Kelly Potts
Surf Programs Director
Kelly Potts is a lifelong Maui water woman, community leader, and has been a part of the Maui Surfer Girls family for over 20 years. She was recently promoted to Surf Programs Director, where she oversees hiring and training surf instructors, maintains the highest standards of instructional quality for lessons and camps, and manages equipment and fleet operations — ensuring Maui Surfer Girls remains the island’s safest, highest quality, and best-reviewed surf school.
Raised in Ocean Safety through Maui’s Junior Lifeguards program and mentored by legendary watermen and women, Kelly has dedicated more than 20 years to professional surfing and surf coaching. Through her professional surfing career, she carved her own path by giving back the gift of surfing to communities.
In 2010, what began as a grassroots gathering to teach Maui women to surf evolved into All Are We Water Collective, the nonprofit she founded and served as Executive Director. Through the organization, she directs surf camps for Indigenous communities across Hawaiʻi, Washington, Oregon, and California. Her work bridges ocean safety, language revitalization, and cultural preservation, helping Native youth reconnect with ancestral waters while building confidence and career pathways rooted in place.
A graduate of University of Hawaiʻi Maui College with an Associate’s Degree emphasizing Hawaiian Studies, Kelly grounds her leadership in ʻike Hawaiʻi and lifelong service. She has volunteered for more than two decades with Maui Cultural Lands, and continues to give back to her community and ‘aina when she can.
Kelly is also a 2025 Fellow of Ka Ipu Kukui Fellows, a year-long leadership development program for community-identified leaders of Maui Nui. Deeply committed to addressing the rising cost of living and the displacement of kamaʻāina and kanaka maoli families, she advocates for cultural preservation, sustainable career pathways, and community-driven solutions that empower the next generation to live, work, and thrive in the place they call home.
Book a private lesson with Kelly here!
