background will assist their ongoing work across Maui and Molokaʻi.