We are honored and excited to introduce Zach Pezzillo and Inger Tully as jurors for this year’s exhibition. With impressive backgrounds in conservation and art, each brings an expertise and perspective that’s rooted in mālama for Maui.
Zach Pezzillo, Coordinator for the Maui Nui Plant Extinction Prevention Program, has been involved in conservation here in Hawaiʻi for many years. Growing up on Maui, his interest in and enthusiasm for plants and invertebrates began at a young age and deepened as he learned about native species and their ecological importance. After graduating from college, he came home and began pursuing a career in conservation — first working for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project before heading out to Papahānaumokuākea to conduct habitat restoration on Hōlanikū (the last atoll) for two years. He returned to the MFBRP in 2019 before switching over to the botanical world of PEPP in 2021, working to preserve Maui Nui’s rarest flora. Additionally, Zach is a well-regarded, award-winning photographer and uses his skills to promote awareness and appreciation for some of Hawai’i’s most endangered, and overlooked, native species.
Inger Tully currently serves as the Director of Philanthropy for Maui County at the Hawaii Community Foundation. Prior to this role she worked in the arts for 15 years including positions as the Director of Development – Maui Arts & Cultural Center; Associate Curator – Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), and Curator of Exhibitions and Curator of Education – The Contemporary Museum (TCM), Honolulu. Inger has participated in curating exhibitions such as The Biennial (TCM) and Artists of Hawaii (HoMA) and currently serves as a Visual Arts Consultant for the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA). She received her BFA in Photography from University of Hawaii at Manoa and MFA in Museum Studies from University of the Arts, PA. In her free time, she can be found in the ocean or on a mountain trail.
