Hawaii Business Magazine March 2023 by aio Hawaiʻi

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L O C A L LY O W N E D , L O C A L LY C O M M I T T E D SINCE 1955

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FUTURE ISSUE

F O R T H E N E X T

EMERGING LEADERS FOR HAWAI‘I P. 26

Kanakolu Noa, Interim Director of Sustainable Industries, Kamehameha Schools

Proudly Proudly Supporting Supporting Hawaiʻi's Hawaiʻi's Leaders. Leaders.

BRANDON KAMIGAKI Manager Auto Retail Product Management Digital Strategy

CONGRATULATIONS, BRANDON KAMIGAKI! 20 FOR THE NEXT 20 HONOREE

Thank you for your leadership and dedication to innovation at Servco and in the community. Congratulations to all the 20 for the Next 20 Honorees for driving positive change in Hawai‘i.

MOBILITY. SERVICE. INNOVATION.

P RE SE NTE D BY

Join our host Unyong Nakata of Nakata Advisory, LLC as she talks with some of Hawai‘i’s most inﬂuential business and community leaders.

Peter Ingram Hawaiian Airlines

Emily Reber Porter MacNaughton

Bettina Mehnert AHL

AVA I LA BLE EV ERY OT HE R T HU R S DAY STA RT ING MA RCH 9 ON T HE S E PO D CA ST PL AT FO R M S : Locally Owned, Locally Committed

PAVING

the way for a healthier We would like to congratulate Terence Young for being recognized as an emerging leader in the 2023 cohort for Hawaii Business Magazine’s 20 for the Next 20. Terence’s hard work, dedication and compassion positively shape our community. We are excited to see the impact he will have over the next 20 years as he helps create a healthier Hawai‘i. HawaiiPacificHealth.org

FUTURE

03.23

FEATURES

Josh Hargrove, GM of Prince Waikiki & Hawaii Prince Golf Club, is a 20 for the Next 20 honoree.

Crypto in Hawai‘i Is Still a “Lab” Experiment Eleven companies participate in the Digital Currency Innovation Lab as the state explores regulations and advocates push for open markets. 6

MARCH 2023

Blue Planet Foundation Focuses on Small Steps with Big Impacts The nonprofit is pushing for more efficient appliances, lighting and transportation to help reach Hawai‘i’s 100% clean energy goals.

Introducing 20 Emerging Leaders in Hawai‘i They come from tourism, education, tech, aviation, nonprofits and other fields— and they’re making a difference in their industries and the Islands.

Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards: Winners and Finalists Twenty-six profiles spotlight many of the year’s most successful and intrepid entrepreneurs, investors and innovators.

PH OTO BY A A R O N YO S H I N O

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CONTENTS

Connecting to Ancestry at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility The mural is one project of Opportunity Youth Action Hawai‘i, which works to replace incarceration with Hawaiian-based restorative justice.

O N T H E C OV E R

Photo by Aaron Yoshino

THIS PAGE, PHOTO: COURTESY OF OPPORTUNITY YOUTH ACTION HAWAI‘ʻ I

Fact-Based News Media Are Not Your Enemy Editor Steve Petranik explains the principles of reporters and editors, and how financial incentives in news media have shifted. 8 My Job: Helping Patients Access Health and Social Services Community health care professional Airleen Lucero works on the front line of medicine: outreach and education. 12

For Stressed-Out Leaders: 5 Steps for Sparking Joy Executive coach Nina Cherry offers simple ways to rekindle happiness and gratitude in your day. 16 How to Elevate Customer Service with Japan’s Kikubari Kikubari means “to share one’s spirit,” and the model can be adapted to Hawai‘i’s hospitality industry, or any company. 18

The Housing Market Is Changing, and So Should Realtors The new Honolulu Board of Realtors president outlines three priorities for the organization and its 7,000 members. 24

Kanakolu Noa was photographed at Kānewai Spring, which is tucked between Kalaniana‘ole Highway and Paikō Lagoon, and was restored by Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center. Staff photographer Aaron Yoshino says the fishpond is a special place, surrounded by old-growth trees and native plants that block the noise from the busy highway. “It’s so quiet, you can hear the movement of fish near the surface of the waters. I always leave feeling relaxed,” says Yoshino.

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We Are Not Your Enemy

EOPLE WILL SOMETIMES REFER TO MEDIA as a single thing: “The

media says this” or “The media says that.” I try to remind them that media is a plural noun. Even one section of the media – the factbased news media in America – is a vast, ever-changing mosaic of hundreds of organizations. They operate across various platforms – on social media, online, through videos and TV, podcasts, print and radio. Every day, it seems, a new news medium launches in America and another closes. The “launches” are exciting, but the “closes” are scary because fact-based news media are an essential part of our democracy. Sadly, too many Americans get their “news” from advocacy media rather than fact-based news organizations. That was not always true. In the second half of the 20th century, the vast majority of Americans got most of their news from fact-based news organizations. What changed since then were the financial incentives behind the news business and that’s what I will explore in this column. But first: Why is fact-based journalism worth saving? FIVE CORE VALUES

Aidan White, director of the Ethical Journalism Network, which is based in Europe, says there are about 400 codes of conduct for journalists worldwide. He does a great job of summing up the best of those rules and standards in five principles that are the foundation of ethical fact-based journalism – and reflect the values shared by Hawaii Business Magazine and its staff. These five overall journalism principles are: • Accuracy: Your work seeks to accurately report facts. • Independence: You operate independently of government, any particular special interest or political party. • Impartiality: You recognize there are different sides to controversial stories and that journalists should account for this. • Humanity: You act with an awareness of the consequences of your work on people, White says, because journalism “is part of a humanitarian process.” • Accountability: You engage with your audience and admit your mistakes.

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White engagingly sums up these five principles in a three-minute video at tinyurl.com/5CoreValues. After spending 45 years trying to live up to those ideals – not always succeeding but always trying – I still review those principles and others periodically. They leave me renewed and on course. Facts are crucial to a democracy. Citizens combine them with their values to make decisions: which politicians to vote for, what policies to support, what causes to stand behind. Misinformation can lead citizens to make judgments that are contrary to their values. It can block our nation from building a consensus and can even lead to violence. Misinformation flourishes because too many people have turned away from news organizations that emphasize journalistic principles. To explain a major reason why, I will start by stealing a line from one of the most famous movies about journalism, “All the President’s Men.” That line is: “Follow the money.” “FOLLOW THE MONEY”

When I began working for news organizations in the late 1970s, a common joke among reporters and editors was that “the power of the press belongs to those who own one.” And most people who owned a newspaper press were wealthy because newspapers – plus radio and TV stations – were often highly profitable through most of the 20th century. Most of those owners were conservative, many of them still are. And most American newspapers follow the crucial principle of impartiality on their news pages, but their editorial pages generally reflect the opinions of their owners. And one simple way to measure whether newspapers’ owners are liberal or conservative are their endorsements of presidential candidates. A 1999 study in the academic journal Media History reported that the U.S. presidential elections of 1964 (Lyndon Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater), 1992 (Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot) and 1996 (Clinton vs. Bob Dole) were the only three in the 20th century in which the Democratic nominee received as many or more endorsements from the country’s largest 100 urban daily newspapers as the Republican nominee. The 1972 election was a good example: Editor & Publisher magazine back then reported that 753 daily newspapers in America endorsed Republican Richard Nixon for president and only 56 supported Democrat George McGovern. Hardly a liberal media. MAINSTREAM NEWS MEDIA

In those days, just about everybody read or watched what is now sometimes derisively called the mainstream news media: the local daily newspapers and/or the evening news shows on one of

the three national TV networks: CBS, NBC and ABC. All were for-profit news organizations dependent on advertisers, so they tried to appeal to as many people as possible. Those newsrooms aimed for that crucial value of impartiality – yes, because it was the right thing to do, but also because it was the most profitable thing to do. The owners did not want their newsrooms to alienate readers or viewers by appearing too liberal or too conservative. One change that happened was that cable TV channels like Fox and MSNBC – unable to amass the vast TV news audiences of the 1970s – sought niche audiences of conservatives or liberals rather than appealing to everyone. Besides, it’s a lot more profitable to pay a charismatic host and some guests to sit in a studio pontificating, speculating and plain making stuff up to an audience of millions who want their beliefs endorsed, not challenged. But it wasn’t just the financial incentives that changed. There were always conservatives and liberals who did not trust the post-World War II news media and sought information from niche publications targeted at them. But when did so many more conservatives than liberals and moderates stop trusting the “mainstream” news media? Going so far as to call the news media “the enemy of the people.” VIETNAM AND WATERGATE

The shift was gradual, over many decades, with certain key moments. Among those moments was the reporting from Vietnam in the 1960s that indicated the war was unwinnable, culminating in Walter Cronkite’s famous on-air editorial in 1968 saying exactly that. The shift accelerated with Nixon and his first vice president, Spiro Agnew, who relentlessly attacked the news media. A few years later, many conservatives blamed the news media – not Nixon’s own criminal activity – for his downfall over the Watergate scandal. By the 1980s and 1990s, many conservative leaders were calling news organizations their enemies. To this day, they say fact-based news media organizations tend to have a liberal bias. Are they right? The answer is complicated because, remember, news media is a vast complicated mosaic of hundreds of organizations, and each of them is populated by unique individuals with varying worldviews. Yes, individuals have their personal biases and news organizations can mirror those biases. But the best reporting – based on the five core principles – mitigates biases by forcing outlets to report multiple sides of an issue fairly, to focus on facts and remain independent. Liberal or conservative slants in fact-based news coverage largely arise based on the issues that news organizations choose to cover: economic inequality vs. the dynamism of America’s economy; the plight of refugees and the contribution of immigrants to our economy vs. the burdens that immigrants bring to border communities and the crimes they commit. Ideally, news organizations should cover all of those stories, but no one has unlimited resources, so editors and news directors pick and choose

which stories to cover for their audiences. The best solution to the problem of personal biases is strict adherence to journalistic principles like the five values, plus more fact-based media with different focuses, each fairly covering lots of issues from many angles. THE NEW YORK TIMES & WALL STREET JOURNAL

Liberals often read The New York Times and conservatives like to read The Wall Street Journal. I like to read both. Each is an excellent fact-based news organization, and each has an editorial/opinion section that’s separate from its news department. I could not find exact numbers, but their news staffs are each close to 2,000, and both have successfully transitioned from traditional newspapers into digital-first news platforms with millions of readers worldwide. There are differences: WSJ emphasizes business coverage, NYT has more lifestyle and New York City reporting, for instance, but both cover traditional news topics extensively. Interestingly, their reporters often cover the same big news stories in similar fashions. And there is plenty of evidence that reporters at both papers – and at other fact-based news media – are allowed to follow the facts wherever they may lead. On a single day in October 2020, just before the presidential election, WSJ’s editorial page covered a fresh allegation involving Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and the son’s alleged business dealings in China, while deriding the news media for ignoring the story. That same day, Journal news reporters had a different take when reporting on the allegations of Anthony Bobulinski, who claimed Joe Biden was involved in a meeting regarding his son’s Chinese business venture. The news story reported that no deal ever occurred and that “Corporate records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden.” The reporters also quoted a partner in the venture saying that he was “unaware of any involvement at any time of the former vice president.” HILLARY CLINTON’S DEFEAT

Consider a 2017 report by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University called “Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.” The report counted sentences that appeared in mainstream media sources such as The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN – all considered by conservatives as card-carrying members of the liberal news media – that described scandals or policy issues related to either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. The various Clinton-related email scandals – her use of a private email server while secretary of state, as well as the DNC and John Podesta hacks – accounted for more sentences than all of Trump’s many scandals combined (65,000 vs. 40,000) and more than twice as many sentences as were devoted to all of Clinton’s policy positions. That’s one sign that it wasn’t conservative media that defeated Clinton in 2016 – it was reporting led by mainstream media that helped undermine trust in Clinton among many voters and led to her defeat. H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

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Additionally, I found it interesting that coverage of Joe Biden keeping classified documents from his days as vice president has led the NYT webpage at least four times – more often than I’ve noticed it led the WSJ webpage. The world is messy. The reality is that some important facts reported by news media will support conservative positions on issues and some will support centrist positions or liberal ones. And some facts support nobody’s position but are just reality. The job of news organizations is to reflect the messy world as best they can by reporting important facts and evidence. FACT-BASED NEWS MEDIA ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY

Thank goodness the wealthy owners of the WSJ and NYT, Rupert Murdoch and the Ochs-Sulzberger family, respectively, are backing fact-based newspapers. Locally, Pierre Omidyar did the same; in 2010, he funded the launch of Honolulu Civil Beat, which is gaining more and more public support for its reporting along the NPR fundraising model. Conservative donors initially supported Hawaii Reporter after the online news platform launched in February 2002, but editor and president Malia Zimmerman moved to a job in Los Angeles in 2015, and the

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site now mostly publishes opinion pieces. The financial support for independent reporting did not last. Wealthy Americans have often preferred funding advocacy media and advocacy organizations – they are more reliable partners for their viewpoints – while at the same time denigrating fact-based news media. Fact-based news is not always profitable. It’s expensive to pay eight reporters for a week or a month to uncover the facts on a single important issue. It is more profitable and politically advantageous to assemble your “facts” in advance and share them with a loyal audience. News organizations that follow the five core principles are not anyone’s enemy. But neither are they anyone’s friend. News coverage is not supposed to be a reliable partner to anyone’s partisan positions. Their loyalty is to their readers and, ultimately, democracy and civil society.

STEVE PETRANIK EDITOR

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Best Places to Work 2023 FR I DAY, MARC H 31 , 202 3 Hilton Hawaiian Village

UPCOMING EVENTS: THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023

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Hawaii Business Magazine will honor the 2023 Hawai‘i Best Places to Work winners on Friday, March 31, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Wondering what it takes to be a Best Place to Work? Our April issue will feature profiles of the companies and outline their tools to create better workplaces. The Best Places to Work awards celebration is by invitation only. Look out for the 2024 Best Places to Work registration for your chance to make the list and be invited to next year’s celebration! For more information about our events, visit hawaiibusiness.com/events or contact Magdalena Durak, Events Manager, at magdalenad@hawaiibusiness.com.

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H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

NAME: AIRLEEN LUCERO AGE:

65 JOB:

COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE WORKER

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PH OTO BY A A R O N YO S H I N O

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She Helps Patients Access Health and Social Services BY AUSTIN BO URCIER

BEG IN N IN G S: Airleen Lucero has been active in public service for decades, including as a community outreach worker, in peace education programs for Wai‘anae Coast schools and on the boards of community groups like the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and the Nānākuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association.

Lucero is now a community health worker with Hawai‘i Health Partners, an accountable care organization and subsidiary of Hawai‘i Pacific Health, which also runs hospitals such as Straub, Kapi‘olani and Pali Momi. Accountable care organizations provide coordinated care to groups of patients, such as those on Medicare, usually with a broader focus than just traditional health care.

LATEST R O L E:

PR AC TICAL H EL P: Community health workers have been around since the 1960s in America, but their role has increased in recent years as research indicates their work improves health outcomes and reduces overall costs. Lucero works one-on-one with patients on a wide range of things. For instance, she often

helps them apply for government assistance such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (the successor to food stamps) and Medicaid – processes that her patients might otherwise struggle with. She also helps them schedule health care appointments and informs them of what’s happening throughout the health care process. And she says she loves giving her patients the tools to help themselves. “Give them access and empower them to become managers of their own care, once they know their diseases and how it affects their lives.” C HA LLE NG E S : After spending weeks or months with a patient, it’s difficult to move on when the time comes. It’s especially tough to see patients who are withering away. “The misconception is we’ll be together forever, but it’s not a ‘forever’ program.” S UCC E S S E S : Her challenges of-

ten come with hope. One of her priorities is helping veterans receive health care and financial aid through the Department of Veteran Affairs. After she helps them complete

paperwork, they often receive benefits like health insurance and long-term care. Many of Lucero’s patients are extremely ill, yet they share laughs and tell stories. The bonds they create often stay strong even after her assistance ends. COV I D : The pandemic added another level of stress and responsibilities for community health workers, as with so many health care workers. Some community health workers became contact tracers, while Lucero’s team focused on communications – often in new ways. The benefits of that work continue today. LOCA L T I E S : Lucero is a mother

of five from Nānākuli who loves her community, which she says helps her relate to her patients and truly understand them. And she stresses the importance of listening – both to her patients’ needs and her peers’ advice. “It is a joy. I love it. I think all community health workers have that kind of compassion to make sure they break barriers that a lot of families face.”

THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CL ARITY AND CONCISENESS.

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Cryptocurrency Sales Legal in Hawai‘i But Remain in the “Lab” Some people advocate for state regulations to prevent buyers from being swindled BY AUSTIN B OUR CIER

REMAINS

“LAB”

EXPERIMENT in Hawai‘i, with 11 compa-

nies providing digital currency services in the state as part of the Digital Currency Innovation Lab. The lab, scheduled to end last summer, was instead extended until Dec. 30, 2024. House Bill 2108, designed to help create a new regulatory framework in Hawai‘i, made it all the way to conference committee in the last days of the 2022 Legislature but never passed. State Sen. Glenn Wakai, who has introduced cryptocurrency legislation in the past, says he doesn’t plan to introduce new legislation during the 2023 Legislature. “The state should be very deliberate in how it grows the crypto market in Hawai‘i. So many people got hurt and swindled. It’s the government’s obligation to protect the public from bad actors,” says Wakai. Ryan Ozawa frequently reports on cryptocurrencies as the news editor for Decrypt, an online news platform that aims “to demystify the decentralized web.” He also once provided community engagement services for the digital currency lab, though no longer serves in that role. He strongly supports greater access to digital investments. “In the absolute freedom model, you do whatever you want but you could also lose your house. In the consumer protection model, you have to jump through hoops, but you’re less likely to lose your house. I see both sides of it. I believe in the ‘buyer beware but have freedom model,’ ” he says.

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ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES, MALLORY ADAMS-NAKAMURA

RYPTOCURRENCY

Nathaniel Harmon, CEO and co-founder of OceanBit Energy, a local Bitcoin mining startup, however, says well-built rules would benefit local communities. “We need good regulation here in the state. These exchanges, if they’re selling Bitcoin, it’s just a commodity. It’s like buying or selling steel or buying and selling gold. Everything else is a security. Its value is dependent on the work that the company does, and the utility the company provides, so we should have strict regulation around these unregistered securities,” Harmon says. CENTRALIZED VS. DECENTRALIZED

Some advocates of cryptocurrency emphasize the distinction between centralized exchanges and decentralized cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency exchanges are companies that let customers trade cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as conventional money or other digital currencies. Exchanges may accept credit card payments, wire transfers or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies or cryptocurrencies. FTX is one example of a centralized cryptocurrency exchange; it was run by Sam Bankman-Fried and is now in bankruptcy, and Bankman-Fried has been charged with fraud, money laundering and other crimes. However, there are decentralized cryptocurrencies in which transactions are user-based and user-controlled. Some of the best-known cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are decentralized. Such cryptocurrencies can also be traded on most exchanges, centralized or decentralized. Cryptocurrencies can also be bought and sold by individuals in Hawai‘i through companies participating in the Digital Currency Innovation Lab. They can use online exchanges and brokerages, and other platforms such as some

“I BELIEVE IN THE ‘BUYER BEWARE BUT HAVE FREEDOM MODEL.’ ” —Ryan Ozawa, News Editor, Decrypt

ATMs in Hawai‘i. Lab director Iris Ikeda, who is also the state’s commissioner of financial institutions, says the lab was formed to study the use and effectiveness of cryptocurrency companies – and whether or not they should be regulated. Liam Grist is the founder of Cloud Nalu, a Hawai‘i-based company that is participating in the lab and provides “a brokerage application for buying and selling Bitcoin while prioritizing holding your own keys (self-custody).” He says HB 2108 could have been a “double-edged sword” by providing easier access to cryptocurrency and trading practices, while also allowing unfairly leveraged and shady exchanges like FTX to operate in the Islands. Ikeda, however, says added protection provided by HB 2108 would have been helpful to consumers. AWAITING FEDERAL REGULATION

Grist says, “Regulation coming from our national government, or the (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), will have a bigger impact on the crypto industry – more than any legislation Hawai‘i can come up with.” Ozawa agrees that Hawai‘i should hold off on legislation until the federal government creates a national framework. “There is no doubt there will be government action,” he says. The regulatory climate for cryptocurrencies currently varies from state to state. Grist would like to see a greater ac-

ceptance of digital currency by Hawai‘i’s banks. That acceptance, he says, would help residents and the local economy, and each bank would become a “beacon of hope” by safely storing individuals’ cryptocurrency investments. “The only way we can really change the future is by engaging and integrating with and building a new system founded on better incentives, founded in real, hard money. It’ll take awhile, but it’s an important thing to do,” Grist says Ikeda says the lab will continue to allow digital currency transactions and will continue to conduct research that could show the benefits of crypto, including economic development. While Harmon and Grist both support the lab and a regulatory framework, they also believe a decentralized blockchain like Bitcoin should be viewed differently. “The difference with Bitcoin is that you can actually hold your own keys to that Bitcoin,” Grist says. “You can hold your own property, and nobody can control it. I hope it (the lab) will help legislators decide in the future, (that) when we come up with bills in support of digital currency, we separate Bitcoin from crypto because they are two very different things.” Harmon adds: “Bitcoin has no leader, no company behind it. It’s fully decentralized and sets the bar. The vast majority (of cryptocurrencies) are scams. … If you’re a Bitcoin-only exchange, there should be a different set of laws than being an unregistered securities exchange.”

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

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5 Tips on Finding Moments of Joy in Your Day BY N I N A C H ER RY

BRINGING A LIT TLE H APPIN ESS into our lives every day helps replenish bodies and souls battered by the stresses and busy-ness of life. You’ll be more effective, resilient and productive – and enjoy your life and work more.

Executive Coach Nina Cherry offers these five steps to moments of joy.

that shares your values can increase the meaningful feelings of giving.

1. CULTIVATE CONNECTION

3. HAVE FUN!

Reach out to family and colleagues. It might make you happy to have lunch with a friend. If you are a leader, you could walk around the workplace and connect with your staff. If you are working remotely, reach out to employees with phone calls or thoughtful, personalized text messages.

Make your weekend a vacation. Take fun outings with your children or play in the sprinkler – hanging out with a child brings out the kid in you. Watching a comedy or taking a cold shower can make you laugh out loud. Dancing feels great and doesn’t have to look good. Turn on your favorite music and dance how you feel.

2. PRACTICE GRATITUDE

4. EXERCISE OUTDOORS

Go to sleep every night or wake up each day saying whatever you are grateful for. We can make it a daily practice, a spiritual practice, to see beauty and feel gratitude for the blessings in our lives. Volunteering at an organization

Take a break during your workday by walking around the block. Play a round of golf or take a sunset walk on the beach after work. How about getting a mini-trampoline for your home? It moves the lymph and boosts the im-

Reaching new heights

Congratulations to our own Robin Kobayashi for being named one of Hawaii’s “20 for the Next 20.” We’re proud to have her in our ‘ohana.

mune system. Hiking or swimming in the ocean can be exhilarating. Nature brings joy to the soul. 5. REST AND REJUVENATE

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES

Take a break from screens and read a calming book. Recharge by putting up your favorite art or pictures in your office. Look for beauty in the details of people’s faces or inspiring patterns in nature. Sometimes we have to hunt for ways to find moments of happiness, and sometimes we find it by simply changing the way we see the world.

THIS MONTH’S EXPERT:

NINA CHERRY, EXECUTIVE COACH NINACHERRY.COM NINA@NINACHERRY.COM

2 0 F O R T H E NE X T 20

Congratulations to KELLY J. UEOKA and all the 2023 honorees. Making technology work for Hawaiʻi.

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Japan’s Kikubari Can Be Hawai‘i’s Next Customer Service Model All kinds of companies can benefit, not just those in hospitality BY RAY TSUCHIYA MA

H AWA I ‘ I V I S I TO R S TO JA PA N R E V E L in hotels, department stores and restaurants staffed by employees who aim to please. The visitors return to the Islands with wondrous “only in Japan” stories. But impeccable customer service doesn’t have to be limited to Japan. Hawai‘i employees can be trained to provide that same level of service – the kind that satisfies cus-

CREATING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING in Hawai‘i isn’t just Christopher’s job, it’s his passion.

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Bank of Hawai‘i is proud to honor Christopher Abbott for his dedication to the cause of affordable housing. And we salute all of this year’s 20 for the Next 20 Awardees for their commitment to our island home.

tomers and helps all kinds of businesses grow, not just hospitality companies. A key Japanese customer service concept is kikubari, based on the centuries-old Japanese tradition of inn hospitality. “Ki” (気) is defined as spirit and “kubari” (配り) means distribution or sharing. Thus kikubari means “to share one’s spirit” with others – not serving customers in the Western sense, but more like anticipating guests’ unspoken desires. An example is a visitor to a Japanese hotel on a hot summer day. Sitting in the lobby, the visitor is sweating and tired. Wordlessly, a hotel desk clerk brings a glass of iced green tea and a fresh oshibori (cold towel) to the visitor. Americans would say: “You read my mind.” In Japan, it is an expression of kikubari. Customers’ wants are satisfied

before they ask. It is a “high touch,” relationship-based art, since kikubari requires observation and knowledge about customers and insights into their personal desires. It’s not a “sales” technique. Kikubari can be taught to American employees. In kikubari workshops I held for an East Coast client, I began with the participants’ families. Since kikubari is about developing “antennae” for reading other people’s minds and hearts, my client’s employees observed and listened carefully for clues to what makes others happy in their own households. Over time, family relationships improved greatly. The employees progressed to their workplace to anticipate colleagues’ desires. They did this by intensely listening to their co-workers during coffee breaks – which led to deeper understandings of others’ work roles.

In this step-by-step approach, the goal was for workers to collaborate beyond the silos of their job descriptions and departments to solve customer problems. Many Americans believe it is beyond their pay grade to respond to large customer problems. But under kikubari’s precepts, staff members do whatever is required for the customer. Even in a crowded Tokyo restaurant the top chef takes orders from diners. One kikubari principle is that no task is too small or too big if it results in greater positive customer experience – whether it is bringing iced tea or leveraging the entire firm. A large construction firm asked my engineering services client to do a project that involved hundreds of new hires – unprecedented for my client. A

middle manager headed up some innovative recruiting programs, and eventually all the required job site workers were hired. The manager was not in HR yet led HR to help solve the customer’s problem. And everybody else in the firm who worked together without pushback helped too, thus launching my client’s spectacular growth. Kikubari is traditionally linked to staff-guest interactions in the hotel, hospitality and retail sectors, yet all firms, including B2B companies, can leverage kikubari to grow new business. Ray Tsuchiyama is a partner with GUILD consulting.

THIS MONTH’S EXPERT:

RAY TSUCHIYAMA, RAY.TSUCHIYAMA@GMAIL.COM

Congratulations Miki Hardisty! Congratulations to all the "20 for the Next 20" honorees, including our very own Miki Hardisty, Chief Operating Officer at ProService Hawaii. Thank you for being so committed to our customers and for being a change-agent within Hawaii's business community. "Miki is a wonderful leader who can do it all, but more importantly she cares deeply and has the courage and vision to make positive change happen for Hawaii." - Ben Godsey, CEO, ProService Hawaii

Miki Hardisty Chief Operating Officer H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

W H AT ’ S

N E X T

Blue Planet’s 2023 Agenda: More Efficient Appliances, Lighting and Transportation Hawai‘i’s ambitious 100% renewable goal has been set, and now the nonproﬁt focuses on detailed policies to reach it. BY CHAVO NNIE RA MO S

PHOTO: COURTESY OF BLUE PLANET FOUNDATION

The Blue Planet Foundation team advocates for clean energy bills at the Legislature. Executive Director Melissa Miyashiro is at center.

MARCH 2023

LUE PLANET FOUNDATION, A DRIVING FORCE

behind Hawai‘i’s commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2045, has policy recommendations for the 2023 state Legislature to keep the Islands on track. “In some respects, I think we’ve moved away from the kind of flashy, bold policy proposal to things that might be a little bit more detailed and nuanced but are critically important if we want to get to that future” of a clean energy Hawai‘i, says Melissa Miyashiro, executive director of the foundation. The nonprofit’s policy proposals for the Legislature include: • Adding to the list of minimum efficiency standards for household products sold in the state.

AVELINO J. HALAGAO Vice President, Corporate & Community Advancement President, HEI Charitable Foundation

Miyashiro says these standards would allow only energy- and water-efficient products to be sold in stores; they would be models that sell at prices no higher than inefficient models. These revised rules would save businesses and residents money, she says. By setting efficiency standards, Blue Planet estimates that residents and businesses can save $169.7 million on their utility bills over 15 years. • Advocating for a bill that phases out the sale of new fluorescent bulbs in the state because they contain toxic mercury and use more energy than LED alternatives. The state banned sales of incandescent lamps in 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy banned the manufacture of incandescent

bulbs this year and their sale will end in July. • Extending the Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard beyond 2030. The EEPS set interim goals for renewable energy use by electric utilities for 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030. Extending the EEPS beyond 2030 would allow the Public Utilities Commission to push for more benchmarks on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2045. • Supporting bills related to clean transportation and electric vehicles. Bills introduced in this year’s Legislature propose to create an electric vehicle-ready requirement for new state facilities, and EV-ready incentives for new affordable housing.

Congratulations AJ Thank you and your fellow 20 for the Next 20 honorees for helping to catalyze positive change in Hawai‘i.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

W H AT ’ S

Another bill would offer a state rebate for purchasing an EV. Blue Planet also wants to require an increasing percentage of Hawai‘i rental cars, tour buses and other visitor industry vehicles to be electric, with a goal of 100% zero-emission tourism vehicles by 2035. • Advocating for the creation and funding of a state equity and social vulnerability index designed to help understand the social impacts of climate change in Hawai‘i. The proposal would also appropriate funds for the creation of a database and portal from data sources compiled by the Hawai‘i Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. “As climate impacts intensify, we’re starting to get a real sense that climate change is not just an environmental issue,

MARCH 2023

N E X T

“CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT JUST AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, BUT IT’S A HUMAN ISSUE.” —Melissa Miyashiro, Executive Director, Blue Planet Foundation

but it’s a human issue,” says Miyashiro. “So, we think it’s important for us as a state, in order to plan for those impacts, that we take stock of who are the most vulnerable in our community … so that we can course correct, and really make sure that people have the safety net services that they need going forward.” Learn more about these proposals at

tinyurl.com/BPLegGoals23. This year, Blue Planet plans to launch an alumni network of its climate crew program. The program is for high school students and typically lasts four months. Students learn about climate change, clean energy solutions and civic engagement opportunities. Miyashiro says Blue Planet Foundation has graduated four cohorts of the climate crew, and “now we’re kind of ready to activate them collectively” to launch the alumni coalition. Participants will have the opportunity to get involved in Blue Planet’s policy work. “We really want to be a Hawai‘i-based organization that is here and committed to helping Hawai‘i achieve its climate goals,” says Miyashiro. “It takes groups and communities and stakeholders working collaboratively on kind of the not so sexy stuff to move us forward.”

Hawai‘i Real Estate News

Read news and insights about Hawai‘i real estate every Tuesday TO SUBSCRIBE, VISIT H AWAIIB U SIN ESS. CO M /H R EN

Locally Owned, Locally Committed

R E A L

E S TAT E

New Leader Says Realtors Have to Pivot with Changing Housing Market Fran Villarmia-Kahawai, 2023 president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, outlines her three priorities for the year BY JAN I S MAGIN MEIERDIERCKS

president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors comes at a challenging time for the real estate industry. But after more than three decades in the business, she says she’s ready – and unfazed by interest rates that are double what they were a year ago and the drop in sales of homes on O‘ahu that followed a historic run-up in prices during the pandemic. Villarmia-Kahawai, principal broker and owner of ‘Aiea-based Properties International Ltd., got into the business full time in 1999 – the last of five years of falling median home prices – and worked through the Great Recession in 2008, which spawned an increase in foreclosures. “I don’t think it’s different in the sense that the market’s always changing. There’s always something new that maybe is a disrupter to the market,” she says in an interview with Hawaii Business Magazine. “And we just have to pivot.” Villarmia-Kahawai says the Honolulu Board of Realtors is providing its 7,000 members with education and information to help themselves and their clients navigate the current situation.

MARCH 2023

WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR?

There are three things I really want to home in on. The first is encouraging our members to continue to educate themselves, whatever the market is, continue to be able to gain more knowledge so that we become better Realtors. As a board, we want to encourage education, and if something’s happening nationally or locally, bring it to the attention of the membership and keep up with the market updates. The second thing is we really want to be part of this discussion for our housing solutions, whether it be low inventory, more rentals, whatever it is, because we work with everyone from the developer to the sellers to the buyers to the tenants, and we know the pulse of the community. We want to be in the room when the policymakers are talking and trying to figure out what to

do. We know a strong community built with homeowners is a more stable community, as well as good neighbors. The last thing is to let everybody know homeownership really is for everyone. They may think they would never be able to afford a home, but that’s not true. HBR is partnered with the Hawai‘i HomeOwnership Center, but not a lot of people are using that benefit. I’ve been telling my clients, if they have kids, get them in this program. It’s $10 and then they get all the support, all the help they need. When they finish and get the certification, they can qualify for grants to help them with down payments. So again, it goes back to education. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR REALTORS THIS YEAR?

The No. 1 challenge, I believe, is it’s changing. We had an uptick in member-

“WE REALLY WANT TO BE PART OF THIS DISCUSSION FOR OUR HOUSING SOLUTIONS.” —Fran Villarmia-Kahawai, President, Honolulu Board of Realtors

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

RAN VILLARMIA-KAHAWAI’S TERM as the 2023

ship from three years ago. We thought we would go down, but it went the other way. There’s a bunch of agents who don’t know that not every listing will have multiple offers. Again, it goes back to education, but we can help navigate that changing market. DO YOU AGREE WITH LOCAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMISTS WHO SAY PRICES WILL FLATTEN THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE HIGHER MORTGAGE RATES?

You would expect that, but our low inventory throws a wrench in all of that. We see our sales volume moving closer to the pre-pandemic numbers. If we go back to the pre-pandemic and look at our chart at that time, our (sales) numbers are getting there. In the last three to five years, sales started off low during January and then went up in March, and then the summer has been our busiest time. I think we’re going to follow that same trend. It’s hard for us to compare to, with all those markets nationally. Hawai‘i’s a little different. It’s always been different.

We’re Proud to Call You Advocate, Strategist, Problem Solver and Especially, Partner.

Congratulations to Christian Chambers, one of Hawaii’s “20 for the Next 20.” If you seek excellence in real estate, construction or complex commercial law or litigation, you will ﬁnd Christian and 22 other partners and associates at the ﬁrm that US News & World Report named “One of the Best Law Firms in the Country.”

Christian D. Chambers, Partner

Problem solved.

Topa Financial Center, 700 Bishop Street, 9th Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 523-9000 • legalhawaii.com H AWA I I B U S I N ES S 23-BAY-0185 HB Chambers.indd 1

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F O R T H E N E X T

HAWAI‘I’S PEOPLE TO WATCH

Each year, Hawaii Business Magazine honors 20 people who have accomplished much in their lives and careers and are poised to have an even bigger positive impact on Hawai‘i over the next 20 years. Turn the page and learn about the 2023 cohort.

BY AUS TIN BOURCIER , K AITLIN C I L L I E R S , K AT H R Y N D R U R Y W A G N E R , N O E L L E F U J I I - O R I D E , C H AVO N N I E RAMOS AND CYNTHIA WESSENDORF P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y E LY S E B U T L E R , MICHELLE MISHINA , JORDAN MURPH, TOMMY SHIH AND A ARON YOSHINO

the

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CHRISTOPHER ABBOT T CHRISTIAN CHAMBERS NOELANI GOODYEAR-K A‘ŌPUA AJ HALAGAO JOSH HARGROVE PEDRO HARO MARISA CASTUER A HAYASE BR ANDON K AMIGAKI KU‘ULANI KEOHOK ALOLE ROBIN KOBAYASHI JEN LAU AMY MILLER MARVIN MIKI MOORE-HARDISTY K ANAKOLU NOA LAUR A REICHHARDT ALISON TOMISATO ALVES KELLY J. UEOK A QUINN VIT TUM MATHIEU WILLIAMS TERENCE YOUNG P.40

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Pedro HARO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, A M E R I CA N LU N G A S S O C I AT I O N I N H AWA I I

ORN IN MEXICO, PEDRO HARO IMMIGRATED

to Maui when he was 8. “My mom said, as good guests here, we have to leave the place better than we found it. I took that to heart. You don’t do things just for yourself or your own people. Public health was an area where I felt I could make a difference.”

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He earned a master’s degree in public health from UH Mānoa, then founded SM Hawaii, an advocacy and marketing firm. He has worked on outreach programs for the Hawai‘i Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program; helped launch the domestic violence and sexual assault prevention campaign, Hawai‘i Says NO MORE; oversaw the launch of Kokua Life, a suicide prevention app; and helped pass the Kūpuna Caregivers Act. Haro was named executive director of the American

Lung Association in Hawaii in February 2020 and had just settled in when “the biggest pandemic and lung issue in 100 years hit us,” he says. Under his leadership, the American Lung Association in Hawaii has been turbocharged. It started local programs addressing asthma management, as well as youth vaping prevention and cessation programs. According to Dr. Cynthia Goto, the association’s board chair, in just two years Haro raised more than $220,000 in grants, and more than $165,000 of unrestricted donations for fiscal year 2022. “Our board has a strategic plan for the next three to five years, thanks to him,” she says. Haro also helped pass Act 162, approved by the state Legislature in 2022. It creates a task force to increase early lung cancer screening – a particular need in Hawai‘i, which ranks last in the nation for early-stage diagnosis of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association. “He’s an exceptional person,” says Goto. “People are grateful to be working with him and to know him. He’s always very respectful of the people he works with and wants the relationships to be beneficial for everyone.” Haro is married to Troy Siruno. As a hobby, he enjoys acting in Hawai‘i-shot productions, such as “Jungle Cruise” and “Hawaii Five-0.” He also is a trained singer and participates in local and national singing competitions. Over the past two decades, Haro has tirelessly worked toward a diverse, healthy and equitable Hawai‘i. “Sometimes we get focused on the problems, instead of trying to find solutions,” he says. “I love finding solutions.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

Alison TOMISATO ALVES DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, MARRIOTT I N T E R N AT I O N A L

LISON TOMISATO ALVES SAYS

where all of us remember coming to these hotels … it is a really special opportunity to be part of its future.” Among her responsibilities, she manages marketing content; cultivates relationships with the hotels’ partners; develops strategies for Marriott’s online content, storytelling and promotions; and helps organize events for guests. A job that large can be difficult to manage, but Alves is up to the task, says Tom Calame, area general manager and managing director of Kyo-ya Hotels Hawaii. “She takes on any challenge or task with full conviction, and (sees) it through (to) its completion. Both her upbeat spirit and cheerful, confident, caring and outgoing personality make her uniquely well-rounded for her role

in marketing and communications,” says Calame. She says the hardest part of her job is trying to predict the future of tourism and then preparing for it. For her, “being part of the conversation to define tourism and hospitality for the future is both a professional and personal” obligation, says Alves. “That’s because it’s an industry that shapes where we live, the type of world my daughter will grow up in, so it’s a tremendous honor to be able to work on something that has such deep ramifications.” – AU ST I N B O U R C I ER

her deep connection with the hospitality industry began as a child, when her mother was a chef at the Royal Hawaiian and a culinary professor in the UH community college system. Later, Alves worked in hotel restaurants and bars herself. She studied public relations at Boston University and worked in the field on the East Coast before returning to the Islands. She credits her smooth transition back home to her extensive volunteering and networking. “I’ve grown an incredible network of friends and colleagues, who I am lucky to connect with both professionally and personally,” she says. Alves joined Marriott in 2015 and now manages marketing for five hotels: the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. Each hotel has its own “personality,” with different histories and catering to different guests. That makes her branding expertise both essential and rewarding. “These are buildings and brands that have stood for over a century … and to be part of their legacy at a place H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Quinn VITTUM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RE-USE HAWAI‘I

VEN AS A BOY, QUINN VITTUM

saw that the construction industry had a problem: There was no system to recover and redistribute the waste it produced. He recalls his father, who owned a construction company in New Hampshire, bringing salvaged and leftover materials back to their house, where he and his brothers would make forts out of the wood. “This was in the mid-’90s. There was a little less consciousness around waste and environmental stuff,” he says. “It’s been cool to see the evolution.” Moving to the Pacific Northwest opened his eyes to a partial solution: an architectural salvage industry. It had potential, but he also saw many items being left behind, like fireplace mantels, clawfoot tubs and stained-glass windows. So, while attending Evergreen State College, he developed a business plan and later launched a Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Olympia Salvage, both in Washington state. In 2006, he and Selina Tarantino co-founded the nonprofit Re-use Hawai‘i, which can recover about 70% of materials in deconstruction projects. The organization has completed about 800 such projects across the state over 16 years. In fiscal year 2022, the company says its crews salvaged 442 tons of materials, which provided resources for 20,726 residents and saved 364 tons of greenhouse gases. 30

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Vittum’s recent initiatives have included job training for over 25 participants in partnership with organizations like Kupu, Aloha United Way and the WorkHawaii Youth Program, says Harley Didriksen, marketing and communications manager for Re-use Hawai‘i. She and Michaela Nartia, director of administration, say the workforce development program is an example of how Vittum builds community while helping young people learn valuable skills. Vittum and Re-Use were fiscal sponsors for the HNL Tool Library. They helped its founder with bookkeeping, fundraising and gave the nonprofit a space at Re-use’s Kaka‘ako redistribution center. Vittum also serves on the board of HEMIC and is a graduate of the Omidyar Fellows’ 2018-19 cohort. Vittum says his goal is to help cultivate a circular economy and change the paradigm around construction waste. This past session, he advocated for Senate Bill 2662 aimed at encouraging builders to recycle construction materials and debris. The effort was unsuccessful and Vittum says more conversations are needed about its benefits. “I’ve been here 16 years in my role at Re-use and now people come to us because of the environmental piece, whereas in the beginning it had to be about time and money, like we had to fit into that,” he says. “That’s nice, that’s refreshing. People are with us on the mission.” – N O EL L E FU J I I - O R I D E

Terence YOUNG

C H I E F O P E R AT I N G OFFICER, H AWA I ‘ I PA C I F I C H E A LT H

ERENCE YO U N G L E A D S BY listening.

Whether it’s his team members or the wider community that Hawai‘i Pacific Health serves, Young says he takes pride in gathering different perspectives and helping people achieve their life and health goals. “He does a lot of listening, he really hears all points of view, really thinks through what the issue is so he fully understands it,” says Art Gladstone, executive VP and chief strategy officer at Hawai‘i Pacific Health. “Then he starts thinking about how we can solve it.” Young’s keen listening and problem-solving skills proved essential during the Covid vaccine rollout in late 2020, when he worked to get frontline health care workers vaccinated, then spearheaded a mass vaccination clinic at Honolulu Harbor’s Pier 2. It was the “first and largest mass vaccine center in the state,” he says. “At one point, we were doing over 3,000 shots a day.” But Young quickly realized that not everyone could get to the downtown location, so he decided to bring the vaccination clinic to residents where they lived. “We started going mobile,” he says, and deployed “big touring buses that were not in use, because there were no tourists here. We were able to take the vaccinations out to the community and the schools and the neighborhood areas.” To Gladstone, accomplishing such a feat calls for a special set of skills. It required Young to “not just engage people, but mobilize people. He has that ability to say, here’s the goal – and it was a big, 32

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lofty goal – and get people to engage, which is a whole different leadership,” says Gladstone. Young is currently the chief operating officer at Hawai‘i Pacific Health. He was born and raised in Hawai‘i, graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in information technology and lived in California for 10 years. But he says he missed being near family. He says he is close to his sister and particularly fond of his niece, whose birth was a turning point in his decision to return to Hawai‘i about 11 years ago. To Young, family connections matter, and they have been a source of inspiration throughout his life. “My dad has always taught me to take pride in my work,” says Young. “That’s what I focus on: just doing the best that I can, in everything that I do.” – K AT L I N C I L L I ER S

Jen

LAU E X E C U T I V E V P, FINANCE ENTERPRISES

HEN MOST BUSIwere in NESSES

pandemic survival mode, Jen Lau was seeking out opportunities for growth. Lau is executive VP at Finance Enterprises, the holding company for Finance Factors, Finance Insurance and real estate company Waipono Investment Corp. Since taking on the job in 2020, Lau has focused on modernizing processes and technologies, while keeping true to a family business started in 1952. Lau works alongside her father, Russell Lau, chairman and CEO at Finance Enterprises, and her husband, Rob Nelson, president at Finance Factors.

“We’re trying to evolve our leadership styles,” she says. “In the past it’s been a top-down leadership style. That has gotten us to where we are but (it) won’t be opening the door to the future. We want ideas to come from all levels of the organization.” Joy Barua, president and COO of Finance Insurance, says Lau “wants to take things to the next frontier” and touts her efforts as the chief architect of an agency-of-choice model that helped Finance Insurance attract 10 additional insurance agents in one year. “We deal with a lot of hot-button issues, yet she’s always calm and smiling,” says Barua. “I would say strategic spontaneity is where Jen thrives. We might be having a difficult conversation … she knows how to get people into alignment to talk about things. That’s an art.” A graduate of Punahou, Wellesley College and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Lau’s career path has included senior leadership positions at StubHub and eBay. In college, she interned for U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. Lau is also active in the community, serving on the boards of Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i, the GIFT Foundation of Hawaii and the East-West Center Foundation. And she’s as adept on the soccer field as she is in the business world: Lau competed at the collegiate level and even met her husband while playing soccer. The couple has a 3−year-old son and 1−yearold daughter, who will probably be wearing tiny cleats soon. “I’ve been thinking about how coming home to the Islands is seen as a sacrifice,” says Lau. “But it can be incredibly rewarding personally and professionally for a lot of people. I’m strongly against this idea that ‘the talent isn’t here in Hawai‘i.’ Maybe our leadership styles aren’t finding that incredible talent. I want to start with my company and enable that, and hopefully have a positive effect.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

Christian CHAMBERS

PARTNER , LUNG ROSE VOSS WAGNILD

ATIENT,

EVEN-KEELED

and – most of all – independent. These are some of the qualities that Harvey Lung, a partner at Lung Rose Voss Wagnild, uses to describe Christian Chambers, who was named in January to a

two-person management committee that runs the law firm. “Christian has always exhibited an independent spirit and judgment,” says Lung. “He’s not swayed by trends or emotions, but takes his time to analyze issues and reach decisions on his own.” That independent streak was clear when Chambers was an undergraduate at Purdue University. Facing another brutal Indiana winter, he and some friends decided to radically shift course. “We thought, what are we doing here?” says Chambers. The future looked drab: jobs in Chicago or Indianapolis, working to make enough money to take a trip somewhere warm. Better to cut out the middle part, he says. He moved to Hawai‘i in 1999, supporting himself as a bartender and eventually entering UH Mānoa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, law deH AWA I I B U S I N ES S

– CY N T H I A W ES S EN D O R F

MARCH 2023

PHOTO: JORDAN MURPH

gree and executive MBA. In 2009, Chambers started with Lung Rose Voss Wagnild, where he developed skills as a litigator in some of his field’s thorniest areas, real estate development and health care. The issues at stake differ, but he says the goal is always the same: to resolve disputes and solve problems. His work with The Queen’s Health System led him to an area that he’s especially passionate about: securing long-term treatment for people with severe mental health challenges. For example, a person might be catatonic and incapable of consenting to medical treatment, Chambers explains. He will guide the case through the courts, arguing for appropriate treatment based on doctors’ recommendations. Another common scenario is someone with a history of stopping medication when they feel more stable, then falling back into severe psychiatric illness. To handle those cases, Chambers helped push for the state’s 2019 Assisted Community Treatment law. “ACT codified into law the standards that judges are looking at when they decide whether to order treatment of someone who’s refusing it or can’t consent to it or doesn’t understand what’s happening,” says Chambers. The Institute for Human Services now uses ACT to get medication to homeless people. Chambers serves on the board of HUGS, which aids young people with disabilities and their families, and he takes on leadership roles at his firm, including spearheading its technology efforts and managing younger attorneys.

Mathieu WILLIAMS

A S S I S TA N T P R I N C I PA L , K E A L A K E H E I N T E R M E D I AT E S C H O O L

T KEALAKEHE INTERMEDIATE IN Kailua-Ko-

na, many students face challenges: 73% qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches and a quarter are English-language learners. It’s a school where a gifted educator like Mathieu Williams, named Hawai‘i Teacher of the Year in 2019, can have a lasting impact. Williams has spent the past 11 years there – as a Teach For America special education teacher, a technology and digital media instructor, and now assistant principal – helping to make it inclusive and enriching for students. Trystne Nozaki, now a high school graduate, says her eighthgrade digital media class with Williams gave her the skills and confidence to pursue creative work, and the encouragement that she didn’t find at home. “He knew I had potential and he pushed me until I reached a point where I would give my best,” she says. He reminded her that “I had the creativity and the motivation and the ambition to do what I like to do.” Her photos were recently exhibited on Hawai‘i Island and she’s heading to UH Mānoa in the fall. While Williams is rooted in the school community, he also sees it as a springboard to the wider world. In 2018, for example, he brought

Nozaki and others to Nashville for a national competition, where they won awards for their spot feature and movie trailer. During the 2021-22 year online, his students paired with those at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School in Līhu‘e to make the film “Alone Together,” which was included in HIFF’s virtual programming in 2022. “People think being a teacher is just teaching kids with a grade book, but it’s much more than that,” says Williams. “You have a responsibility to connect them with people in different industries and to make sure they have quality resources to create, learn and do things that matter.” That responsibility drives him to cultivate “strong partnerships and be an active learner.” He has worked with Hope Street Group, Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, Council of Chief State School Officers and others to develop his craft and his network. With co-founder Bill Chen, he received a 2019-20 Tiny Fellowship from 4.0 Schools to start the educational nonprofit Be Curious. “At the end of every school year, I ask myself: Am I happy? Am I able to make a difference? Am I challenged? I can answer yes to all three questions.” – CY N T H I A W ES S EN D O R F

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

KEOHOKALOLE O W N E R A N D P R I N C I PA L C O N S U LTA N T, P E O P L E S T R AT E G I E S H AWA I ‘ I

U‘ULANI KEOHOKALOLE says

she sees her work to help Hawai‘i’s leaders and organizations reach their full potential as a continuation of her mother’s and grandmother’s careers in social work. She was raised by a single mom in Kāne‘ohe and as a child would often accompany her grandmother on visits with other grandparents, who were raising their grandchildren. Her grandmother would help them get clothing, school supplies and 36

MARCH 2023

rent assistance; sometimes, she’d facilitate ho‘oponopono, the Native Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness, to help families mend relationships. “From an early age, my grandmother really instilled in me this love for community and seeing people for people,” she says, adding that as a student at Castle High School, Keohokalole gave back by serving as class president and advising peers about anti-bullying, health and wellness. Keohokalole launched People Strategies Hawai‘i in

trails where no one looks like them is possible, and modeling for them what it looks like to work for yourself with freedom and autonomy, and provide for your family,” says Keohokalole, a Native Hawaiian mother of three. Gwen Navarrete Klapperich, chief learning consultant at Klapperich International Training Associates, says she thinks Keohokalole will be integral to developing a group of DEI practitioners who can help move Hawai‘i forward. Diane Paloma, president and CEO of Hawai‘i Dental Service, says Keohokalole has carved a niche for herself in DEI consulting and is not afraid to ask organizations hard questions to drive systemic change. “She really has this – in Hawaiian we call it our na‘au, our gut and our soul,” Paloma says. “She really wants to build and create a better space for her kids, for her kids’ kids.” – N O EL L E FU J I I - O R I D E

PHOTO: ELYSE BUTLER

Ku‘ulani

2019 after working at Bank of Hawai‘i, Lili‘uokalani Trust, the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture and other places. She’s also a graduate of the Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance; has degrees from UH Mānoa and New York University; and serves on the board of Parents and Children Together. People Strategies Hawai‘i has helped over 50 nonprofits and companies embed diversity, equity and inclusion – or DEI – into their systems and practices and build positive, meaningful cultures. Her approach to this work is grounded in the art of ho‘oponopono. She says her proudest accomplishment is being able to establish herself as a trusted advisor to Hawai‘i’s top leaders and enter a field where most other consultants are at least 20 years older and former C-suite executives. “It’s being able to show my children that entrepreneurship and blazing new

Marisa

CASTUERA HAYASE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF HAWAI‘I PROGR AMS A N D C O M M U N I CAT I O N S , W E I N B E R G FO U N DAT I O N

INCE JOINING THE WEINBERG F O U N DAT I O N

in 2019, Marisa Castuera Hayase has made a big impact on Hawai‘i’s philanthropic community. Hayase oversees the foundation’s annual $12 million allocation to Hawai‘i, first as program director and, since January, as managing director of programs and communications. She has shifted funding priorities to target rural initiatives, often located on Neighbor Islands where poverty is more prevalent than on O‘ahu. “Rural areas in Hawai‘i have been challenged by a chronic lack of investment from the public, private and philanthropic sectors,” explains Hayase. Last year, 80% of grants that she oversaw went to nonprofits working in rural food security, health care and housing. “Marisa is a new breed of philanthropic leader … who brings a very smart and strategic lens to deploying resources,” says Keoni Lee, CEO of Hawai‘i Investment Ready, which partners with the foundation to fund growers and food security groups. Rather than giving away money to “feel good” or “look

good,” Lee says, Hayase focuses on how to create lasting change. And she builds “real partnerships with community leaders and organizations that are doing the work,” he says. Those partnerships help her rally other funders around grassroots initiatives, resulting in added revenue beyond the direct grants and matching funds that the Weinberg Foundation awards. For example, she’s working with foundations on getting pre-development funds to nonprofit affordable housing developers. And last year, she secured private matching funds required for U.S. Department of Agriculture grants aimed at expanding local food systems – ultimately pulling in $2 million in federal money. In addition to her ability to build trust, Lee says, Hayase has an uncommon capacity to listen. She developed it through 12 years as owner of Storyline Consulting, where she worked on strategic plans — including focus groups and interviews – for the state Department of Education, Kamehameha Schools and others.

Hayase grew up in California and received a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s in public policy from Harvard. While she only moved to Hawai‘i in 2005 for a position at the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, her roots here extend through generations: Her husband and two children were born here, one of her grandparents was from Hawai‘i Island and her mother grew up in Waimānalo, where she met her father, originally from Mexico. “It’s a wonderful Hawai‘i story that people from different backgrounds would come together here on O‘ahu,” says Hayase. – CYNTHIA WESSENDORF H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Noelani

GOODYEAR-KA‘ŌPUA PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UH MĀNOA TRUSTEE, KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS

OELANI GOODYEAR-KA‘ŌPUA

has over 20 years of experience as an educator and credits her undergraduate years at UH Mānoa for jumpstarting that passion. Her college years were “a time where there was a lot of political energy and activism” in the Native Hawaiian community. That appealed to her as she could apply what she was learning in class to “the world as it was going on around us.” Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua earned bachelor’s degrees in Hawaiian studies and political science at UH Mānoa, and a doctorate in the history of consciousness from UC Santa Cruz. She came back to UH Mānoa in 2007 as a professor of political science, something she calls her “dream position” because it allows her to give young people “the tools to engage in making the kinds of change that they want to see in the world.” As a professor, Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua has received numerous awards: the UH Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 2019, the Dr. Amefil Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award in 2019 and the Chancellor’s Teaching Award in 2013. She also co-founded Hālau Kū Māna public charter school and served as a board member of the Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy and, most recently, as a Kamehameha Schools trustee. While growing up in Kalihi, Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua attended Kamehameha through a “random draw admission sys-

tem” – “like winning a lottery” – and says she was fortunate to get a private education, even if her parents couldn’t afford it. Kamehameha no longer uses this system anymore because “a lot has changed since that time,” according to Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua. She feels a responsibility to give back and “be a voice for people who don’t have the platform or the opportunity to to be heard.” Currently, Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua is on sabbatical and working on a biography of the late Haunani-Kay Trask, an activist, educator, writer and leader of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Erin Kahunawai Wright, associate professor at UH Mānoa’s College of Education and co-author of the biography, says Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua embodies and models what leadership should look like. “She shows strength in the ways she prioritizes collaboration and collectivity when individuality and ego often drive organizational leadership,” says Wright. Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua says a long-term goal is to help support the growth of a new generation of teachers, in both public and private schools across the state. “We can’t underestimate the value of teachers,” she says. “I have just a huge heart and desire and motivation to work with others to support the growth of the next generation of teachers who will work at all levels in our system.” – C H AVO N N I E R A M O S

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Christopher ABBOTT

Kelly J.

UEOKA

SENIOR VP AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING MANAGER, BANK OF HAWAI‘I

PR E S I D E N T, PACX A

E L LY J. U EO K A G R E W U P on Kaua‘i,

in Hanapēpē. His family has deep roots in the town; a historic old building bears the words “Ueoka Store.” His upbringing there “is reflected in the kind of person he is, in his humility,” says longtime friend Jason Higa, CEO of FCH Enterprises, which includes Zippy’s Restaurants. “He’s quiet but effective. He’s there to help when you are in need. I would often reach out to him to talk, sometimes about technology, sometimes not.” Ueoka is president of Pacxa, a technology provider that works with 400 commercial, government and nonprofit organizations across Hawai‘i. He has a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Southern Oregon University and is an expert on Microsoft infrastructure and cybersecurity. Ueoka notes that with the increase of attacks on critical infrastructure worldwide, cybersecurity is a particular concern for many companies he works with. He is highly devoted to developing Hawai‘i’s tech workforce and investing in the state’s future, serving as a member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s IT Sector Partnership Steering Committee, on the HIDOE Information Technology and Digital Transformation Pathway Advisory Council, and on Campbell High School’s STEAM Advisory Board. He is also on the boards of the Blood Bank of Hawaii, Parents And Children Together, and the TRUE Initiative. Ueoka was instrumental in helping create the TRUE Esports + Tech Lab, a community-based esports facility at Waipahu Public Library that opened in July 2022. “The Hawai‘i State Library System came to us looking for ways 40

MARCH 2023

HERE’S BEEN AN A L A R M I N G R I S E in

the number of Hawai‘i households struggling to make ends meet, hitting an all-time high of 44%, according to recent data from Aloha United Way. “Affordability is getting tougher in Hawai‘i,” says Peter Ho, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Hawai‘i. “We sit at an inflection point as a community. We have to resolve affordability for our middle class, and the biggest part of that is housing.” Christopher Abbott, senior VP and senior program manager of

to make use of the tremendous connectivity they have; it’s really good,” he says. With the growing popularity of esports – UH Mānoa’s program was recently named the nation’s best collegiate esports program – Ueoka saw opportunity. “I thought, why not bring an esports lab to the library, one that would also be able to provide self-paced computer training? That way, anyone with a library card can get technology training.” The esports lab was a catalyst, he says, to get the community to use resources such as gaming PCs and software, and to introduce STEM career paths to West O‘ahu residents. “His knowledge base with technology is at such a high level,” says Higa. “He sees so much opportunity in technology, not only from a business opportunity standpoint, but it’s more about the outcome. We’re lucky to have someone like him in Hawai‘i.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

affordable housing at the bank’s Commercial Banking Group, wants to be part of the solution. Abbott grew up on O‘ahu and says affordability has been a problem and topic of discussion in the Islands his whole life. He says he worries about the people who work in Hawai‘i’s hospitals and schools: “They are expected to take care of others but can’t afford to live here.” After joining Bank of Hawai‘i in 2019, Abbott has more than doubled the amount of loan commitments for affordable housing. “These aren’t grants,” says Abbott. “These are investments. I’m honored to see how much we have been able to get the bank involved in unique tax-credit projects.” He says he’s inspired by the positive effect these investments can have on the community. “This is affordable housing for people making 30−60% of the median income. These are seniors and families, retired nurses and technicians. They are on a fixed income and don’t have a large 401(k).” Abbott’s career has included time in Washington, D.C., where he served as a senior legislative aide for Ed Case in the U.S. House of Representatives, and a stint at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He returned to Hawai‘i in 2011 and worked at another local bank in community investments and affordable housing. “He is a true expert in affordable housing finance,” says Ho. “That’s his lane and he’s exceptionally good at it.” Abbott is married and has a 4−year-old daughter. When he’s not chasing her around, he enjoys playing tennis and pickleball. He serves on the board of the nonprofit Housing Solutions, which develops and manages over 700 apartments on O‘ahu with 1,600 residents, many of whom had been homeless. He also recently joined the board of trustees of the Blood Bank of Hawaii. “Chris embodies what we strive for in our executives: high integrity, commitment, someone who does good work for the bank but also within the community,” says Ho. – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

Miki

MOOREHARDISTY C H I E F O P E R AT I O N S O F F I C E R , PROSERVICE HAWAII

T’S STILL RARE TO FIND WOMEN in senior technol-

ogy leadership roles. But ever since she was a young

girl, Miki Moore-Hardisty has embraced the unconventional. Raised in Kailua, she attended ‘Iolani and Punahou, playing on the ‘Iolani boys water polo team back when there was no girls team. At the University of Washington, she was one of only three women in her mechanical engineering cohort. She worked for nearly three years as an engineer at NASA, then went on to design nuclear reactor components for GE. “I’ve found it’s been about being comfortable with not being the same as everyone else in the room,” she says. “Make it work for you. Dive in and learn as much as you can.” Prior to the pandemic, Moore-Hardisty built a career around fast-paced technology and engineering jobs on the H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

mainland, including serving as the chief technology officer for Jack in the Box, based in San Diego. But during the pandemic, she says she felt a strong urge to return home and help her community. To her delight, she found that in Hawai‘i, “the environment is so rich for using technology to help the economy recover.” She joined HR services provider ProService Hawaii as CTO in 2020 and was quickly promoted to COO, leading both operations and technology and supporting 2,500 local businesses statewide. “There is a lot of depth to Miki,” says Ben Godsey, president and CEO at ProService Hawaii. “She has a huge range, from technical and leadership skills to her interests in music and culture.” She is married to George Hardisty and they have two children. “I’m a firm believer that technology and product management, as well as infrastructure, can drive us forward,” says Moore-Hardisty. With HR, “you make sure people are paid and have benefits and have the right support system when they are working,” she explains. Technology tools such as algorithms with prediction models can then “identify patterns in what helps make a business successful. AI – and I think that is an overused term – but AI lets you take in information, learn and apply. It just does that faster.” Godsey adds: “Miki is someone who will seek the truth and then be empathetic and inspiring in engaging people in what she discovers. You find out what needs improving or fixing and then bring everyone with you – that is a great trait in a leader.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

MARCH 2023

Josh

HARGROVE GENERAL MANAGER, PRINCE WAIKIKI & HAWAII PRINCE GOLF CLUB

OSH HARGROVE HAD PLANNED to be an engineer but

the thought of it, he says, “didn’t quite make my heart sing.” Instead, he majored in hospitality and business management at Washington State because it combined two things he enjoyed: people and numbers. Hargrove grew up near Lake Shannon, Washington, surrounded by mountains. Hotels and vacation homes lined parts of the lake, which inspired him to pursue a “families on vacation” type of tourism. When recruiters from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hawai‘i (later Marriott International) came to his college, Hargrove landed an internship, which led to a management trainee job offer. He moved to Hawai‘i after graduating in 2006, expecting it to be a temporary career step. “And now 16 years later, I’m still out here and I don’t plan to go anywhere,” Hargrove says. Hargrove has held a variety of management roles at multiple hotels, such as The Modern Honolulu, The Royal Hawaiian, The Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa and The Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. In 2019, he was named general manager of Prince Waikiki, his longtime goal. He says working with different teams over the years shaped his leadership style and taught him to focus on people over profits. “If you’re on my team, I want you to have an amazing place to work and to feel cared for,” says Hargrove. Angela Nolan, GM at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, says “he really cares about wanting to be at his best and wanting people around him to be at their best.” Nolan was Hargrove’s boss and mentor at The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas. “She’s the one who taught me it’s OK to be kind, and to laugh, and to have fun,” he says. During his three years at Prince Waikiki, the hotel has achieved multiple accolades, including a Travel + Leisure World’s Best award, Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 10 Hotels in Hawai‘i award and Hawaii Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work award. Hargrove says Prince Waikiki is unique because of its mindset of “lokomaika‘i,” which means to share kindness without expecting anything in return. “That has continued on over the decades,” he says. “Now, my goal is to make an impact and use the amazing opportunity that I have to sit in this seat, to do some great things for my team and for the community that we live in.” – C H AVO N N I E R A M O S H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Laura REICHHARDT DIRECTOR, H AWA I ‘ I S TAT E C E N T E R FOR NURSING

MARCH 2023

train eligible students, thus increasing the number of these mentors by 85. Earlier in the pandemic, she also helped create a hui of chief nursing officers who share challenges and solutions with each other. And in 2021, Reichhardt was honored by the DAISY Foundation and HealthImpact for her policy work to remove barriers preventing highly educated advanced practice registered nurses from practicing advanced-level care. Dr. Aimee Malia Grace, director of Strategic Health Initiatives at UH, says Reichhardt is a bright, visionary, thoughtful leader who crafts policy solutions that consider the impacts on people and communities. “I think she will address Hawai‘i’s health care workforce shortages in a way that does right by our state and our people,” she says.

Reichhardt also serves on the boards of the Hawai‘i State Rural Health Association, the Arcadia Family of Companies and the Hawai‘i and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, as well as the Hawaii Healthcare Workforce Advisory Board. “In 15 years, I want nurses to be able to say, ‘I feel so supported in this state. I love working in Hawai‘i as a nurse,’ ” she says. “I want the people of Hawai‘i to say, ‘I feel cared for. It doesn’t stress me out to figure out how to get health care. I know that I will receive the health care I deserve.’ ” – N O EL L E FU J I I - O R I D E

PHOTO: MICHELLE MISHINA

N HIGH SCHOOL,

Laura Reichhardt was known to buy condoms for sexually active peers. She lived in Arizona’s Yuma County, which at the time had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state. She says she was appalled because it meant many of her peers faced devastating consequences to their health, their dreams and their livelihoods: “I went into health care because I knew every single kid in my class, and I wanted to change their lives.” She began her career in community health at the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission before moving to Hawai‘i, where she focused on quality improvement at the Hawaii Medical Service Association. She received her master’s in nursing from UH Mānoa, received policy training under then-Dean Mary Boland and worked as a nurse policy intern with then-state Sen. Rosalyn Baker. Reichhardt is certified as an adult gerontology nurse practitioner. She became the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing’s director in 2015. She says nurses are her patients now, and she’s especially proud of her involvement in establishing a state income tax credit for health care providers who

HALAGAO

PHOTO: TOMMY SHIH

V P O F C O R P O R AT E AND COMMUNITY A DVA N C E M E N T, HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES PR E S I D E N T, H E I C H A R I TA B L E FO U N DAT I O N

“W

H E R E V E R AJ GOES, he

makes it better. He really commits,” says Liann Ebesugawa, who first met AJ Halagao when she was a UH law student and attended his legal workshops. She now works with him at HEI, where she is assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary, while Halagao has assumed a wide-ranging role there that blends his legal, business, communications and creative skills.

As leader of both the Corporate and Community Advancement office and HEI’s charitable arm, Halagao is responsible for external relations as well as awarding millions of dollars in grants. But his impact extends beyond his corporate role. Halagao chairs the Honolulu City and County Grants in Aid Advisory Commission, which steered nearly $9 million to dozens of nonprofits last year. He serves on numerous boards – preferring ones “where I can roll up my sleeves and be helpful” – including Af-

ter-School All-Stars, HawaiiKidsCAN and the East-West Center Foundation. He wrote and produced a documentary on clean energy called “Illumination Hawaii” and three musicals staged at the Hawai‘i Theatre. Halagao says his secret to getting so much done is simple: “I do think I need less sleep than most.” But his work ethic also springs from his early life. As a child, his family moved from the Philippines to the Washington, D.C., area, where both parents rebuilt their lives. His attorney father returned to law school for an American degree and his pharmacist mother worked in a department store before finding a job as a medical coder. Halagao started first grade as the smallest and youngest, not speaking English, and one of the only Asian students. “I had to overcome a lot when I was a kid. It definitely made me stronger,” he says. His buoyant spirit guided him through adulthood: a commerce degree from the University of Virginia, a management consulting job in New York, a law degree from UCLA, a prosecutor job in San Diego, a research role at Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw division, and a move in 2000 to open the firm’s Honolulu office. In Hawai‘i, Halagao continued seeking challenges. He earned an MBA from UH’s Shidler College of Business and volunteered for political campaigns, landing the lead communications position for now-U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’s 2010 lieutenant governor’s race. In 2012, he was hired by HEI. “He’s a modern Renaissance man,” says Ebesugawa, though Halagao demurs: “I’m more a jack of all trades and master of none.” – CY N T H I A W ES S EN D O R F

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

MARCH 2023

Kanakolu NOA

I N T E R I M D I R E C TO R O F S U S TA I N A B L E I N D U S T R I E S , KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS, AND FOUNDER OF KŪKOLU

AISED IN HĀNA , MAUI, Kanakolu Noa grew up sur-

rounded by beauty and ‘ohana. “My parents were very involved in the community,” she says. “My dad was a Hawaiian history teacher, one of seven children, and my mom is one of 14. She worked at a lot of nonprofits.” Noa herself has seven brothers and a sister. Noa moved to O‘ahu as a teen and attended Saint Francis School before receiving a degree in special education from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree in Indigenous studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and an MBA from Argosy University. She joined Kamehameha Schools in 2010 and is now the interim director of Sustainable Industries there, focusing on food systems. “One of the recent initiatives is Poi for the People,” she says, with the goal of increasing consumption of kalo and poi. To help with that, fresh, community-milled poi is provided to Kamehameha Schools preschoolers to share with their families. “I was really excited about triangulating food systems, our cultural commitment and ‘āina education,” she says. “It’s not a project so much as a movement. This is about empowering our communities to think about how we take care of our palates, our kūpuna and our keiki.” During Covid, Noa also started a new business, N30. “Kanakolu means 30; I was the 30th grandchild,” she explains of the business name. “I support Indigenous artists, such as Solomon Enos and Punky Aloha Studio’s Shar Tui‘asoa, kind of like a manager. I support them navigating the terrain of business so they can stay in their element and concentrate on what matters to them.” Simultaneously, she founded Kūkolu, a nonprofit that focuses on Native Hawaiian and Indigenous entrepreneurship and helping women grow their businesses. She is also a board member at Ho‘ōla Nā Pua, a group that fights sex trafficking and advocates on behalf of exploited children. Debbi Eleneki, a retired battalion chief with the Honolulu Fire Department, became inspired by Noa while volunteering for Kūkolu. “She has a true empathy for people and communities,” Eleneki says. “There’s some kind of energy around her that just gives off this presence. She always has intent and purpose. I see the connections she makes, whether that is with individuals or companies, and everyone supports each other. I think her potential is endless.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Amy

MILLER MARVIN PRESIDENT AND CEO, HAWAI‘I FOODBANK

RMED WITH A background in environmental sci-

ence, public policy and fundraising, Amy Miller Marvin is on a mission to help end hunger in Hawai‘i, where an estimated 1 in 6 residents lack consistent access to food. Even more alarming, 1 in 4 keiki are food insecure – the second-highest rate in the country.

“Probably the biggest driver for me is making sure that our kids – and I mean our kids collectively, our kids here in Hawai‘i – have everything they need,” says the president and CEO of Hawai‘i Foodbank, herself a mom of two daughters. Marvin took charge of the nonprofit in 2021, a little over a year into the pandemic. She had just helped Bishop Museum create and implement a business plan to stabilize its finances, and worked with the museum’s CEO to keep staff employed at full pay during a three-month closure.

But she realized she wanted to directly assist more people in need. As a 2018-19 Omidyar Fellow, she was inspired by other alums who were helping the community recover. The Hawai‘i Foodbank was a perfect fit. Established 40 years ago, the food bank’s staff of 68 now serves about 50% more people than before the pandemic, and works with 200 partner distribution agencies. “Our job is to make sure that if you don’t have access to safe and healthy food, that one of our partners will be there for you. And there should be no shame in asking for help,” she says. David Herndon, executive VP and chief business officer at HMSA and chairman of the food bank’s board, says Marvin is team-oriented and puts her whole heart into whatever she’s doing. She makes sure staff members earn living wages, he says, so the organization doesn’t contribute to food insecurity. “She’s an amazing person who continues to just push, push and push, and when she sees that need, she really wants to fill it. She has a passion for those that need our support,” he says. Marvin grew up in Seattle and received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s from UH Mānoa. A job at The Dolphin Institute & Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lab sparked her career in fundraising and development. She later worked as VP of institutional advancement at Bishop Museum, where she oversaw the Hawaiian Hall renovation campaign, and at the former Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, where she helped the country’s oldest natural history museum become a subsidiary of Drexel University. – N O EL L E FU J I I - O R I D E

MARCH 2023

Brandon

KAMIGAKI M A N AG E R - AU TO R E TA I L PR O D U CT M A N AG E M E N T, SERVCO PACIFIC

RANDON JOKES that

KAMIGAKI

he knows “very little about cars” and gets scolded for not knowing how to change his own tires or oil. But at Servco Pacific, he has carved out a crucial role improving products and operations, with no car-repair skills required. Kamigaki began working in sales at Servco in 2006. After he earned his master’s degree in business administration and finance from Northeastern University in 2019, Kamigaki was ready for a bigger role. He moved to the digital strategy team and began exploring “omnichannel” capabilities aimed at giving customers seamless shopping experiences online, in-store or both. When the pandemic forced Servco’s showrooms to temporarily shut down, the digital team leapt into action. Kamigaki says the company rolled out omnichannel car-buying tools from Roadster. It also built smaller applications to help dealers automate administrative tasks and track vehicles on their phones. Another big project was collaborating with the city’s Motor Vehicles, Licensing and Permits Division to modernize the car registration process. Now, dealers can build their own apps for quickly registering with the division, says Kamigaki. After more than three years as product manager, he was promoted in

January to manager of auto retail product management. Rick Ching, president and COO of Servco, considers Kamigaki a “lifelong learner” and says he constantly puts himself in positions where he is uncomfortable and forced to stretch. “He’s the kind of person to jump into everything and get it done,” says Ching. And it shows. Outside of Servco, Kamigaki serves on the Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center board, served as a Center For Tomorrow’s Leaders mentor,

and established the Finley Fort Foundation in 2021. Kamigaki started the foundation after his beloved French bulldog, Finley, passed away. The nonprofit helps pet owners with emergency medical bills, provides tuition assistance to people working to become veterinary doctors and technicians, and advocates for better medical technology in the state. Even if Kamigaki is busy with outside projects, he manages to balance helping the community and advancing Servco’s operations. “I want to help drive organizational change across Servco and be able to provide best practices for the industry as a whole.” – C H AVO N N I E R A M O S H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Robin

KOBAYASHI SENIOR VP – HUMAN RESOURCES, HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

OBIN KOBAYASHI REMEMBERS her

first flight well. She was 6 and wore a little pink suit. Today, Kobayashi is the senior VP of human resources for Hawaiian Airlines, one of the largest employers in the state. In her position, she deals with a lot of moving parts: more than 7,000 employees spread across the globe, a heavily regulated industry, laws that vary by country and a largely unionized workforce. Oh, and that pandemic, which

required rapidly shrinking then ramping up the company’s talent pool, while also ensuring staff got the necessary retraining hours. Luckily, “Robin is a force of nature,” says Aaron Alter, Hawaiian Airlines’ executive VP and chief legal officer. “She’s indefatigable. She has a high EQ and a knack for knowing her audience.” Born and raised on O‘ahu, Kobayashi has two children. Her husband, Dr. Kenneth Fink, was recently tapped for Gov. Josh Green’s Cabinet as

director of the Department of Health. Before joining Hawaiian Airlines in 2012 as managing director and associate general counsel of labor and employment, she was the executive director of the Hawai‘i Immigrant Justice Center. She has also served as staff attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., clerked with the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i, and worked in private practice for national and local law firms. She was elevated to her current position in November 2019, just months before the pandemic forced voluntary and involuntary employee departures. During that difficult time, she says, “I dug deep. It felt like a huge responsibility, but I have a strong faith in this company’s importance in the community; it’s about the survival of a business that supports a lot of families here.” In November 2020, she

launched a five-year strategic plan to transform the way Hawaiian Airlines develops talent. She says she values great performance and a diversity of thoughts, and wants to ensure that employees are well supported. Beyond her legal and HR chops, she has a passion for people. “Our employees build their life around this company; it’s their identity and their friends,” she says. “I feel responsible for the lives of our employees.” Her job will get even more exciting this year as Hawaiian Holdings, Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company, enters a cargo flight partnership with Amazon. That means hiring more pilots, mechanics, supply chain experts and others, but Kobayashi is up to it, says Alter. “That has been her life story. She hasn’t shied away from challenging jobs.” – K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N ER

N O M I N AT E A N E M E R G I N G L E A D E R Know someone who belongs on next year’s list of the 20 for the Next 20? Nominate them for the Class of 2024 at hawaiibusiness.com/nominations. 50

MARCH 2023

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HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

2023

26 profiles of winners and finalists who are helping grow the local startup community

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MARCH 2023

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

“NEW LIFE AND NEW PRODUCTS” IN STARTUP PARADISE Diverse group of winners and finalists highlight this year’s Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards

AWAI‘I’S STARTUP PARADISE

continues to evolve and that evolution is reflected in the winners and finalists of this year’s Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards. They are a diverse combination of innovative startups and multigenerational companies that have found “new life and new products” – and they’re “thinking differently about their brand and the future of their business,” says Meli James, president of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association, which sponsors the awards. There are also more companies from Indigenous populations that

“have traditionally been underserved,” says James. What’s driving these changes is increased support for local entrepreneurs, including more capital and funding, and a “huge influx” of potential entrepreneurs into Hawai‘i because of all the job shifts and layoffs nationwide during the last three years, James says. Brittany Heyd, who founded Mana Up with James, says the pandemic forced many local companies to think outside of tourism for revenue. “We have a more diversified revenue stream and a bigger market opportunity” because companies have increased their focus on

e-commerce and other resources, says Heyd. Kylie Matsuda-Lum and Judah Lum, who run Kahuku Farms, are among the finalists for Agriculture/ Clean Tech Entrepreneur of the Year. They reflect the innovation that’s happening in every sector of the local economy. “My hope is to continue to bring a greater awareness of farming, and the food that we eat every day, to our Island residents and visitors as well,” Matsuda-Lum says. “Because we need to bring people back to the land to educate them, so that we can sustain farming and agriculture for generations to come.”

Winners of the competitive categories will be announced at hawaiibusiness.com after the awards event on Feb. 23.

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF HVCA

By CHAVONNIE RAMOS

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: ELDEN ITO

RVCM

hen he looks back at his earliest venture in the late 1980s, Elden Ito says he couldn’t have foreseen the direction his career would take, or the heights it would reach. Shortly after returning home from graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ito and his brother Keith started a graphic design business in Kalihi. “We started up under the mango tree at my mom’s house,” recalls Ito, with a laugh. Over decades, the microbusiness grew into a high-tech company that now employs 150 people and recently won a $400 million federal contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The journey in between was full of twists and turns. “I was never really

afraid to change or even completely demolish things and start over from scratch,” Ito says. In 1990, he moved the makeshift office to a proper rented space. He persuaded his brother to join him in launching RevaComm – now called RVCM – where they were early adopters of desktop publishing and website design. “We caught the rising tide of the internet,” says Ito. He opened a Silicon Valley office in 2001, at the height of the dot-com bubble, to capture more business. But by the end of the year, the bubble had burst, “and our company almost burst with it.” After several years of losses, his brother left to teach graphic design at UH Mānoa, where he discovered Brett Kimura, a computer science major with a gift for design. Kimura was

brought on as a web developer, then IT director and VP. Kimura now heads the day-to-day operations as president, while Ito serves in a consultative and oversight role as chairman of the board. “Brett was instrumental in bringing us more deeply into the enterprise digital-transformation type of work,” says Ito, who began to turn his attention to getting federal contracts. RVCM won a small Air Force contract, then bigger ones that eventually led to the hefty Medicare contract. That award came right as the pandemic “shook up everyone’s perspective of what is the norm,” says Ito. “Pandemic conditions actually helped us grow because we didn’t have to take out physical office space. And on the customer side, they became more open to dealing with a company way out in Hawai‘i.” Ito has stepped back now but says the company is in good hands. “The leadership team is doing a better job than I could, and that’s a great position to be in,” he says. “It’s like getting to see your child become more capable than you.”– Cynthia Wessendorf

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

AG/CLEAN TECH ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

KYLIE MATSUDA-LUM AND JUDAH LUM

KAHUKU FARMS

FOURTH-GENERATION FARMER Kylie Matsuda-Lum has a

AN ENTREPRENEUR AND COMPANY WHOSE TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTS A GREENER FUTURE OR HELPS FARMERS WITH INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES.

MACADAMIA NUT FARMERS Andrew

and Nathan Trump learned from their father that giving back to the community is a priority. The brothers say that’s why in 2021 they launched Island Harvest's first line of organic macadamia products available directly to consumers, with profits going back to the community.

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message for the produce-buying public: Appreciate more, waste less. Kahuku Farms has been a family-run operation since the 1940s. When it opened its café in 2010, the idea was to use cosmetically imperfect fruit that wholesalers rejected and would have otherwise gone to waste, which would help them become more diversified and sustainable, says Matsuda-Lum. “Imperfect produce requires the same amount of work, with a lot less return,” she says. So, at the café, “We take a banana that might have some scarring on the outside and make really yummy smoothies or banana bread.” She and her husband, Judah Lum, have also created a line of small-batch, handcrafted products with what would’ve been wasted fruits. The duo also started educational tours on the farm, giving visitors firsthand looks into what it takes to plant, harvest, and get fruits and vegetables into the supermarket. – Cynthia Sweeney

AG/CLEAN TECH ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

FINALIST

ANDREW TRUMP AND NATHAN TRUMP ISLAND HARVEST

KĀLISI MAUSIO HAWAI‘I FARM TRAILS

Family-run Island Harvest in Kohala, Hawai‘i's largest organic macadamia nut farm, has sold in-shell macadamias to processors for nearly 30 years. Its retail products are now in more than 50 stores across Hawai‘i and the San Francisco Bay Area, and all of its net profits go directly into the farm to plant more trees, to community

organizations and to employees as bonuses. “It’s about our community, about Kohala, the people that we grew up with,” Andrew Trump says. “We want to be good stewards of the land. Those values resound rather than any kind of business opportunities.” – Cynthia Sweeney

KĀLISI MAUSIO GREW UP IN TONGA with a keen

awareness of the role agriculture can play in a local economy. Now on Hawai‘i Island, she has created an agritourism program to assist local farmers and to help mitigate the effect of carbon emissions on the enviroment. Several years ago, Mausio turned a college e-commerce

project into a storefront and co-op space in Onomea. Called Kanu, it helps farmers with branding, packaging and selling their products. “There was a gap for farmers that we wanted to fill,” Mausio says. Recently, she and her sister, Angela, started Hawai‘i Farm Trails, which provides farmers with trees paid for by resort

and hotel fees. Hotel guests can also contribute directly. “We want to address the whole system – not just be a tree-planting project, but assisting farmers with establishing successful agriforests that are also able to sequester carbon emissions,” Mausio says. – Cynthia Sweeney

SOCIAL IMPACT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

NO‘EAU PERALTO HUI MĀLAMA I KE ALA ‘ŪLILI

SOCIAL IMPACT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

IN 2011, Hui Mālama i ke Ala ‘Ūlili started as a small, volunteerbased organization that farmed about 7 acres in Hāmākua, while also offering restoration and educational programs. During the pandemic, huiMAU became a food distribution hub for farmers and the community, says No‘eau Peralto, founder and executive director of the nonprofit. Now, a lease with the county is being finalized for 1,000 acres of land to expand its work on reforestation, Hawaiian agricultural practices, agricultural housing, and for rebuilding an ahupua‘a system and developing programs

to educate people about the system’s history and benefits to the community. In partnership with Kamehameha Schools, huiMAU is also transforming 80 acres of former sugar cane land into an ‘ulu grove to feed the Hāmākua community. This goes hand in hand with the monitoring of coastal i‘a (sea creatures and plants), says Peralto. “We’re looking at the restoration of the land with wisdom of our kūpuna, and understanding the ways in which everything is connected,” he says. – Cynthia Sweeney

FINALIST

KA‘ALA SOUZA

A‘ALA

DIGITAL READY HAWAII

SOUZA

MISSION

to make Hawai‘i the nation’s most digitally literate state. The goal of his nonprofit, Digital Ready Hawaii, is to create a more resilient workforce that he says will help keep people from the Islands in the Islands. Souza says he began teaching computer classes at community colleges on O‘ahu in the 1990s. In the last few years, he and Digital Ready Hawaii have been bringing classes directly into communities, and the majority of the students – about 60% – are kūpuna. With assistance from UH, the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, state libraries and AARP, he has been able to teach in rural areas like Moloka‘i, Hāna and Ka‘u, and in prison. Digital Ready Hawaii also has been able to give away 1,000 computers. “It‘s kind of like throwing a single starfish back into the ocean, one at a time,” he says.

– Cynthia Sweeney

AN ENTREPRENEUR AND COMPANY THAT SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTES TO HELPING SOLVE SOME OF HAWAI‘I’S TOUGHEST PROBLEMS.

SOCIAL IMPACT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

SPENCER VANDERKAMP AND LAUREN PIERCE REELER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH

Mānoa business college students and fishing partners Spencer VanDerKamp and Lauren Pierce noticed “super random” inconsistencies in the prices they were getting when selling their fish. Then, during the pandemic, the prices plummeted as hotels and restaurants closed. That’s when VanDerCamp and Pierce started selling their fish direct to consumers. They developed a mobile phone app enabling local, small-scale fishers to sell their catches for better prices,

and connect local consumers with fresh fish right off the boat. How it works: Users receive a notification when fresh fish is posted by fishers within 40 miles of their location. Customers place an order, and enter a pickup date and time. “We’re helping fishermen earn about three times what they were earning before using the app; customers know where their fish is coming from and are saving about 50% on cost. So it’s a win-win,” VanDerKamp says. – Cynthia Sweeney

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

DEAL OF THE YEAR JOAN SALWEN

BLUE OCEAN BARNS

LUE OCEAN BARNS aims to tackle a major source of climate pollution by using an unconventional tool: seaweed. Cow burps emit methane, which traps heat in the atmosphere. Blue Ocean Barns says its seaweed-based supplement added to their feed has been proven to reduce methane emissions from cows by 80%. Series A funding of $20 million led by Valor Siren Ventures will help the company scale commercially, says Joan Salwen, co-founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Barns. She and her team of nearly 20 work out of the Hawaii Science Ocean and Technology Park in Kona. “What $20 million allows us to do is to go from really being a company engaged in demonstration projects with our customers and pilots to really building out our cultivation footprint and to scale up our production and essentially manufacture of this seaweed,” she says. “It is a game-changer for us.” Salwen, who grew up on a cattle and sheep farm in Iowa, began exploring solutions to cows’ methane emissions while participating in a Stanford University fellowship, where she met co-founders Mike Bracco and Matt Rothe. They discovered in a scientific journal that the Asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed stopped production of methane gas and spent years researching the safety and efficacy of the seaweed on cattle. Blue Ocean Barns was launched in 2019 to bring their product, called Brominata, to dairy and beef farms. Brominata is a subvariety of Asparagopsis taxiformis, created by manipulating the seaweed’s growing conditions. Blue Ocean Barns has a patent for Brominata and the California Department of Food and Agriculture approved its sale last year. The company’s first full rollout on a dairy farm is scheduled for July. She adds that Blue Ocean Barns is committed to growing enough Brominata to supplement 70% of the country’s dairy cattle and 60% of its beef cattle. Blue Ocean Barns participated in Elemental Excelerator’s 2019 cohort, and Tiffany Huynh, director of external affairs at the nonprofit, lauded its work. “I think it illustrates that some of the leading solutions to climate change are being developed right here in Hawai‘i, and, especially in this space, this is a huge potential for job creation and a way to support local farmers,” she says.

– Noelle Fujii-Oride

RECOGNIZES THE LOCAL COMPANY THAT RECEIVED THE LARGEST FINANCIAL DEAL IN THE PAST YEAR.

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STARTUP PARADISE CHAMPIONS JIM WYBAN AND JASON UEKI TROPICAL AGTECH CONFERENCE JIM WYBAN AND JASON UEKI are on a mission to support Hawai‘i’s agricultural technology sector. “We’re trying to inspire startups,” says Ueki. “They are going to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. The startups are the ones who take it from the research and IP (intellectual property) stages, then go on to have an impact on society. That’s why we are doing what we are doing.” Wyban and Ueki are the creators and organizers of the Tropical AgTech Conference, a new approach to tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges, including food insecurity, population growth, climate change and economic development. In 2016, the two longtime entrepreneurs launched HIplan, the Hawai‘i Island Business Plan Competition, eventually working with 200 companies and giving away $200,000 in prizes. And they noticed an intriguing pattern: 50% of the contest entrants were agriculture-related businesses, and four out of the five winners were ag-related. They pivoted in 2022 by creating the Tropical AgTech Conference. “Our goals are to get high-paying jobs into rural areas and to use ag technology to both stabilize the state’s food supply and also to create opportunities for the local community in terms of export,” says Ueki. “The Global South, which includes half of the world’s population, needs job creation and food security, especially with climate change. All the issues we have in Hawai‘i are mimicked throughout the world’s tropics, so if we can solve issues here with ag technology, we can have global impact,” says Wyban. The first Tropical AgTech Conference was held in Hilo in June 2022, attracting 250 attendees; it featured speakers from Japan and the Netherlands as well as contingents from Washington, D.C., and the University of California at Davis. This year’s conference will be at the Hawai‘i Convention Center in Honolulu on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. “We have a global perspective on this, both for this conference and for the consequences of the conference,” says Wyban. “We want global innovators to come to Hawai‘i to share their knowledge and also to ensure the young entrepreneurs who are here can have a global market opportunity.” – Kathryn Drury Wagner SOMEONE WHO CONSISTENTLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE SUCCESS OF HAWAI‘I’S INNOVATION COMMUNITY.

CORPORATE INTRAPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: ED SCHULTZ

HAWAIIAN HOST GROUP

d Schultz says that when he joined the board at Hawaiian Host Group in 2017, the consensus was the nearly 100-year-old company lacked innovation, both in products and operations. “We knew we had to diversify the revenue base, even before the pandemic,” he says. “It became clear to myself and the board that we needed to create one team, one mentality for HHG.” His success in leading innovation at HHG is why he was chosen Intrapreneur of the Year, an award that honors entrepreneurial spirit and drive within a corporate setting. Schultz has been the company’s president since September 2018; the CEO title was added in 2020. HHG is the parent of the Hawaiian Host, Mauna Loa and Koho

brands, which together include more than 40 chocolate and macadamia nut snacks. It’s headquartered in Honolulu and distributes worldwide. Schultz recalls telling the HHG heads of offices in November 2019, “We need our people to find a product or a process they can take ownership of, to improve, and to act like an entrepreneur with the safety net of a big company behind them.” Then the pandemic hit and revenues dropped by more than 70%. The company’s chocolates have been popular with locals and tourists as gifts, but “no one thought about a box of our chocolates as a treat for themselves,” Schultz says. “Part of our intrapreneurship was to say, how do we make our products more about self-consumption and hit a different demographic.” One element of Schultz’s strategy was

to hire new talent to help transform the company’s culture. “We strongly believe in the importance of people, products and profit. When you take care of them in that order, you can create an environment of high performing employees with great paying jobs, and an office environment that people want to come to every day. The rest will fall into place.” In 2021, HHG launched macadamia-milk ice cream and a new brand of premium chocolates, Koho. “We wanted to go upmarket with premium products that would allow us to pay employees so they can afford to stay here,” and for the company to make enough to reinvest in innovation and support local agriculture, Schultz says, adding that all the cacao in Koho is grown on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Since it was launched, the brand has generated $5 million in online sales. – Cynthia Sweeney

HONORS SOMEONE WHO WORKS IN A LARGE ORGANIZATION BUT ADVOCATES FOR INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL THINKING.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

CPG (CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS) ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

MALIA BURNS (PICTURED), BECKY BURNS, BILL KIOLBASA ANAHOLA GRANOLA

PRESENTED TO THE ENTREPRENEUR WHOSE CPG COMPANY HAS CONSISTENTLY SEEN MONTH OVER MONTH GROWTH IN REVENUE AND CUSTOMERS.

PAUL SULLIVAN, FOUNDER AND CEO of Western

Aloha, says a good aloha shirt print “should tell a story and put a smile on someone’s face. It needs to be authentic to and respectful of its historical roots.” Sullivan, who lives on Hawai‘i Island, had long favored Western snap shirts

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BECKY BURNS FOUNDED Anahola Granola 37 years ago on Kaua‘i. “I started making my own granolas as a single mother in my little kitchen in the valley of Anahola,” Burns says. She shared her homemade granolas with friends and eventually sold them at local fairs. After a specialty food store offered to buy her granolas if she could find a certified kitchen, Burns launched her company. Her daughter, Malia Burns, bought the business last year and is now working with her husband, Bill Kiolbasa, to continue her mother’s legacy. “We produce 2 tons of granolas and thousands of granola bars each week,” Becky Burns says. The business experienced huge growth between 2012 and 2018, with its products landing in all Costco locations in Hawai‘i. Burns says that it was a big stretch to meet Costco’s needs, but the company rose to the occasion. “If somebody needs it, we’re going to get it done, no matter what,” she says. – Victoria Budiono

CPG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

FINALIST

PAUL SULIVAN WESTERN ALOHA

LĪHAU WILLING IWI NAILS

but recently started wearing aloha shirt prints. However, he couldn’t find an aloha shirt that fit him with the fabric and style he appreciated in Western snap shirts. He then decided to create aloha shirts with a Western touch. “It occurred to me that the combination of Western and aloha is a big part of

what’s in the Big Island,” he says. Western Aloha sells mostly online to consumers – some in the Islands but mostly to buyers on the mainland. “We’re still small, but I think there is a lot of opportunity for us to grow internationally,” Sullivan says. – Victoria Budiono

IN THE LITERAL SENSE, Līhau Willing

says, “When you put on my gel nail strips and cure them, they take on an iwi-like quality as they are hard and strong.” In a more figurative sense, says Willing, her designs – inspired by various perspectives, histories and cultures – symbolize the “core of our beings and

who we are.” As for Willing, she’s a Native Hawaiian raised in Kealakekua on Hawai‘i Island who studied at a Hawaiian immersion school before graduating from Kamehameha Schools and moving to Moloka‘i five years ago. She started creating do-ityourself nails in high school, inspired by

the possibilities of gel nail strip designs. She launched Iwi Nails in August 2021. “I don’t really have a background in beauty; it just happened that I discovered a product I liked and wanted to create more Hawai‘ibased designs around it,” she says. – Victoria Budiono

INVESTOR OF THE YEAR MELI JAMES AND BRITTANY HEYD

ANA UP CO-FOUNDMeli James ERS

and Brittany Heyd started their accelerator in 2017 to help Hawai‘i’s cons u m e r- p ro d u c t startups grow. Since then, 74 companies have graduated from the program, and Mana Up has launched a $6.3 million venture capital fund. “It’s been a long journey and we’re excited to be continuing to support all these entrepreneurs and this industry that’s actually gaining traction,” says James, who is also president of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. James was not involved in picking Mana Up as Investor of the Year for the Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards. She is on the 12-person selection committee for the awards program, sponsored by the association, but she recused herself from the Investor of the Year vote. Other committee members felt “strongly that it made sense” for Mana Up to receive the award because “there’s just been so much great momentum happening with the work we’re doing,” she says. Digital sales have been a huge part of that momentum. In 2019, 40% of the companies that went through the Mana Up program were conducting half or more of their business online. The pandemic pushed that percentage to 69%, according to Mana Up’s 2021 report. Heyd says Mana Up’s portfolio of companies generated $61 million in total revenue in 2021 – with twothirds coming from outside of Hawai‘i. That includes out-of-state sales and tourist purchases in Hawai‘i.

MANA UP

Mana Up launched its venture capital fund in 2021 because of the shortage of venture capital in Hawai‘i and to support the expansion of local product companies, Heyd says. She says two graduates of the accelerator have already received investments from Mana Up Capital: Kō Hana Distillers, the state’s only farmto-bottle rum company, and Big Island Coffee Roasters, a craft roaster specializing in high-quality 100% Hawaiian coffees and related products. Last year, three new House of Mana Up stores opened: at the Prince Waikiki hotel, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Kohala Coast and the Mauna Loa Visitor Center in Kea‘au. Its first store is in the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī. James says Mana Up is encouraging partnerships among its graduate companies. “We’ve helped to create this community, and a lot of the times we’re just getting out of the way now because it’s really building on itself – which is really the key – where the companies are working with each other and collaborating,” she says. – Chavonnie Ramos

INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY THAT HAS INVESTED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE HAWAI‘I STARTUP ECOSYSTEM.

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR JALENE KANANI

NOHO HOME

JALENE KANANI WANTS TO BRING

Hawaiian culture, designs and other artful items connected to “our history and culture” into people’s homes in a sustainable way. That’s why in 2018 she founded Noho Home, which sells home decor items online and supplies them to 35 stores in Hawai‘i, California, Montana and Ontario. “Noho in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i means amongst other things, to dwell, to be from, to exist. With that spirit, we want people to feel connected in their homes,” she says. Her previous work as a textile designer immersed Kanani in the world of home furnishings and design, and opened her eyes to what was lacking. “What I found out in working with these architects and designers is that there really weren’t designs that spoke specifically to our history, our culture, our flora and fauna here, our Islands,” she says. So she started creating original designs that represented Hawai‘i and her experiences growing up on the Islands, and licensed them to manufacturers. Later she launched Noho Home. “It’s for us, as Native Hawaiians, to show up in the global marketplace in a more authentic way,” Kanani says. She says sustainability is crucial to her, so she created a microfactory that customizes and distributes her designs, while using the least possible space, energy, materials and time. Kanani says being named Innovator of the Year reminded her of her kuleana. “Awards come with responsibility. It’s a really great reminder that we’re not only focused on business. We’re focused on connecting with the ‘ōpio, or youth. And we have a focus on creating entrepreneurial milestones, or opportunities for other Native Hawaiian designers or young entrepreneurs who want to connect.” – Aishwarya Behl

AWAIIII BBUUSSIINNES ESSS HHAWA

61 61

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

TECH ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

KARYN NOLAN MAPPY

“WE STARTED MAPPY with the intention of solving our own problems,” says co-founder and CEO Karyn Nolan. “I was trying to ﬁnd my husband at a ski resort, as well as get down the mountain in one piece,” she says. The Snow Mappy app was the company’s ﬁrst product, and its launch in 2021 enabled users to keep tabs on each other and navigate the slopes. Nolan says the current platform can be used at all types of large venues including festivals, museums and theme parks. “With

our extensive background in geospatial maps and data, we leverage our expertise to build developer tools and analytics that address venue pain points and improve guest experience.” Mappy’s advanced mapping engine uses venue speciﬁc interactive 2D and 3D maps, including bathrooms and other amenities, along with indoor and outdoor navigation and augmented reality. Venue organizers get analytics like information on guest movement patterns. – Adrienne Robillard

TECH ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

COLBY TAKEDA PEAR SUITE

PEAR SUITE ENABLES health

care providers and community organizations to connect with older adults, helping them to learn new skills and access local resources. Since it launched in 2021, the cloudbased platform has trained dozens of community health workers and volunteers and impacted over 20,000 lives, according to its co-founder and CEO, Colby Takeda. Pear Suite helps older adults get vaccinations and “enroll in Medicaid beneﬁts and food stamp programs, assist with affordable connectivity program registration, and address other health and social service

MARCH 2023

needs with referrals and education,” Takeda says. At the end of 2022, the company secured $2.5 million from investors who Takeda says align with his social impact mission. Pear Suite is growing its team while adding customers in seven mainland states. “While Hawai‘i will always be our home, we are expanding our reach into the heartland of America with a second headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he says. By the end of 2023, he expects Pear Suite to impact over 300,000 lives. – Adrienne Robillard

TECH ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

ED LALLIER

VANTA

D LALLIER, Vanta’s chief corporate development officer, co-founded the platform in 2020 after his son was cyberbullied. Today, he says, Vanta offers a free and safe place for kids ages 8-18 to game online, at all skills and levels. In the Vanta environment, players learn positive digital citizenship while playing popular games such as Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant and Fortnite. Vanta Leagues provide safe, structured competitions where teams can test themselves and players can hone their skills, Lallier says. And he says those skills can lead to college scholarships for some gamers. The company has over 750 trained and vetted coaches who provide private and team coaching for a fee. Vanta works primarily with K-12 schools, providing competitive leagues, development camps, expert coaching and esports professional development training. It grew from 600 players in 2021 to 6,650 in 2022. “We have had over 1,000% user base growth as more and more schools are creating esports programs,” says Lallier. – Adrienne Robillard

HONORING THE ENTREPRENEUR WHO HAS CREATED TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TO MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER.

STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

COEN CADINHA

BIG BOY SWEETS

WHEN HE WAS 13, Coen Cadinha decided selling li hing

HONORING A YOUNGER MEMBER OF THE INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY WHO HAS A PASSION FOR LEARNING AND THE TENACIOUS SPIRIT OF AN ENTREPRENEUR.

STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

LEXI NELSON AND PRESTON HOLT IT’S PARADISE

STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR FINALIST

ALEXANDRIA BUCHANAN SHARAI SWIM

HAS A SPECIFIC SMELL EVER TRANSPORTED you to a distinct

memory? Lexi Nelson and Preston Holt strive to do that with candle scents like “Lanikai Beach” and “Road to Hana.” The 2022 UH Mānoa graduates launched It’s Paradise, a candle business that uses fragrances to trigger memories of iconic Hawai‘i locations, with the help of the 2022 UH Venture Competition and the Summer Startup Launchpad. “We spent several weeks in Waikīkī surveying hundreds of people,” and testing different scents

lemon peel gummy bears at school wasn’t challenging enough. So he became the first in his family to start a business: Big Boy Sweets, a pop-up candy and snack shop. Despite pushback from adults who thought he was too young, he says, his products were an instant hit. “I went to (my first) market and I sold out the first day,” Cadinha says. “Then I did the next week and the week after.” Cadinha, now 15 and attending high school online, has extended his product line from li hing lemon peel gummies, strawberry belts and Skittles to Chex Mix, ube cereal treats and drink pouches. After enrolling in Hawai‘i Rising, an e-commerce program for Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs, Big Boy Sweets opened an online store via Shopify. His plans include expanding his in-person sales, operating a vending machine and getting his products into more momand-pop shops. “But eventually, I’d have my own store.” – Krystal Spear

and designs on them, Holt says. “Ultimately that gave us enough data to match certain scents to certain places.” It’s Paradise says it uses coconut soy wax and 100% natural fragrances to appeal to even the most sensitive noses. This year, the couple hopes to expand its scents to include mainland destinations and focus more on the company’s social impact. “We also are really passionate about giving back to the communities,” Nelson says. – Krystal Spear

ALEXANDRIA BUCHANAN ALWAYS DREAMED of running her own

business – “creating something that was all on my own,” she says. So Buchanan saved the gift money she received from her McKinley High graduation and from working part-time, and poured everything into the birth of Sharai Swimwear, an eco-friendly line launched on Oct. 30, 2021. “I decided to start with bikinis. And I wanted Sharai to really focus on all bikini lovers rather than a certain look that social media and other brands try

to push,” says Buchanan, now a junior at UH Mānoa. Body positivity is the beating heart of Sharai Swimwear’s marketing. A message on its website reads, “I created Sharai to empower others to feel comfortable and conﬁdent in their own bodies.” Sharai also emphasizes sustainability. “I’m really glad that our bikinis are all made of Carvico Vita, which is a recycled nylon” made with ocean plastic and discarded ﬁshing nets, she says. – Aishwarya Behl

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

HAWAII ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FINALIST

ALEXIS AKIONA

LEXBREEZY HAWAI‘I

ALEXIS AKIONA, FOUNDER AND DESIGNER

of Lexbreezy Hawai‘i, is a second-generation fashion entrepreneur. She’s the daughter of Lola Miller of Simply Sisters, an alohawear company, and grew up in Hilo. “We’d go to the Merrie Monarch and the Made in Hawai‘i festivals and I’d work her booth and be her model,” says Akiona. She launched her own brand, Lexbreezy Hawai‘i, in 2016. “I had one style – a T-shirt dress – and it sold out in 10 minutes. That was my aha! moment.” “We work with a lot of local artists and keep the prints modern and fresh,” says Akiona. “We don’t reprint any of our designs. Once it’s sold out, it’s sold out. I want to inspire the younger generation to want to wear alohawear daily.” In 2020, Akiona opened her boutique in Kailua, and now carries women’s and men’s clothing, swimwear, home décor and a keiki line that’s also sold at Nordstrom. And she’s started a Lexbreezy scholarship at Honolulu Community College to inspire the next generation. “I want them to know, ‘You really can do it.’ ” – Kathryn Drury Wagner

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

FINALIST

CHLOE BLAKE KAUAI SWEET SHOPPE

ALANA PENAROZA, KAINOA PENAROZA, AJ WHITE TAG ALOHA

OFFERING RICH, IRRESISTIBLE CARAMELS in flavors like guava and li

hing mui, Kauai Sweet Shoppe has hit, well, the sweet spot. Chloe Blake co-founded and co-owns the shop with her mother-in-law, Nani Marston, and husband, Kalei Marston. It opened in 2012. At first, they made and wrapped hundreds of caramels by hand, but after five years they acquired a circa 1920s machine that reduced the wrapping time from 2 hours to 25 minutes. Today, Kauai Sweet Shoppe caramels are carried at 25 locations statewide, including at Foodland, and “everything on our shelves is made by us,” says Blake, who runs day-to-day operations. With the pandemic came opportunity: A bigger space at Kilohana Plantation allowed them to combine their commercial kitchen with their retail operation in 2021. “People can watch the caramels being made and the apples being dipped,” says Blake.

MARCH 2023

IN JULY, TAG ALOHA

This year, they plan to collaborate with Kaua‘ibased Aloha Ginger Beer for a gingery caramel. And a new confection is puffing up on the horizon: homemade marshmallows. “I enjoy giving people a new perspective on treats,” says Blake. – Kathryn Drury Wagner

celebrates its 10th anniversary. The name originally came about as a reference to hashtags, to encourage people to share the aloha, says Kainoa Penaroza. “We wanted to embody aloha ‘āina with a product that was made from fair trade sustainable cotton and could reduce plastics in the environment.” He’s a co-founder along with his wife Alana, and their artist friend, AJ White, of the company that got its start working with Whole Foods Market, creating buzzworthy totes that were snapped up by visitors and locals alike. Today Tag Aloha products – Islandinspired bags, pareos, throw pillows and more – are sold at 70 stores in Hawai‘i as well as at its own boutique in Kailua. “We’re also launching a new line

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FINALIST

MELIA FOSTER MELI WRAPS

AS A MOM OF TWO BOYS, Melia Foster has made a lot of school lunches over the years, and the plastic bags she used to put the food into were a concern. “I was always rinsing out plastic bags and thinking about a solution.” In 2015, she and a friend experimented with waxed cloths to cover food and gave them as holiday gifts; they were such a hit, Meli Wraps was born. “Wax wraps are nothing new,” says Foster, the company’s owner/president. “The Egyptians used waxed cloth to preserve food.” Based on the North Shore of Kaua‘i, Meli Wraps has seven employees and produces its food wraps using honey from Hawai‘i Island and organic cotton, in colorful prints designed by local artists. The company has grown from selling at farmers markets to being in national chains and working with Foodland and Hawaiian Airlines. Foster reports Meli Wraps has expanded into custom printing for events like weddings and corporate functions and that the company contributes to Sustainable Coastlines and the Surfrider Foundation. “Our goal is to inspire people to use reusable products and reduce what goes into the landfills,” she says. – Kathryn Drury Wagner

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FINALIST

EMILY JAIME

IN 2014,

YIREH

WHILE STILL IN COLLEGE,

Emily Jaime became the founder and designer of her own fashion business, Yireh. “It means ‘to provide’ in Hebrew,” Jaime explains. “I wanted a name that reminded me that humanity is more important than profit. I took a year off before college and took a worldwide trip and saw so many poor working conditions, people slaving away while others made money off them.” Yireh clothing is designed in Honolulu and produced in Bali at a WRAP-certified ethical factory. WRAP certification ensures workers have safe conditions, fair wages and benefits like overtime, paid breaks and health care. Jaime says the company’s three pillars are ethically made products, sustainable manufacturing and a low-waste model that uses nearly every scrap of fabric. In 2022, Jaime says Yireh grew its business by 40% over the previous year. She is committed to positive marketing, showing women of many colors and shapes, and has expanded sizing to be more inclusive. “It’s always been instilled in me to want fairness and to see justice and to not profit off someone else’s downfall.” for keiki, which we have never done before,” says Alana Penaroza. It’s a true family operation, with AJ’s wife, Manjari, also joining in. The brand often partners with local talents like artist Lauren Roth and musician Kimié Miner, and donates a portion of sales to support the Surfrider Foundation and AccesSurf. – Kathryn Drury Wagner

– Kathryn Drury Wagner CHOSEN BY OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY VIA AN ONLINE POLL CONDUCTED BY HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

$20 Million to Reform Youth Incarceration BY NOEL L E FUJ II- OR ID E

OPPORTUNITY YO U T H AC T I O N H AWA I ‘ I R E C E I V E D

a $20 million award in the fall from the Kellogg Foundation to advance its goal of replacing youth incarceration with a restorative system grounded in Native Hawaiian values and practices. OYAH is a hui of state agencies and nonprofits at the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center, which includes the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, a farm, Olomana School and more. I spoke with Shawn Kana‘iaupuni,

MARCH 2023

president and CEO of the Partners in Development Foundation, the lead fiscal agency of OYAH. H OW WI LL TH E $20 M I LLI O N B E U S E D?

It will allow us to create innovative, culturally relevant programs plus train staff. It will also support existing programs, like our canoe restoration project and ‘āina-based education. At Kupa ‘Aina Farm, youth from the prison, homeless shel-

W I N N I N G

ter and workforce development program on campus grow food using Native Hawaiian methods. Understanding that process of growing food, they see that metaphor for growing their lives and how important it is to be resilient, to heal, to be productive. In 2022, youth worked with artists to paint a mural on the correctional facility campus (shown in photo). It encouraged them to connect with their Hawaiian ancestry and pave the way for their future. WHY U S E A TR AU MAI N FO R M E D APPROAC H?

The youth we serve – whether homeless, sex trafficked or incarcerated – are often there because of past trauma. And, because a large share of Hawai‘i’s justice-involved youth are Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander,

we have to take into account the effects of historical trauma and generational poverty. In Native Hawaiian culture, you didn’t have homeless people or abandoned children, so how do we restore practices of caretaking and even the resurgence of our ocean navigation, language, culture-based education and traditional healing practices? These are things our Native Hawaiian community did to build strong community. When our youth learn about that ancestral brilliance, sometimes it creates deep aha! moments about who they are and the potential value they have in the world. This interview was edited. An extended version is at hawaiibusiness.com. wearekawailoa.org

PHOTO: COURTESY OF OPPORTUNITY YOUTH ACTION HAWAI‘I

AWA R D

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Paying it Forward SEEMING YIM WORKED HARD TO BUILD A C AREER IN ELEC TRIC AL ENGINEERING W I T H T H E S U P P O R T O F M A N Y O T H E R S . N O W, H E ’ S F I N D I N G WAY S T O G I V E B A C K .

Photo: Courtesy of Hawai‘i Community Foundation

H E N S E E  M I N G Y I M’S FA M I LY Not only did he get to see the impact emigrated from Hong Kong to of the affordable services that Waikīkī Hawai‘i in 1991, in many ways, Health provided, particularly among they had to go back to square one. Yim’s the houseless populations around the father had been a successful goods trader, island, one of his duties was to help with but found it difficult to transfer those the nonprofit’s donation drives. “I got skills to Hawai‘i, making it a challenge to to see the generosity of people,” he says. make ends meet. “People would donate $25,000, and just Yim, who was eight at the time, says list themselves as ‘anonymous,’ and you he’s always appreciated the could tell it was someone sacrifices his parents made. “We started who just wanted to help.” “Growing up,” he says, “we After high school, Yim small, but didn’t have too much, but pursued a degree in elecconsistent, and trical engineering from the my parents always tried to we’ve been provide everything they could Illinois Institute of Technolfor me and my brother.” building from ogy—again with the help of As with many immigrant financial aid. Illinois Tech there.” families, expectations were subsidized part of the cost,  SEEMING YIM high for the next generation. and Yim also received a When it came time for Yim to 4-year scholarship through enter high school, his parents the Hawai‘i Community managed to get him into ‘Iolani School, Foundation (HCF). “It was $5,000 a year, covering the costs with the support of which, for me at the time, was a lot of scholarships. When, half-way through, his money,” he says. “It really helped get me mother became ill, Yim began pitching in through the program.” financially himself with a part-time job at Upon graduating in 2004, See-Ming Waikīkī Health. returned to Hawai‘i and started building It was here that Yim first came facea career, first with Hawaiian Electric Co., to-face with the benefits of philanthropy. then with Tesoro and Coffman Engi-

neers, before becoming an independent engineering consulant. As he built, he never forgot the many ways in which others had helped him along the way. “Since my experience in high school, I’ve always liked to volunteer,” Yim says. “Throughout the years, [my wife, Jessica Lo, and I] always make sure to volunteer here and there. It’s just become a part of me.” One of his favorite volunteer experiences has been with Family Promise of Hawai‘i, which helps underresourced families gain access to stable, long-term housing through a range of support services. Yim saw parallels between these families, many of whom recently moved from Micronesia, and his own. “We would play with the kids while their parents were in classes learning about how to get a job and how to save money,” he says. “Education is so important for getting access to opportunities.” As Yim’s career brought financial stability, he and Jessica have also been making financial contributions to causes they care about. “We started small, but consistent, and we’ve been building from there,” he says. Family Promise of Hawai‘i receives regular donations from the couple, and the Yim’s also make an annual donation to HCF’s Stronger Together Hawai‘i Scholarship Fund, which aims to improve Hawai‘i students’ success in postsecondary education. Yim’s ultimate goal is to set up a scholarship fund that will continue in perpetuity. “My mom always taught me—and showed me—the beauty of helping others. I feel like you’ve got to be part of the community, you’ve got to make the community what you want it to be.”

I F YO U ’ D L I K E T O S TA R T M A K I N G A D I F F E R E N C E I N YO U R C O M M U N I T Y, V I S I T H A W A I I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D A T I O N . O R G/ D O N O R S T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T H O W H C F C A N H E L P.

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