🌺🦜 History of the Hawaiian Feathered Friends Network 🦜🌺
In 2013, the Hawaiian Feathered Friends Network was built from nothing — not a membership list, not a budget, not a single social media follower. Just a shared love for Hawaiiʻs remarkable birds and a small group of dedicated people willing to do the work.
Our first president, Angela Rezentes, poured countless hours into laying the foundation of this organization — establishing our values, our voice, and our vision. She built something where nothing existed, and she did it with heart.
In 2017, Robbie Williams stepped in and carried that torch with equal dedication, stewarding HFFN through 2022 and ensuring what Angela started continued to grow and serve our bird-loving community. Those years were not without challenge. When COVID-19 brought Hawaii to a standstill, our ʻohana felt it deeply — businesses shuttered, gatherings stopped, and island life as we knew it paused. Many organizations didn’t survive. HFFN did. We stayed connected the best we could, and the moment restrictions allowed us to gather again in open-air spaces, we did — because that’s who we are. No lockdown could extinguish the bond between our members and the birds they love.
In 2023, our current president, Lea Hollingsworth-Ramsey, built upon that foundation and took HFFN to new heights. Under her leadership and with the help of the board, our organization:
🏛️ Obtained our 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation — a milestone that affirms our legitimacy, strengthens our mission, and opens doors to greater opportunities for the birds and families we serve.
🤝 Expanded our reach by merging HFFN with the Facebook groups: Hawaii Parrot Forum, Hawaii Parrot & Bird Lost and Found List, Hawaii Parrot & Bird Disease Q&A, and Hawaii Pigeon Club — bringing together Hawaiʻi’s bird-owning community under one unified, supportive network.
🦅 Earned an affiliation with the American Federation of Aviculture, connecting HFFN with one of the nation’s most respected avicultural organizations and giving our community a seat at a much larger table.
🌿 Established the long-term vision of creating a dedicated bird sanctuary and facility on Oʻahu — a dream that would give Hawaiʻi’s birds and their owners a true home base for rescue, education, and community for generations to come.
Three presidents. More than a decade. One unbroken commitment to the birds we love and the community we’ve built together.
We’ve kept going, kept building. Everything we created — our membership, our email lists, our social media community — was grown one relationship, one post, one shared love of birds at a time. Those are the fruits of our labor, and they belong to this organization and to the community that built them with us. They represent over a decade of trust, hard work, and dedication by people who gave everything to make this network what it is. We take this responsibility seriously and will continue to grow, thrive, and move forward with our long-term vision.
We hope you’ll join us in making that vision a reality. 🌺
Aloha and mahalo from the board — past and present — of the Hawaiian Feathered Friends Network:
Lea Hollingsworth-Ramsey • Bruce Ramsey • Natasha Ribuca • Robbie Williams • Angela Rezentes • Jeff Nash • Lorraine Bennett • Dennis Bennett • Carl Juban • Nadine Onodera • Melissa Bayles • Patricia Otten • Bridgette Otto