Pacific Biodiesel Welcomes Annie Nelson to its Board of Managers

Annie Nelson shows off the renewable fuel produced by Pacific Biodiesel at the Grand Opening of the Texas refinery in 2006..

Annie Nelson Joins Company’s Board of Managers

MAUI, HAWAIʻI — Pacific Biodiesel has announced the appointment of Annie Nelson to the company’s Board of Managers. Nelson’s nomination was unanimously approved at the company’s annual Members meeting earlier this year.

“As Pacific Biodiesel celebrates its 30^th Anniversary this year, we are honored that our longtime supporter and friend Annie Nelson enthusiastically accepted the invitation to join our company’s Board of Managers,” said Pacific Biodiesel Co-Founder Kelly King. “With her tenacity and passion for environmental causes, it’s no wonder we’ve been friends for decades. I look forward to the infusion of energy, creativity and ‘get-it-done’ attitude she’ll bring to expand and enhance our leadership team.”

Annie introduced Willie Nelson to Pacific Biodiesel

As King explains, Annie discovered biodiesel produced on Maui by Pacific Biodiesel back in the late-1990s. She then introduced  it to her husband, Willie, who soon thereafter bought a diesel Mercedes so he could use the fuel. “The rest is history,” King said. “Willie, a music legend and a respected advocate for America’s farmers for decades, was instrumental in building credibility for our emerging fuel technology, especially among America’s truckers. Willie helped make biodiesel trustworthy and cool.”

Married since 1991, the Nelsons have a home on Maui where they raised their two sons, Lukas and Micah. 

“I first met Kelly and Bob in the early days of their biodiesel business, and what a great way to involve the Maui community in climate action,” Annie explained for an editorial about the company in Biobased Diesel magazine’s Winter 2025 issue. “As the industry grew nationwide, the Kings remained true to their mission of community-based, sustainable production, and it has been my pleasure to support their important focus on doing it right for all the right reasons.”

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