Hawaii Business Magazine October 2024 by aio Hawaiʻi

THE WAHINE ISSUE

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F I V E D AU G H T E R S

WHO STEPPED UP IN THEIR FA M I LY ’ S B U S I N E S S HAWAIIBUSINESS .COM

CHANGES IN HOW RE ALTORS ARE PAID P. 28

NAVIGATING THE FAMILYLE AVE MA ZE P. 40

HOW LOCAL FAMILIES HOMESCHOOL P. 73

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION Celebrating Professional Women

TR ACY A LLE N

Vice President, Realtor, S-46610 #1 Agent Hawaii, #4 Agent Nationwide, Coldwell Banker Realty

racy Allen knows real estate. With 35+ years of experience, stellar credentials and unmatched market expertise, she brings superior results to buyers and sellers throughout Honolulu. When you partner with Tracy, you have a distinct advantage in today’s dynamic landscape. As the #1 Individual Sales Agent in Hawaii and #4 Individual Sales Agent Nationwide for Coldwell Banker Realty, Tracy stands at the pinnacle of the real estate industry. In addition to holding the record for the highest closed residential sales on the island of Oahu, she is a member of the prestigious Coldwell Banker® Society of Excellence, a designation reserved for less than 1% of 100,000+ agents globally. Tracy is the only Coldwell Banker Realty agent in Hawaii to receive this honor not only once but seven times and counting. Tracy is also a certified Global Luxury Property Specialist and Global Luxury Ambassador, fully equipped to oversee the purchase and sale of Hawaii’s finest residences. When it comes to selling your home for optimal return, there is no substitute for skill enhanced by years of experience and a thorough understanding of the local market. Tracy offers all this and more. She leverages her design and staging talents to transform the look of your property and then targets potential buyers across major social media platforms and in eye-catching print collateral. Through up-to-the-minute trend data and analytics, she prices the home competitively

As Hawaii’s top agent, I am committed to helping you achieve success in purchasing or selling your home. Contact us today. We look forward to opening the door to your success.

and times the listing to the most opportune moment. Once a qualified buyer is found, Tracy’s client-centered negotiation ensures an entirely satisfying, financially beneficial outcome. Buyers can expect the same personalized attention as Tracy draws on her regional expertise and Coldwell Banker Realty’s cutting-edge technologies to pinpoint lucrative housing options suited to her clients’ unique wants and needs. Through her extensive professional network, Tracy learns of available properties often before they hit the market, giving her clients a measurable insider’s edge. Tracy also knows that the process can be stressful, so she keeps the lines of communication open as she manages the required paperwork and negotiations. With her unwavering dedication and comprehensive suite of services, Tracy takes her buyers over the threshold and into the home of their dreams.

Equally passionate in all aspects of her life, Tracy likes designing and building custom homes with her husband Bryan and spending quality time with their children and grandchildren. Prior to her real estate career, she enjoyed years as an accomplished equestrian, competing in show jumping events up and down the East Coast – a true testament to her winning spirit. If you’re thinking about buying or selling your home, you simply will not find a more committed agent, advocate and skilled professional than Tracy Allen.

JUST SOLD! HIGHEST OFF WATER SALE IN ALL OF KAHALA! 4620 Kahala Avenue | 6 BR, 6.5 BA | Sold for $9,450,000 FS

Coldwell Banker Realty 1585 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1010, Honolulu, HI 96814 (808) 927-6415 Tracy@TracyAllenHawaii.com www.TracyAllenHawaii.com

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10.24

FEATURES

Fixing Family Leave in Hawai‘i Many new parents are stuck with little time off and not enough money. An in-depth report illuminates problems and solutions.

Five Daughters Who Stepped Up in the Family Business Profiles of the women above at Sun Noodle, Aloha Beer, Tanaka of Tokyo, Cutter Management and House of Finance.

Thousands of Kids Are Homeschooled in Hawai‘i Parents set the structure – and love the flexibility. One mother says her 16-year-old has time to take flying lessons.

Hawai‘i Data Collaborative Helps Nonprofits Glean Insights The state’s large nonprofits generate a ton of data but struggle to manage and share it. Enter the experts at HDC.

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Maile Higashi homeschooled all four of her children, including Andrew, left, and Joy Anna. She says one on one teaching helped them develop interests and personalities early. PH OTO A A R O N YO S H I N O

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10.24

PHOTO COURTESY: HYPROV

CONTENTS

26 Hypno-Improv Coming to Hawaii Theater Oct. 10

Hypnotist Asad Mecci, pictured, and improv comic Colin Mochrie let audience members steer the action in unexpected directions.

Want Honest Feedback About Your Organization? Best Places to Work provides a goldmine of survey results and uncensored comments. Register by Oct. 18. 14

Hawaii Business Wins 24 Awards We regularly win competitive categories in state and national journalism contests. This year was a bonanza. 20

Remembering Bobby Senaha The former Hawaii Business publisher and Blackletter Group founder was raised in LA but a local boy at heart. 18

Verbal Agreements with Realtors Are Out Homebuyers need signed contracts now, part of the seismic changes in how real estate agents are paid. 28

50 Years of Serving Hawai‘i’s Most Vulnerable Helping Hands Hawai‘i assists with food insecurity, disabilities and language barriers. 32

Helping More Women Sit on Public and Private Boards The Hawai‘i chapter of Women Corporate Directors is creating a pipeline of talent. 67

Meet the “Zippy’s Kid” Who Went Viral on TikTok High schooler Kamaha‘o HaumeaThronas is a Hawaiian music prodigy. 34

How a Small Real-Estate Developer Is Building a Big Portfolio MacNaughton has bought three local hotels, adding to its investments in residential projects, retail and more. 82

New State Housing Program Targets Critical Workers Teachers, nurses, police officers and others can buy new condos at below-market prices. 36

HAWAII BUSINESS (ISSN 0440-5056) IS PUBLISHED 10 TIMES A YEAR BY PACIFICBASIN COMMUNICATIONS. ©2024 PACIFICBASIN COMMUNICATIONS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, DISTRIBUTION, OR ADAPTATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND WILL RESULT IN LIABILITY OF UP TO $100,000. EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS OFFICES AT 1088 BISHOP STREET, SUITE LL2, HONOLULU, HI 96813. TELEPHONE (808) 534-7520. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL ADDRESS CHANGES TO HAWAII BUSINESS, P.O. BOX 913, HONOLULU, HI 96808. SUBSCRIBERS NOTIFY THE SAME OFFICE. PLEASE INCLUDE NEW ADDRESS AND OLD ADDRESS (MAILING LABEL PREFERRED) PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I, AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. SUBSCRIPTION: ONE YEAR $24.99 / TWO YEARS $34.99 / THREE YEARS $44.99. FOREIGN: ONE YEAR $53.99 (US FUNDS). FOR SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES, ADDITIONAL RATES, INFORMATION, NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE, PLEASE CALL (800) 788-4230. OCTOBER 2024 VOL. 70/NO. 4

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Alison “Bo” Tanaka, Tanaka of Tokyo’s inspirational leader and driving force behind our strategic planning and operational success. Throughout her career from Dishwasher to Executive Vice President & CFO, Bo rose through the ranks and has done it all. We are proud to recognize Bo whose leadership, experience, and strategic insight, have been instrumental in guiding our managers, staff, and executive team in achieving our goals.

We are honored to celebrate her journey and the profound impact she continues to make across all levels of our organization.

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A N

O P E N

M I N D

It Starts With Honest Feedback — and the Payoff is Huge

F THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO RECRUIT EXCELLENT EMPLOYEES IS TO BECOME A BEST PLACE TO WORK, then surely the second-most effective

way to recruit them is to spread the word far and wide that your company or nonprofit is a Best Place to Work. That’s where we come in. Each year, the cover story in Hawaii Business Magazine’s April issue lists and briefly describes all of Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work. Then we spread the word on our website, hawaiibusiness.com, and in our twice daily email newsletter, Today’s Hawai‘i News, which has 23,000 subscribers and an open rate north of 70%. In the latest list of Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work, 78 companies made the cut. Thing is, you can’t live off your reputation for long. You have to keep proving yourself. That’s why it’s important to know that Friday, Oct. 18, is the deadline to register for the Best Places to Work survey that determines the 2025 list. There’s no fee; go to bestplacestoworkhawaii.com and register if you think your organization falls into one of two categories: • One, you think your company is a Best Place to Work or might be. • Or two, you want your company to become a Best Place to Work.

HONEST ANSWERS PROVIDE INSIGHTS

Few organizations start as Best Places to Work. Almost all of them become Best Places to Work over time, and a crucial step is finding out what employees really think about their workplace, through a confidential survey. Confidential surveys – like the ones conducted for the Hawai‘i Best Places to Work – means you are likely to get honest responses from your employees. The feedback helps your leadership team know what you are doing well and where your workplace has slipped off the tracks. The answers can be heartening and brutal – but most of all enlightening. I know because I’ve reviewed summaries of surveys of our own employees. Last year as part of the Best Places to Work program, about 20,000 employees at more than 100 companies participated in confidential surveys. That’s a huge database to draw insights from.

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WE PARTNER WITH THE EXPERTS

We are not experts in collecting and analyzing that data but we partner with people who are. For two decades, we have collaborated with Peter Burke and his team on the Best Places to Work program. “Being named a Best Place to Work will have a massive impact on an organization’s brand as an employer, but simply participating in the program has another huge benefit,” says Burke, CEO of Workforce Research Group. “Regardless of whether an organization makes the list, all participants have the opportunity to invest in the WRG Employee Feedback Data Dashboard. This portal has the results of the employee engagement survey, benchmark reports and employee comments – information that is like gold if you want to build a better workplace. Most organizations pay less than $1,000 to access this invaluable information. Plus, a report analysis call with WRG is included,” he says. If you keep at it, that information can help build a better workplace. And when you become a Best Place to Work, the payoff is enormous. “The average percentage of employees in the U.S. who are engaged is about 35%. For the Best Places to Work in Hawai‘i, that percentage is 89%. That is an amazing accomplishment for the winners,” Burke says. The rewards go far beyond better recruitment and retention. “Being named a Best Place to Work will have a huge impact on not only the employees, but the employees’ families, the organizations’ customers and the communities they serve,” he says. Want a head start? Here are the top drivers of employee engagement: 1. Employees liking what they do. 2. Employees believing in the leadership of the organization. 3. Employees being treated with dignity instead of like a number. 4. Employees knowing what is expected of them. 5. The company is committed to producing quality products and services. Register for the program and find out where you stand on these issues.

STEVE PETRANIK EDITOR AND EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER

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PHOTO COURTESY: JONATHAN BELLO

THI S R EMEMBRA NCE IS BY LOR I (TO MO NA RI) BONNAM O U R, SI STER OF DA NA SENA H A

Remembering

Bobby Senaha, Former Hawaii Business Publisher He was born and raised in Los Angeles but was a local boy who loved the Islands

hen they moved to California in 1957, Shigeru and Rosalinda Senaha – from the plantation towns of ‘Ewa Beach and Waipahu – were determined to preserve their culture and identity. They and their four children traveled as often as possible between Monterey Park and O‘ahu, building connections that ultimately drew their son Bobby to the islands. After earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, Bobby moved to Honolulu to make his mark on the professional world. After other positions in Honolulu, he joined Hawaii Business Magazine in 2004 as advertising director and became publisher in 2013. During his 12 years at Hawaii Business, he created meaningful connections within the local business community. From employees to CEOs, Bobby truly cared about the people he worked with, and his passion and authenticity allowed him to forge strong, lasting relationships. As Bobby took on leadership and mentoring roles, he witnessed firsthand the impact of brain drain on Hawai‘i’s talent pool. Wanting to make a difference, he left Hawaii Business and ventured outward. Bobby was always an entrepreneur at heart and in 2017, he took a leap of faith and founded Blackletter Group, a boutique marketing agency with the mission of supporting local businesses’ brand and advertising needs. He was determined to create local jobs to keep talent in Hawai‘i while serving as a launchpad for new voices. Blackletter Group has helped elevate iconic Hawai‘i brands such as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, Young Brothers, W&M Bar-B-Q Burgers, Kupu and Hawai‘i Gas.

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His dedication to our island community ran deep. Bobby served on the boards of the YMCA, the Hawaii State Bar Foundation and the American Diabetes Association, advocating for causes near his heart. Through Blackletter Group, he worked with the Department of Human Services to improve access to social services for families facing hardship, championed an effort with the Department of Education Food Services Division to feed keiki healthy food during the pandemic and raised awareness for the Salvation Army’s outreach programs. Bobby was a local and professional success, but the family he made with his wife, Dana, was his greatest pride and joy. He was a familiar face at school drop-off and pickup, jiu-jitsu and breakdancing classes, forever cheering on his sons, James and Jacob. On any given Saturday, all four could be found watching a USC football game, clad in cardinal and gold, chanting his alma mater “Fight On.” The battle cry took on new meaning with Bobby’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2022. For 22 months, he fought valiantly, gracefully and faithfully – beating the odds to stay just a little longer for his family. On August 25, Bobby left this life, surrounded by those he loved well. We remember him for his kind heart, sound advice, infectious laugh and ironclad faith. With every action, he modeled what it is to be a Christian father, husband, brother and friend. Goodbye brother.

HB EVENTS CO N N E C T W I T H H AWA I I B U S I N E S S M AGA Z I N E

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

Our goal is to strengthen the local economy and help our communities thrive.

Editor & Executive Publisher STEVE PETRANIK stevep@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7584 Editorial Managing Editor CYNTHIA WESSENDORF cynthiaw@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 224-7943 Staff Writer RYANN COULES ryannc@hawaiibusiness.com Staff Writer SHELBY MATTOS shelbym@hawaiibusiness.com Editorial Intern DEREK KAMAKANAALOHA SOONG Copy Editor ELROY GARCIA Design & Photography Creative Director JEFF SANNER jeffs@hawaiibusiness.com Staff Photographer AARON YOSHINO Digital Digital Director RANDALL LIBRAMONTE randalll@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7531 Digital Media Specialist MICHELLE TAN michellet@hawaiibusiness.com Sales & Marketing Co-Publisher KENT COULES kentc@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 364-5869 Account Executive PAM SAITO pamelas@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 364-5897 Account Executive YONGCHAE SONG yongchaes@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 228-5078 Senior Account Coordinator REBECCA BROOKING rebeccab@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7560 Events Manager MADELENE MARTINBIANCO madelenem@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7578 Events Coordinator OLIVIA DE SENA oliviad@hawaiibusiness.com Circulation circulation@pacificbasin.net Connect with us on social media: HawaiiBusiness HawaiiBusinessmagazine Hawaii Business is published by

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For more information on events, visit hawaiibusiness.com/events or contact Madelene Martinbianco, Events Manager, at madelenem@hawaiibusiness.com H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

BY STEV E PETRANI K

Hawaii Business Wins 24 Awards The honors include six first-place awards from a statewide competition and a national gold medal HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE WON 24 AWARDS THIS YEAR FOR WORK PUBLISHED IN 2023, including two that we’re especially proud of.

Contributing Writer LiAnne Yu’s story about CEO of the Year Ken Sakurai won the first place gold medal in the large publications category for best personality profile from the national Alliance of Area Business Publishers. THE JUDGES WROTE: “The writer weaves together personal details of the CEO along with industry trends to create an engaging story of the savvy innovation and team spirit that led to the company’s success. The piece reveals the story of a humble man who just ‘likes to build houses’ and covers his whole life – not just what he does at the office.” Noelle Fujii-Oride’s in-depth report titled “What Happens When Private Equity Is Your Landlord” won first place in the prestigious investigative reporting category open to all media and presented by the Hawai‘i chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “This was a highly competitive category,” wrote the judges. “The winning entry is very well-produced and shines a light on a very important issue that affects nearly every American … showing the reader your journalistic work is so important.” The same report also won third place from SPJ Hawaii for public service reporting. Hawaii Business Magazine earned a total of 23 awards from SPJ Hawaii, only two fewer than the front-runner, Honolulu Civil Beat.

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THOSE AWARDS INCLUDE:

• First place for business reporting in magazines for our extensive 2023 coverage of housing and real estate by Fujii-Oride and Contributing Writer Janis Magin Meierdiercks. 1 “Remarkable coverage of an issue that is affecting the entire state,” the judges wrote. “You looked at it from so many different perspectives. This is what great business journalism looks like.” • First place for industry or trade reporting for our coverage of the tourism industry. • First place in the profile category for Yu’s article on Ken Sakurai. 2

• Managing Editor Cynthia Wessendorf won second place for overall body of work by a single writer and Fujii-Oride won third place. • Wessendorf also won second place in health reporting for her story “Growing Up in an Age of Anxiety.” Contributing Writer Stuart Coleman won third place in the same category for his report “Cesspools Are Killing Our Coral – But It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.” • Coleman’s cesspools article also won second place for science reporting; third place went to Staff Writer Ryann Noelani Coules for her story “Tech Boosts Hawai‘i Ag.”

• Hawaii Business swept all three awards in two categories – data journalism and informational graphics – based on multiple reports published on female entrepreneurs, the BOSS Survey, 808 Poll and more.

Our designers and illustrators won a total of four awards: second place awards for overall page design and magazine cover – the latter one for Kelsey Ige’s February cover illustrating the private equity landlords story. 3 Ige also won third place for a single feature design for her work on a story headlined “The Goal: Tourism That Regenerates Hawai‘i, Not Degrades It.” 4 And third place in editorial cartoon/ illustration went to freelancer Kelsie Dayna for her “Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work” artwork. Second place in explanatory journalism went to Fujii-Oride for her report “Tensions Between Renters and Landlords.” “You examined a difficult issue and gave us perspectives from both sides. That’s so important and too often overlooked,” the judges wrote. Finally, Hawaii Business won second place for its headlines. And while most of the awards bear the name of just one person, all of them are the result of a team effort. And I’m very proud of our team.

“Each entry is a masterclass in delivering data in a digestible way,” wrote the judges in the data journalism category. “This was a very difficult category to judge, as each entry exceeded expectations of what datadriven journalism can be.”

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BY STEV E PETRANI K

Hypno-Improv Fusion The great comic improviser Colin Mochrie teams with hypnotized audience members for fast-paced and unpredictable comedy. After hundreds of performances across North America, the show comes to Hawaii Theatre on Oct. 10.

I’m totally biased on this: I think Colin Mochrie is the best improv comic ever. Episodes of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” – in which he co-stars – make me laugh so hard that I wake up the cat. Now he has teamed with hypnotist Asad Mecci for a show they call “HYPROV: Improv Under Hypnosis” that has already played in over a hundred cities and had residencies in Las Vegas, New York and Toronto. They open their latest tour with a show at Hawaii Theatre on Oct. 10. I’ve learned that the basic rule of improv comedy is “Yes, and …” “Yes” means you accept whatever your improv partner has done; “and” means you build onto it. In an interview with both performers, I ask Mochrie: “I can see your hypnotized audience members accepting your lead, but can you

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count on them to add to it?” “I thought that was going to be the problem,” Mochire replies. “I thought, ‘They’re just going to say yes to everything,’ but they add things that are sometimes so out there. It certainly keeps me and Asad on our toes.” Mecci gives a hilarious example of an unexpected “and.” In one show, a hypnotized woman from the audience was told that she was madly in love with Mochrie and should propose to him, Mecci says. “This woman gets down on one knee to propose and realizes Colin has a wedding ring on his hand, and she calls him some choice names because she did not realize that he was already married.” The amateur improvisers do not think like the professionals, so

HYPNOTIST ASAD MECCI, LEFT, AND IMPROV COMIC COLIN MOCHRIE FIND THAT AUDIENCE MEMBERS STEER THEIR PERFORMANCES IN UNEXPECTED AND HILARIOUS DIRECTIONS.

the unexpected is to be expected. In one scene, Mochrie’s a superhero looking for a sidekick. So the audience member declares himself “The Gibraltar Kid.” “What’s your superpower?” Mochrie asks. “Are you strong like a rock? Do you turn into a rock?” “No, I have residency in Gibraltar,” he replies. “Your superpower is you can work in the place where you live?” Mochrie answers back, adding to me: “A real improviser wouldn’t have come up with that.” He says when he improvises with friends and regular partners, he generally knows where they’re going in a scene, even though they’re all improvising. “I don’t have that with these people. I really have to focus on them. And it makes it more exciting because

PHOTOS COURTESY: HYPROV

I truly have no idea where the scene is going.” Mecci finds their performance partners by asking for up to 12 adult volunteers from the audience. Then he selects the three to five people who appear the most susceptible to hypnosis. “I’m looking for physiological indicators,” he says, like changes in breathing and skin color, plus riveted attention, like “they’re really focused on me.” “The best subjects are the ones able to dissociate from their surroundings and become fully

immersed in the moment. For example, two people watch a horror movie. One person looks at the blood and says, ‘It looks fake.’ The other person screams and jumps in their chair. I’ll take the person who screams and jumps in their chair.”

Onstage, “These people are fully committed to the scene. It’s amazing to watch some random volunteer from the audience keep up with Colin,” Mecci says.

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7/30/24 4:24 PM

Date: 7.24.24

BY JA NIS MAGI N M E I E RDI E RCK S

Verbal Agreements Are Out: Realtors Want a Signed Contract Before They Help Prospective Homebuyers Each contract will reflect how much the buyer’s agent will be paid and the services to be provided A SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE RULES GOVERNING HOW SOME REAL ESTATE AGENTS GET PAID IN HAWAI‘I and across

the U.S. shook the industry in August, and if you’re buying or selling a home this fall, you probably have questions. You’re not the only one. In Hawai‘i, the Honolulu Board of Realtors and Realtors associations on the Neighbor Islands have been educating their members since a landmark settlement was reached this year by the National Association of Realtors with mainland plaintiffs who sued over the way buyers’ real estate agents are paid. 28

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As part of the settlement, NAR agreed to scuttle the compensation model that had been in place for more than 30 years by which sellers paid real estate commissions to their listing agents, who then shared the commissions with the agents who represented the buyers. Those commissions generally cost sellers 5% to 6% of the sale price. Under the seller-paid commission model, agents most of the time had verbal agreements to work with buyers, although in rare situations, some buyers would seek help

from more than one agent. Commissions offered to buyers’ agents were also posted in a multiple listing service. Not anymore. As of Aug. 17, compensation must be removed from any MLS in the U.S. and buyers’ agents must discuss their compensation before working with a buyer. The NAR says a prospective homebuyer must sign a written agreement spelling out terms negotiated with the agent, including the services to be provided, how much the agent will be compensated and how, before “touring a home.”

ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES

The Honolulu Board of Realtors got a few days head start and implemented the rules on Aug. 12, says Suzanne Young, the board’s executive director. She says that buyers should be fully aware of what they’re getting into when they’re working with an agent.

DOESN’T APPLY TO OPEN HOUSES

What if you’re just browsing at a Sunday open house and you talk to the seller’s agent? The NAR says there’s no need for a buyer’s agreement because it doesn’t fit the definition of working with an agent. “In that scenario, an agreement is not required because the participant is performing work for the seller and not the buyer,” the NAR says in No. 61 of its list of 119 frequently asked questions. (tinyurl.com/faqnar) H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

Commissions were negotiated before the NAR settlement and they will continue to be negotiated going forward, says Chuck Garrett, who was the 2023 president of HiCentral.com, the Honolulu Board of Realtors’ MLS. Garrett is also broker in charge at statewide firm Coldwell Banker Island Properties. A lot of the questions agents have are about the actual contract between homebuyers and their real estate agents, says Garrett. “There’s a lot of changes in our documents … and we’ll get there in understanding how to fill out the paperwork properly.” What’s changed is the process. Now the buyer signs an agreement with their agent spelling out how the agent will be paid. Instead of a seller automatically offering compensation to the buyer’s agent and posting it in the MLS listing, several scenarios could happen: • The buyer could pay a fixedfee commission directly to the agent. • The listing agent or the seller could offer buyer’s agent compensation, just not in the MLS, and the specific amount of compensation must be approved by the seller in writing. • The buyer could ask in an offer for the seller or seller’s agent to pay a portion of the listing agent’s commission to the buyer’s agent. • The seller could offer concessions for closing costs, money the buyer could use to pay the commission. “I think some of what we’re seeing is agents being overly cautious, this fear of not being in compliance,” says Young. 30

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TRAINING FOR AGENTS

Garrett says he and Cathy Matthews, the current HiCentral president, have talked to hundreds of brokerage leaders, who are now “up to speed.” The two are also working on a mandatory training program for every member of the MLS “that Cathy and I are going to personally provide.” Matthews says, “I’m sure agents always discuss what it is that they do and what they bring to the table when they represent a buyer, but I think this has afforded us an opportunity to really accentuate what we do and explain it more fully. And I think that’s good for everybody.” Matthews, who is also principal broker at Callahan Realty, noted that under the prior compensation model, in which home sellers paid the commission that was split between a listing agent and a buyer’s agent, the cost to the buyer was included in the negotiated purchase price of the home, which allowed them to include that cost in their mortgage or other financing. “I personally haven’t seen any sellers that have not understood that buyers may need to wrap their commission into financing and that they just don’t have that extra cash to pay [the commission],” she says. “I have not seen a reluctant seller” in that scenario.

FEW DIY HOMEBUYERS

There are also few buyers in Hawai‘i willing to take the risk of representing themselves when buying a home. Buyers are not required to use an agent, but those who opt to go solo account for less than 10% of transactions, Young says.

“The Hawai‘i real estate market is a savvy group that understands the asset they are working with, and asking us to help them with, is a larger portion of their income (than other markets), higher than the national median,” says Garrett. Matthews says one of the good things to come out of the changes is that listing agents and buyers’ agents are communicating more during the course of a transaction, and Garrett says that makes for a better contract and a smoother sale. “There are so many nuances to a real estate sale to get to the finish line that I think these changes are going to be at the front end in that initial conversation,” Young says. Then after that, “it’s not even going to be discussed. It’s just going to be letting the Realtors do the work that they do with their clients.” Meanwhile, the NAR’s $418 million settlement reached March 15 is set to receive final approval from a court in Missouri on Nov. 26. Young also noted that consumers can file a claim to receive a share of the class-action settlement by going to realestatecommissionlitigation.com. With the new rules, Young says consumers should be encouraged to “ask questions of their agents.” “They should feel 100% comfortable in what they’re being charged, what services they’re getting, and if they have any questions, or if they feel that there’s anything that doesn’t seem right, they should absolutely reach out,” she says. “When you’re dealing with the largest financial transaction in your life, you don’t want people to feel like they can’t ask questions. They should be encouraged to ask and we’re here to help guide them.”

Leading the way with care Whether Whetheryou’re you’retaking taking off offor ortouching touching down, down,we’ve we’ve got gotyou you covered. covered.

We’re We’reproud proudto tosupport supportHawai‘i Hawai‘iBusiness BusinessMagazine. Magazine.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

N O N P R O F I T

W I T H

M I S S I O N

BY D EREK KA MA KA NA ALO HA SO O NG

PHOTOS COURTESY: HELPING HANDS HAWAI‘I

HELPING HANDS HAWAI‘I:

50 Years of Serving the Most Vulnerable HELPING HANDS HAWAI‘I HAS HELPED LOCAL RESIDENTS deal with

food insecurity, disabilities, language barriers and shortages of school and home supplies since its founding in 1974. “We provide critical social services to improve people’s quality of life and empower them on their path to a better tomorrow,” says Susan Furuta, CEO of Helping Hands Hawai‘i, a job formerly held by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. The nonprofit served over 14,000 individuals in 2023, she says. For instance, its Community Clearinghouse provides free household items like furniture, cookware, bedding and toiletries, plus training, financial assistance, school supplies and support during the holiday season. HHH’s SNAP Outreach helps people sign up for the government assistance program previously known as food stamps. Furuta says SNAP applications were up 64% last year over the year before.

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The nonprofit’s 65 to 70 employees are supported by volunteers, who logged over 1,900 hours in 2023. Furuta, who has been with Helping Hands Hawai‘i for 23 years and served as CEO for five, emphasizes the importance of diversified funding. Government support, grants and individual donations account for more than half of the group’s funding, while fee-for-service programs like the Bilingual Access Line bring in more money. Lauren Faue, an advocate at the Domestic Violence Action Center, relies on the Bilingual Access Line to support her clients with limited English proficiency. The service provides live interpreters fluent in 18 languages. Faue stresses the importance of interpreters who provide not just translation but also contextual and cultural understanding. “It’s one thing to have someone who can interpret what I’m saying

and just translate, but because we’re dealing with really sensitive issues, it’s really important to have a trauma-informed interpreter, someone who’s friendly and approachable and really understands that what we’re talking about is hard and can bring that trauma-informed approach.” Furuta’s commitment to public service, nurtured in the tight-knit ‘Ewa plantation community where she was raised, is supported by her extensive experience in human resources and hospitality. “I have always felt very close to the community. I think I first started volunteering when I taught vacation Bible school in eighth grade at my church, and then I’ve led a life of volunteering. These opportunities, combined with my studies academically at the University of Hawai‘i, took me to a path where I was going to work with people naturally.” Helping Hands Hawai‘i welcomes donations and volunteers. Learn more at helpinghandshawaii.org.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

M Y

J O B

BY DE RE K K AM AK ANAALO HA S OON G

My Job is Bringing Joy Through Hawaiian Music KAMAHA‘O HAUMEA-THRONAS is a Hawaiian music prodigy who has already performed across the Islands. This summer marked his second year completing six weeks of shows at Keoki’s Paradise, a restaurant on his home island of Kaua‘i. Some of the teenager’s favorite numbers are the Hawaiian hula classics “Pāpālina Lahilahi” and “I Ali‘i Nō ‘Oe,” and his frequent hana hou song, “‘Ālika.” “I always play a lot of the same songs that I first learned – to honor whoever I learned them from, whether it be my kumu hula, or my teachers from school, or even just listening to old records of Aunty Genoa Keawe or even newer albums by Nā Palapalai, who I got to play with.”

MAINTAINING A LEGACY: “I think

Hawaiian music is super important because not a lot of our people do it anymore. A lot of musicians like to take to other genres that are more popular or might make them more money. But I feel that it’s super, super important that we continue Hawaiian music because that’s what our kūpuna did. “They put so much work into writing and singing the songs so that they could continue to our generation. … I think everybody should just learn one or two songs that can help continue Hawaiian music.”

SCHOOL: The sophomore

at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama on O‘ahu balances his academic pursuits with membership in the school’s Concert Glee Club and Hawaiian Ensemble. His weekdays during the school year are focused on studies, but he regularly performs on weekends. “Everything really goes hand in hand – I think it all blends together really, really nicely.” RESPECT: “I don’t think there’s

really been any problem with my age because I’ve been singing mele Hawai‘i for so long. I’ve gotten a lot of respect from singers and performers who have been doing this in the industry for so many years.” SOCIAL MEDIA: A viral 11-second

TikTok video shows him singing about a plate of Zippy’s spaghetti to the tune of “Henehene Kou ‘Aka.” In thanks, Zippy’s delivered a cake with his face on his 15th birthday in May. “Walking around all the time, I’ll hear, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the Zippy’s kid.’ And that just brings so much laughter and happiness, to see that just something so small can make such a big impact.”

“ THEY PUT SO MUCH

WORK INTO WRITING AND SINGING THE SONGS SO THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE TO OUR GENERATION.” ‘OHANA SUPPORT: Haumea-Thronas

says he could not have achieved his success without the wholehearted support of his family, which includes everything from purchasing equipment to driving him to gigs and gathering last-minute lei. “It’s just super, super awesome that they support me in what I do. And they put up with all the craziness in the music industry.” FUTURE: “I hope to continue Hawai-

ian music, continue partnering with companies like Zippy’s, and all of those awesome people and different musicians. I hope to get my music out really soon and share music, really share why mele Hawai‘i is so important – sharing it on any platform I can.”

THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN LIGHTLY EDITED FOR CL ARITY AND CONCISENESS.

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PHOTO: JEFF SANNER

NAME: KAMAHA‘O HAUMEA-THRONAS JOB: SINGER AND MUSICIAN

PHOTO: USED WITH PERMISSION FROM KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS

AGE: 15

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

BY KATHRYN DRU RY WAG NE R

State Program Helps Nurses, Police and Teachers Buy Homes “I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A HOMEOWNER, but I didn’t know

when or even if that would be possible,” says Samantha St. John, a Kaimukī resident who is a labor and delivery nurse at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. “I never thought I’d be able to own a home on my own.” A new program initiated by a state agency called the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp. seeks to help people like St. John – those working in professions with critical shortages in the state, including health care, education, law enforcement and agriculture – to buy their own homes. The DURF Equity Pilot, or DEP, Program is a five-year effort that rolled out this year. DEP is under the umbrella of the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund (DURF), established in 1970 to support housing development and associated infrastructure. “We were looking at ways of making housing more affordable for middle income people,” says Dean Minakami, HHFDC’s executive director. “We have programs primarily for households who earn up to 60% area median income, but there are fewer programs for those above that threshold.” 36

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DURF had an appropriation of $50 million from the Legislature for each of the past two years, says Minakami, and this pilot program’s budget, $10 million, is 10% of that. With DEP, the HHFDC buys partial equity in condos that are offered to people in the select professions – that HHFDC investment lowers the price of those condos. The HHFDC gets its share of the equity back when the condo’s owner eventually sells. “It might take a while but the state will get a return on its investment,” Minakami explains. True, the longer someone stays in their first home, the longer it will take the state to get repaid, he says, but it also means that the needed professional who bought the condo is still in Hawai‘i. And when the HHFDC gets its investment back, the money can then be reused to help other people acquire homes. In addition to working in the targeted professions, buyers must already be living in Hawai‘i at time of application and become owner-occupants of the newly purchased homes, among other requirements. Says Minakami: “We know that one of the reasons people leave the state is because of the high housing costs, and in particular, they don’t see a path to homeownership. This

PHOTO COURTESY: KUILEI PLACE

program helps keep people in Hawai‘i in a manner that is fiscally responsible. Also, this gives those buyers a chance to build up equity and move up the housing ladder. They are buying their first unit, so they are buying a studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit, and over time they might start a family or need a bigger place, so after 10 years or so, they have equity built up and can buy something larger.” Through DEP, St. John was able to buy a two-bedroom, one-bath unit at Kuilei Place, a residential condo project being built on Kapi‘olani Boulevard in the Mō‘ili‘ili neighborhood, near Prince Jonah Kūhiō Elementary School. Kuilei Place, which is being developed by BlackSand Capital and the Kobayashi Group, was the first project tapped for the Hawai‘i DEP Program. Originally, 23 two-bedroom residences were available at Kuilei Place through the DEP program. Kobayashi Group later got HHFDC approval to add five more. The feedback from buyers has been overwhelmingly positive, says Alana Kobayashi Pakkala, Kobayashi Group executive VP and managing partner. She provides an example of how the program works: a two-bedroom, one-bath condo priced at $627,000 could instead be sold at $524,000 to select professionals because the revolving fund buys $103,000 in equity in that unit. That reduced price puts the condo within financial reach of many more people, she says. The equity is paid back to the revolving fund when the professional sells the unit. Part of the developers’ responsibility with DEP is to market those condos to the professionals they’re intended for. Kobayashi Pakkala says her team connected with about 25 organizations, including law enforcement and teacher groups, held industry nights, used social media,

KUILEI PLACE, A CONDO PROJECT BEING BUILT ON KAPI‘OLANI BOULEVARD, OFFERS SOME UNITS BELOW MARKET RATES FOR SELECT WORKERS IN HAWAI‘I. A STATE PILOT PROGRAM BUYS PARTIAL EQUITY IN THE CONDOS AND IS PAID BACK WHEN OWNERS SELL.

and bought traditional advertising to spread the word to eligible buyers. “We are huge supporters of this program,” she says. “We feel the best way to stabilize our whole community is around trying to get as many people as possible, particularly our workforce, those in that 80% AMI to 140% AMI range, from renting into homeownership.” Currently, she notes, Hawai‘i has one of the lowest rates of homeownership in the country, especially among Millennials. Other development projects have gotten on board with the revolving fund. At Modea on Queen Street in Downtown Honolulu, 25 units are designated, according to HHFDC, including 12 studio/one-bath units and 13 one-bedroom/one-bath units. The Flats at Sky Ala Moana East has also gone before the HHFDC board for approval, says Minakami. “There are other projects very interested in participating. It’s just a matter of timing for them.” For the developers, the program doesn’t help with construction financing or their gross margin, says Minakami. “What it does do, is it opens more units to a greater depth

of buyers. For Kuilei Place, granted it’s a drop in the bucket of a 1,000unit project. It helps their sales a bit, their absorption. But what we’re hearing is that some of the buyers are coming in looking for a DEP unit and wind up buying a market price unit or another affordable [designated] unit. So, it does help with sales prospects and getting exposure.” He says the program’s success or lack thereof will be determined in several ways. One is interest among developers. “How many are participating? Are they finding eligible buyers?” Longer term, he says, “We will measure success by tracking the units that are participating. How long do the buyers stay in the units? How long does it take the state to get repaid, and are these buyers staying in Hawai‘i in the long term?” St. John and her dog, Cookies and Cream, plan to move into her new home in early 2027 once Kuilei Place is completed. She has been sharing her homebuying experience with friends and colleagues, hoping they can find similar opportunities with the pilot program.

“Owning a home in Hawai‘i is a big accomplishment – if you ever get to do it,” she says. As a state, “we’re struggling because it’s hard for people to hold their roots here. I hope they continue to use this program for other buildings and projects, to help keep Hawai‘i people in Hawai‘i.” Minakami says that HHFDC plans to go back to the Legislature in 2025 to request the pilot program become permanent, and to seek permission to use more DURF funds. HHFDC also is exploring other home-ownership programs. “We’re standing up a new down payment assistance program, a mortgage program, and other financing methods which can help incentivize developers to provide more opportunities for workforce families,” he says. “Supporting the rental market is great; I fully support the efforts to incentivize ADUs, and other affordable rental housing projects,” he says, referring to Hawai‘i’s accessory dwelling units. “But we have to realize that many households are not going to stay in Hawai‘i unless they can own something.”

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

W Ā H I N E

L E A D E R S

A S P EC I A L S ECT I O N BY T H E H AWA I ‘ I L E A D E R S H I P FO R U M

Visionary Women. Catalyzing Change. Cross-cultural collaboration is at the heart of East-West Center President Suzanne VaresLum’s mission to promote better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific. With the Indo-Pacific region facing unprecedented environmental and geopolitical challenges, her leadership is grounded in respect and equality, ensuring the Center remains an institute of hope for all. “Effective leadership is about building real connections and understanding,” said Vares-Lum. “By bridging divides, we can shape a future based on shared values and collective action.” Learn more at www.eastwestcenter.org.

Photo courtesy of East-West Center

East-West Center’s Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar brings innovative women from the US and the Indo-Pacific region together in Hawai‘i to enhance their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Participants engage with local experts as they seek to develop a community of women leaders and strengthen their societies through social entrepreneurship.

Photo courtesy of East-West Center

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H AWA I I L E A D E R S H I P F O R U M . O R G

Wāhine Leaders

Photo by Ashley Smith/Jason Kimura

Hawai‘i Leadership Forum’s Omidyar Fellows invests in women leaders committed to transformative change in Hawai‘i. By fostering connections within a supportive network, the program amplifies efforts to address critical issues, promoting innovative and resilient solutions through impactful initiatives. Mālia Ka‘aihue, chairwoman of DTL Collective, founded eight Native Hawaiian-led businesses across various industries, all focused on fostering community, enhancing cultural understanding, and creating impactful solutions for Hawai‘i. Stephany Nihipali Vaioleti is the president of Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital and has led community-driven systems change at previous roles at Holomua Collective and Hawai‘i Energy. Claire Sullivan elevates and empowers a resilient and economically viable local food system as CEO of Farm Link Hawai‘i. Catherine Awakuni Colón, president and CEO of the O‘ahu Economic Development Board, supports the health of the people and economy of Hawai‘i by growing local businesses and jobs. Katrina-Ann Kapā Oliveira supports Maui students affected by the fires to begin and complete their degrees as the interim vice provost for student success at UH Mānoa.

Making Maui Stronger Pualani Enos, owner of Maui-based Kaulia Creates, LLC, worked with partners to implement an indigenous-informed disaster recovery approach to assist Lahaina and Kula families displaced by the fires. Rachael Wong, founder of One Shared Future, and Mahina Paishon, co-founder and CEO of Waiwai Collective, facilitate the Maui Economic Recovery Commission, which brings together 100+ community, business, government, education, union, and cultural leaders, primarily from Maui, who are working on long-term economic recovery projects that focus on ‘āina and wai, healing, streamlined building policies, systems mapping, affordable housing, workforce development, a business-entertainment park, and rebuilding Lahaina Harbor. Photo by Ashley Smith H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

BY CYNTHIA W E SSE NDO RF

N av iG at i n g

H a w amii L‘iy-’sL e aV E Fa MaZe Ru les and pol ici es can leave par ent s BR OK E and job les s, or pus h the m bac k to wor k lon g bef ore the y or the ir infant s AR E Re ady. Ca n the sys tem be Fi xE D?

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ORIGINAL PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

BOUT SIX MONTHS INTO HER PREGNANCY, LEILANI KAILIAWA LEARNED FROM HER DOCTOR THAT SOMETHING WAS SERIOUSLY WRONG.

The baby was tiny, and the blood in her placenta wasn’t flowing properly, an untreatable condition that put the pregnancy at risk. As the final trimester progressed, she was advised to leave Hawai‘i Island for Honolulu and its specialized medical facilities and doctors. Kailiawa was 40, married and had two older children. She had already dropped to half-time hours at her job managing a Taco Bell in Kona, a company she had worked for since high school. Fewer hours helped reduce the stress of work and her three-hour round-trip commute. Now, all of her work hours would have to be cut, with a return date unknown. She applied for benefits through her employer’s temporary disability insurance, known as TDI, which the state requires businesses to purchase. The disability insurance covers pregnancy complications and the postpartum period, providing 58% of a mother’s average income, with a current cap of $798 a week. Benefits generally cover five to six weeks, or eight weeks for cesarean-section deliveries. She also applied for Med-Quest, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents. The public plan covered her care at the Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, as well as a place to stay. She flew to Honolulu, where her days became a stressful blur of doctor’s appointments and concerns about the baby. Finally, on March 7, 2016, Jeremiah was born, at just 2 ½ pounds. He was whisked into the neonatal intensive care unit, where the staff soon discovered that he

had a dangerous condition, volvulus, a twisting and knotting of the gastrointestinal tract. He needed immediate surgery, the first of several. Jeremiah remained in intensive care units for seven months, with his mother by his bedside. “It was important for us as a family that I stayed close to him, even if it meant struggling,” says Kailiawa.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE WOULD HAVE HELPED

Financially, the family was strained. She had no income. Her TDI benefits ran out in April, about a month after Jeremiah’s birth. And expenses were mounting, including flights every two weeks that her husband made to Honolulu, sometimes bringing the older children. The tickets were charged to their credit card. “That’s where we could have used paid family leave,” says Kailiawa. “Because it’s only so much with TDI.” The family visits were reprieves from the long days spent at the hospital and the nights alone in her hotel room, with no one to talk to, worried about Jeremiah and how the family would manage in the years to come. Potentially, a lifetime of intensive parenting lay ahead. By October, once Kailiawa and her husband had learned to change his nasogastric feeding tube, Jeremiah was released from the hospital. Back on Hawai‘i Island, Kailiawa’s life narrowed to caring for a medically fragile baby, and eventually a young boy with a pediatric feeding disorder, hearing loss and other conditions. “For a period of three years, I just secluded myself from everyone,” she says. “I was trying to find my place as a mom of a child who I know will have challenges.”

Jeremiah is 8 now, with a “lot of spunk and a great spirit,” says Kailiawa. He attends elementary school in Kailiawa’s hometown of Hilo, where the family moved two years ago. But his parents are still rebuilding their lives after the chaos of pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. While her husband works full time, they’re chipping away at accumulated debt, the result of Kailiawa’s lost income and inability to return to a regular job because of heavy caretaking responsibilities at home. Kailiawa has tried several work-from-home arrangements, including her latest venture, as an insurance agent. Over the years, Kailiawa, who says she’s normally “very reserved,” has found her voice as an advocate for children with disabilities and their parents. Today, she’s a member of the ‘Ohana Leadership Council, organized by the Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network, which champions more robust paid family leave for caretakers of all kinds.

“AS GOOD AS IT GETS”

Kailiawa’s story lies on the raw edges of the parenting experience, but it’s not unique. Many parents find themselves in extremis, with health challenges, lost income, crumbling relationships and relentless child care demands that prevent them from working regular full-time jobs. Even uncomplicated births can throw a family into new levels of turmoil. For Amy, who asked that a pseudonym be used for confidentiality since she’s back at her job, starting a family was comparably smooth. But, with not enough time off from work and not enough money to cover leave, it opened her eyes to the precarity of the career-family balancing act. Amy is the main earner in her family as her husband builds his landscaping business. After a decade

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

in the nonprofit sector, she had returned to UH Mānoa to earn a master’s degree, with sights on getting a better-paid job in the private sector. She landed one right out of graduate school, and already pregnant. Her short tenure with the company meant she wasn’t protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act. The federal law guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave and job protection for people working in organizations with at least 50 employees, but only if they had worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months before their leave starts. She also wasn’t protected by the weaker Hawai‘i Family Leave Law, which applies to larger companies with 100 or more employees but requires less time on the job. Employees need six consecutive months at the company, including part-time work, to qualify for four weeks of unpaid leave – the bare minimum time it takes to heal from childbirth. Because of her circumstances, Amy had entered a less predictable world, where much is dependent on the policies, traditions or even whims of her company, which doesn’t offer paid leave for employees. She got lucky with a sympathetic boss and was given 12 weeks of unpaid leave. She had another stroke of luck by qualifying for temporary disability insurance, but just barely. To be eligible for TDI benefits, employees must have worked at least 14 weeks in Hawai‘i, be currently employed and have earned at least $400 in the year before they take their first day of “disability.” However, some jobs don’t count as employment, including Amy’s UH graduate-assistant job, leaving her to merely hope that she would meet the 14-week eligibility cutoff. “If my son had been born before my due date, I wouldn’t have made it,” she says.

Since her income is fairly high, she expected to get the weekly maximum amount of $798 for six weeks. But the check that arrived was missing an entire week of benefits. The insurance company, Pacific Guardian, wrote in an email exchange that this “elimination period,” or when the policy will start paying benefits, was “determined by the employer and the type of policy they have.” That left her family with about $3,600 for her three-month maternity leave, supplemented with savings and her husband’s income from contract jobs. The TDI funds covered one month’s mortgage on their Central O‘ahu home and utilities, but not much more. As the end of her three-month leave approached in July, Amy was still up much of the night nursing the baby and sleeping in the mornings when he napped. She was deeply exhausted, fantasizing about long stretches of sleep. She asked for and was granted another month of unpaid leave to prepare for the transition. “I was thinking by three months things would be easier,” she says. “Maybe four months will be easier but, honestly, I don’t know if he’ll be sleeping more.” Her husband helps with cooking and care, and will take on more caretaking duties once Amy starts back at work, much of it done remotely. She’s not sure how the arrangement will work out and says the family is in “survival mode.” “I don’t want to choose between working and having a baby, but with so little leave, it does feel like a choice,” she says. “If I wanted to stay home longer, I would basically need to quit my job, which is not an option since I have (health) insurance for the family.”

Amy has lived in Hawai‘i for many years and would like to stay. But she also wants a second child, and is already toying with the idea of moving back to California, where she and her husband have family and the state paid-leave program is more generous. “Having access to those benefits is a big impetus to want to move back,” she says. “My situation here is as good as it gets. On the one hand, I’m very grateful for that. But on the other hand, I feel like it’s not enough,” she says. “Any paid leave beyond the five weeks of partial pay would be such a big relief.”

TDI: “A HORRIBLE, CONFUSING PATCHWORK”

Here’s a fact that is often repeated but can still deliver a jolt: The United States is the only developed country in the world without a national paid family-leave program. The U.S. joins Papua New Guinea and five small Pacific Island nations – the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Tonga and the Marshall Islands – as the only outliers among the 193 members of the United Nations, according to the World Policy Analysis Center. Globally, the average length of paid maternity leave is 29 weeks, usually at partial pay and with payment caps. U.S. law, in contrast, offers unpaid leave, lasting just 12 weeks, and only covers about 56% of workers since small employers, part-time workers and new hires are excluded. To fill the holes in the system, nine states and Washington, D.C., have implemented paid-leave programs, and four others have passed

Many Faces of Caregiving FOR SINGLE PARENTS, THE PRESSURES OF GETTING TIME OFF WORK AND TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS, and then

funding the longer-term child care to come, can be more than just daunting. It can be impossible.

HEIDI ALLENCASTRE, a social-services “navigator” for the Ho‘oikaika

Partnership, as well as the Maui family programs specialist for Family Hui

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Hawai‘i, found herself unexpectedly single, unemployed and caring for a newborn, with a toddler at home. There was no TDI as she had left work when her older daughter was born prematurely. There were no family members available to help and no affordable child-care facilities or providers with openings. She says she felt trapped and turned to government assistance to scrape by. That move gave her family a foothold: a free

“

(I fe el )

pR of ou nd di sm ay th at we ex pe ct th e va st M aj or it y of fa mi li es to R E T U R N to wo rk af te r F O U R we eks. I t is li te ra l I ns an it y. -As hle y Luk ens

Mot her of two and a life long

paid-leave legislation. Hawai‘i occupies an in-between space, with temporary disability insurance serving as an awkward substitute for more generous and inclusive plans. The state’s TDI law, enacted 55 years ago, requires all employers to provide partial “wage replacement” insurance coverage for “nonwork-related injury or sickness, including pregnancy.” Some policies cover employees for up to 26 weeks. The Hawai‘i Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which governs the TDI program set up by the state Legislature, explained in an email that pregnancy-related medical conditions such as preeclampsia could be covered by TDI, with a physician’s verification. Childbirth and the postpartum recovery phase also require medical approval. The email continues: “If the individual is not capable of working due to a medical issue after the birth, the period would be a disability. If the health-care provider

acti vist

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determines there is a period or periods before and/or after birth when the individual is not able to work due to a medical reason, the individual may be able to receive TDI benefits.” In stark contrast, California’s paid family-leave website uses welcoming language to encourage people to apply for eight weeks off at up to 70% of their pay, and with a weekly maximum amount that’s more than double Hawai‘i’s cap. California was the first to introduce a paid-leave program, but other states now offer more – 12 weeks of paid leave – including Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington. Hawai‘i’s temporary disability insurance law, to its credit, covers most working people, says Arynn Nagahiro, a labor and employment attorney with the law firm of Torkildson Katz. For example, those working part-time – even spread across multiple employers, with

spot for her 2-year-old at an early-care center on Maui, funded by the federal Head Start program and run through Maui Family Support Services. Soon after, a rare opening for infants was offered as well. Free child care helped put Allencastre back on a path to independence. “I have aspirations, but I also couldn’t do anything until there was some stability,” she says.

breaks between jobs – would probably qualify for TDI benefits. But someone who had just returned from an extended break from the workforce, or someone just entering for the first time, would not, she says. Yet quirks in the system abound. A mishmash of jobs, such as Amy’s graduate-student job at UH Mānoa, are excluded from TDI benefits. Others deemed ineligible for TDI include domestic workers in private homes, student nurses, real estate and insurance agents, sole proprietors, people who work in the fishing industry and those who work for family members. Deborah Zysman, executive director of the Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network, says TDI is “a horrible, confusing patchwork,” with gaps in coverage and different rules for different employers. The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, for example, offers its own temporary disability insurance to union members, independent of state-approved TDI plans. “Some people in Hawai‘i get something, but many do not,” says Zysman. She says her organization often hears from people whose employers haven’t purchased TDI, as required by law, “and the employees find out when they need it.” The state Department of Labor counters that, saying most employers are compliant. But the sheer complexity of the system can lead to unexpected claim denials. Taylor C., who asked that her last name be withheld, got a denial letter in 2022, several months after her second child was born. Before the birth, she worked for a mainland loan company, but the volume of business had dropped as interest rates surged.

She ﬁnished job training with the nonproﬁt Maui Economic Opportunity, continued with her college classes and landed an internship with Maui Family Behavioral Health. That led to a full-time position, and a steady progression of better jobs. Looking back, she says supportive relationships and programs, and now public-school education and after-school A+ programs for her 7- and 9-year-olds, “got me back to a point where I wanted to be professionally.” H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

In the weeks before her delivery, her hours were cut to zero and she applied for unemployment benefits. She says she was still on the company’s health-care plan, and expected to get more work hours in the future. The company handling her TDI claim, Tristar Risk Management, denied her request. Taylor C. says she immediately appealed the decision with the Hawai‘i Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which upheld Tristar’s decision. She had not met the “current employment” requirement, and had not “performed regular service for the employer within the two weeks before the start of (the) disability period,” according to the department’s denial letter. She was also cited for collecting unemployment benefits. Taylor C. was shocked. She says she would have used vacation time in her final weeks of pregnancy if she or her employer had realized that the temporary work slowdown would make her ineligible for TDI benefits. “It felt very sneaky because I was an employee, my medical (insurance) was still there,” she says. “Who knew you would need to technically have hours in the two weeks before the birth? No one having a baby wants to deal with this stuff. It was so demoralizing.” Taylor C. says she was lucky to get four weeks of paid maternity leave from her employer, but the loss of TDI benefits hurt financially, and the entire experience felt cold and perfunctory. The TDI process even surprised Liana Hilweh, a CPA and “paperwork person” who, until recently, was managing director of HiAccounting, the accounting arm of The Hawaii Group. Once the company’s HR office notified the insurance carrier about her pregnancy, Hilweh says there’s a “transfer of responsibility. … The employer is almost no longer involved and has no control, and you have to be the one to get your benefit.” That includes getting a doctor to fill out parts of the claim. After her daughter was born in 2020, she used all of her paid time off, took unpaid leave and got her capped TDI benefits, which she had initially

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thought would be higher. When her son was born two years later, she received $3,494 for five weeks plus two days of TDI. Despite getting 12 weeks off for maternity leave, which neither federal nor state family-leave law require since the company has less than 50 employees, she says it felt like a good time to step away and try something else. She left her job to help her husband grow his remodeling and building business and to care for the family. The Hawaii Group recently hired Hilweh to coach her successor through the maternity-leave process, which includes dispelling assumptions that TDI covers the entire 12 weeks of leave or comes close to matching the mother’s salary. “If you’re the mom and you’re the breadwinner, you need to plan,” says Hilweh. “You need to understand how your family unit will work, but you can’t foresee all the things that might go differently. You might have a traumatic birth or postpartum depression, and need more time off.” She says something goes amiss for every mother. For her, it was a health scare during her first maternity leave that ended in a botched biopsy, a milk fistula that got infected, and a painful open wound – while still breastfeeding – that took three full months to heal.

HOW PAID FAMILY LEAVE WORKS

In the past legislative session, Zysman from the Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network says she felt encouraged by real interest percolating around a paid family-leave program. While the five bills introduced this past year all died, she says momentum is building as more people understand how a paid plan would work and what it would do. Zysman and a coalition of supporters that includes AARP Hawai‘i, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, Parents And Children Together and 23 other organizations envision a state insurance fund that employees would pay into via small payroll deductions,

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-L eil ani Ka ili awa

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much like unemployment insurance. Because everyone contributes, individual costs would be low – less than 1% of employees’ pay would be deducted to cover the insurance. Claims, with medical approvals, would be submitted to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. In return, employees would get a finite but substantial chunk of paid time off for a broad range of parental, medical and caretaking scenarios, such as mothers and fathers caring for infants, adoptive parents bonding with a new child, parents caring for very sick children, adult children helping aging parents recover from surgery, a spouse traveling with a partner for cancer treatments or the employee himself who is recovering from an accident. The plan would absorb Hawai‘i’s temporary disability insurance, for which 22 private insurance carriers are currently authorized to write policies. It would open eligibility to sole proprietors, gig workers and other people who hold jobs that aren’t currently considered employment under TDI rules.

Conceptually, paid family leave shifts the focus from a disability framework – a person is injured or incapacitated and incapable of working – to one of care and recovery: providing people with support through periods of critical caregiving for their family members or themselves. While the paid family-leave plan would follow models created by other states, details such as the amount of time off, the percentage of wages people will get, and whether costs would be shared by employers and employees are still in discussion. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is part of that discussion. It’s being asked to run any program created, which would require more funding and a larger staff. The department’s primary role now is to mediate TDI cases in which insurance benefits have been denied. A department spokesperson says that works out to about 6% of the approximately 800 claims filed yearly, including those unrelated to pregnancy and childbirth.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

In a written statement, Jade Butay, who assumed leadership of the department last year, says he can’t act until the Legislature decides how the program would be designed. He says he wants to ensure the design doesn’t “conflict with some of our preexisting programs, including TDI and Prepaid Health Care.” The latter requires employers to offer health-care coverage when workers get sick or injured, unrelated to their jobs. But Zysman says the challenges are surmountable and that other states have developed the software and procedures to run effective programs. And a mountain of Hawai‘i-based data was collected for a 2017 report (called the Hawaii Family Leave Insurance Grant Analysis Report), followed by a legislative analysis, that made persuasive arguments for the viability of a more robust paid-leave plan, and the desire for it among residents. For example: • 62% of Hawai‘i survey respondents said they wanted to take time off in the past to care for a baby or ailing family member; of those who wanted time off, only 80% of new parents and 65% of family caregivers did so. • 89% of respondents said they would use a paidleave benefit, if offered. • 60% had a “very favorable” view of paid leave and 34% a “somewhat favorable” view.

“EVERYBODY EVENTUALLY HAS A CAREGIVING STORY”

Lisa Kimura, a community health consultant at Kaiser Permanente, helped spearhead Hawai‘i’s first paid family-leave initiative in 2013 when she was executive director of the nonprofit Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies. The 2017 family-leave report, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, came out of that work. “This policy alone is something that is so fundamentally transformational to the health of our society,” Kimura says. “Everybody eventually has a caregiving story. And once people start to realize that this is something for everyone – this is for you, whether you’re zero or 100 years old – then it becomes meaningful and impactful.” Zysman, who now leads the initiative, oversees about 20 employees at the Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network. She says a state insurance fund would be cheaper for businesses, and points to her own nonprofit as an example. When an employee took time off last year, the nonprofit paid the entirety of her salary, as well as the contracted

help hired to fill the gap. A staterun paid-leave program would have been much less costly, she says. While small businesses are often leery of paid-leave programs, one study found perceptions change once a program is started. Two years after paid leave was introduced in New York state, a survey of small business owners, who were previously skeptical, reported higher levels of employee commitment and fewer challenges dealing with extended absences than respondents in neighboring Pennsylvania, which doesn’t have a paid-leave program. Kimura says that employers “should adapt to employees’ needs, rather than having some steel box that they must reside within. That’s not how you create happy, loyal employees and not how you build your business,” she says. “When people feel cared for as employees, they turn around and care for your organization. I found that to be true in spades.” She speaks from experience as a former nonprofit leader and also as an employee who once left a job in the hotel industry when administrators

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T he Pai d fa mi ly-l eave ph ilos op hy ta rg et s th e H E A RT of wh at it me an s to B e fa mi ly- an d co mm un it y- ce nt er ed . -Ch ris ten Zul li

is at sea Mot her of two whos e husb and

FOR OTHERS, PARENTHOOD COMES AFTER THEY’VE REACHED CERTAIN CAREER GOALS. But the frenetic pace of caring for babies while

holding demanding jobs can lead to physical and emotional burnout.

JULIE IEZZI, a professor of Asian theater at UH Mānoa, was halfway into her pregnancy when she learned she was carrying twins. She was in her early 40s, with a toddler in day care, and was mounting an

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elaborate kabuki production in the spring semester of 2004. Without tenure yet, her job was unprotected. Two weeks after the twins were born in March, she was back on campus. Her leave consisted of a month of sick time, accumulated over three years of fulltime work, and spread out before and after the birth. She then tag-teamed child care with her husband and two part-time student helpers while she directed the show. She says her entire salary, for years, went to student nannies.

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I t fe lt ve ry sn ea ky. … W ho kn ew yo u wo ul d N E E D to te ch ni ca lly have (wo rk ed ) ho ur s in th e T W O we eks be fo re h? -Taylo r C. th e bi rt Mot her of thre e who was deni ed TDI

tried to block her work-from-home plans during her third trimester. Her doctor had prescribed bed rest. But her employer wanted her off the payroll and using TDI benefits before she gave birth, which she says would have been financially disastrous. In the end, her supervisor prevailed and she was able to work from home at full pay, but she left the company not long after her baby was born for a more family-friendly environment.

A FATHER AT SEA

A huge body of research shows several months of paid time off can significantly improve a mother’s overall well-being, which leads to healthier babies. In addition, a 2024 study found that paid time off resulted in fewer infants being hospitalized for respiratory infections. Research also shows that when men stay home too, they not only bond with their children, but their partners are less anxious and depressed. Yet men are sometimes subjected to workplace cultures that downplay the role of fathers and the value of paternity leave. Christen Zulli lives near Hilo on the Hāmākua Coast with her two children, ages 7 and 5. Her husband is usually somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, where he works 90-day contracts as a marine engineer with

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Hawai‘i’s shipping companies. He’s often far from satellite communications, cut off from his family, missing holidays and birthdays. Zulli says she never expected to be parenting solo, and that she and her husband made a pact to jointly co-parent their kids. But the desperate year after her younger child was born upturned their lives and sent her husband to sea for their financial survival. Her second pregnancy was harder than the first, says Zulli. At the time, she was caring for her firstborn and coping with frequent migraines. Then medical complications arose, including a subchorionic hemorrhage and placental abruption that put her pregnancy at risk. She needed help with her toddler, who was past the 10-pound lifting limit that her doctor advised. But child-care facilities in her area weren’t taking children that young, so she hired three college students to work part-time in rotation. The financial stress and the fear of losing her unborn daughter triggered severe anxiety, which later ballooned into severe postpartum depression. Her husband, meanwhile, was working at a small robotics company in Waimea. After their second child was born, he took the company’s two weeks of paid leave and then returned to work. Zulli says she was calling him frequently, as her thoughts were spiraling into disturbing places. Her husband was given a

In faculty time logs during her twins’ early childhood, she’d clock 60 or 70 hours a week, often deep into the night, and would regularly get only two or three hours of sleep, she says. At home, she would lash out, her usually calm demeanor frayed. The experience, seared in her memory, helped her understand her working-class father in Ohio, who had two jobs and seven kids. “He was a kind, gentle man as he got older, but when we were kids, he would go off,

performance-improvement plan for “not living up to expectations and taking too many phone calls from me,” she says. Soon afterward, his boss told him to take six weeks of unpaid leave. She says the request was to get him out of the office because “they didn’t want someone with a messy family life.” He declined, saying his family couldn’t afford it, and was promptly fired. Zulli says the company’s culture “looked down upon health issues and mental health issues.” Employees were given the message that they “shouldn’t have emotions, and that they should dismiss their wife’s emotions, and that they should dismiss anything that isn’t work-related.” For an entire year, her husband searched for a professional job on Hawai‘i Island, as they tapped funds from their retirement plan and borrowed money. He finally gave up and began bidding on shipping jobs, which often depart from Honolulu on short notice. Zulli is now trying to resuscitate her life-coaching business while often parenting alone and dealing with stress-related autoimmune conditions. “The future that I had seen prior to my husband being fired is not the same future that I see now,” she says, adding that longer, more generous paternity leave would have helped her family, as well as others. “The paid family-leave philosophy targets the heart of what it means to be family- and community-centered because it’s not just about having children,” says Zulli. “It’s about everyone in the ‘ohana getting the support they deserve at the time they need it most, and that it will not result in their family losing their jobs, having to move, going bankrupt or financially injuring them for years, which essentially is what happened to my family.”

yelling and cursing,” she says. She can still picture him scrolling through the pantheon of Catholic saints, shouting elaborate curses at each one. “It was so difficult for two salaried workers,” she says of her own experience. “How do single parents survive this?” Iezzi says she hopes the state can come up with a family-leave program that better serves solo parents, as well as hourly and shift workers.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

CENTERING THE FAMILY

Ashley Lukens wants the entire family-leave system to be rebuilt, with parents and the developmental needs of children at the center. The director of the Hawai‘i Center for Food Safety and founder of a local consultancy says the postpartum period after her now 9-month-old son was born – 15 years after her daughter – was emotionally, psychologically and physically intense. And it was a reminder of the inadequacy of family leave, even in the best situations. Her employer, based in Washington, D.C., gave her eight weeks of paid leave, along with accrued paid time off and additional unpaid leave. Her husband’s employer, global consulting firm Ernst & Young, gave him 12 weeks of paid leave. She and her husband both work from home, and they’ve hired a full-time nanny at $3,800 a month. “Every day that I’m with my son, I feel this profound gratitude that I have the flexibility that I do, and also profound dismay that we expect the vast majority of families to return to work after four weeks,” Lukens says. “It is literal insanity.” She said she recently wanted to get an 8-week-old puppy but was told that many veterinarians and breeders don’t recommend separating puppies from their mothers until they’re 12 weeks old. “And yet in the United States, we expect women to go back to work after four weeks,” Lukens says. She describes herself as a “work-identified woman,” but she’s also acutely aware of the mother-baby connection and the “deep interconnectivity that helps us understand a baby’s needs before they’re verbal. And we can’t have that if we’re separated from our babies all the time. We can’t have that attunement if we’re forced to go back to work after four weeks.” She says laws and government policies have failed to provide the paid time off that parents and children need, and many private employers in the Islands, including some of the largest, offer nothing beyond vacation and sick time.

“It’s incumbent upon Hawai‘i and employers that if they don’t want the best and the brightest to leave and go to the continent, they need to start providing competitive leave.” She says her own company, with less than $1 million in revenue, gave an employee eight weeks of paid leave because “it’s the right thing to do.” She’s encouraged by Gen Zers and Millennials, her own generation, who are “fighting for the reclamation of our dignity in the workplace. You do see a recentering on different values,” says Lukens. “I think we do value rest and we value vacation. We value the ability to work from home and to center ourselves around a different story. And paid family leave is absolutely part of that.”

PAID LEAVE IS RARE IN HAWAI‘I

Before she moved to Hawai‘i eight years ago, Katelyn Shelly worked on Wall Street, where long hours are valorized. But the culture has a contradictory element: Financial companies generally provide lots of paid family leave, for both parents. Shelly, for example, got 16 weeks of paid maternity leave from J.P. Morgan after her second child was born nearly a decade ago. She says she was surprised to discover that Hawai‘i is so far behind. In fact, 73% of workers in Hawai‘i don’t get any paid leave through their jobs, according to the National Partnership for Women and Children, which calculated the percentage from recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. After Shelly was hired as COO of Chun Kerr, a small law firm in Honolulu, she helped advocate for paid leave. The partners readily agreed, she says, and in October 2022, the firm rolled out eight weeks of fully paid family leave; for longer leaves, mothers can turn to temporary disability insurance to fill any gaps in pay. Continues on page 50

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If I wa nt ed to stay ho me lo ng er , I wo ul d ba si ca lly ne ed to Q ui t my J O B , wh ic h is no t an O pt io n. -Am y

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Fir st-t ime moth er who is head ing back to work

4 Co mpa nies T hat O ff er

Fully Paid

Family Leave

BANK OF HAWAI‘I (HQ HONOLULU) • Up to 6 weeks parental leave, based on tenure, at 100% of salary • Benefit available for mothers and fathers • Paid leave may be used simultaneously with FMLA leave “This is one of our most appreciated family benefits. From a recruitment and retention standpoint, it signals to potential and existing employees that the bank is supportive before, during and after the addition of a child.” – Sharlene Ginoza-Lee, Senior EVP and Chief People Officer

BAYER HAWAII (U.S HQ PITTSBURGH) • 20 weeks of leave for “birthing parent,” at 100% of salary • 10 weeks of leave for “non-birthing parent,” at 100% of salary • Reimbursement fees: $7,500 for adoptions, $10,000 for surrogacy “Being seven months pregnant, it’s incredibly reassuring to know that Bayer truly cares about my growing family and is 100% supportive during this significant stage in my life.” – Monica Ivey Smith, Corporate Relations Lead

CHUN KERR LLP (HQ HONOLULU) • 8 weeks of parental leave at 100% of salary • Benefit available for mothers and fathers • 12 weeks total leave can be taken “Parental leave helps the firm stay competitive, knowing that we aren’t just competing with other law firms but also with larger companies. It helps us be a desired employer for young women, with an aim to build our female partner base.” – Katelyn Shelly, COO

EDWARD JONES HAWAII (U.S HQ ST. LOUIS) • 16 weeks of leave for primary caregivers, at 100% of salary • 2 weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers • Benefit available for branch administrators “The firm recognizes the importance of supporting new parents and is committed to aligning our programs with the realities of the modern family.” – Ellen Wiederanders, spokeswoman H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

So far, three mothers and two fathers at the firm have taken fully paid parental leave, and they’ve all returned to their jobs. For the men, in particular, Shelly says she tries to assure them that it’s not just a written policy but a benefit they’re expected to use. “The fathers find themselves in a position where they want to take advantage of the leave, but they’re worried about the career implications and the perception that it presents,” she says. Chun Kerr is an outlier with its paid leave policy. Only 17 of the 78 companies on Hawaii Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work 2024 list said they offered fully paid leave. Of those, only a few responded to a request for more detailed information. Some said they didn’t want to highlight their policy’s disparities, which are based on a person’s position or seniority, and one submission didn’t exceed the minimum requirements of federal law. Those companies that did respond, including Chun Kerr, are profiled in a separate sidebar, along with Bank of Hawai‘i, which was named to Newsweek’s most recent list of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families.” (The online version of this story will link to a survey to allow others to submit their paidleave information.) In a tight labor market like the current one, “employees can be more picky and selective about the companies they go with,” says Serena Puaokalani, a senior HR consultant at ProService Hawaii. “Sometimes benefits are more important than the base pay, especially if you’ve got ailing family members or you’re responsible for

young kids. They’re going to be looking at what your paid-leave benefits are.” And prospective employees can get detailed information on sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor, so they’re savvier than they were a decade ago, she says. Statistics show that the cost of replacing an employee can range from 20% to 150% of that person’s annual salary, depending on the employee’s role, industry and location, says Puaokalani. “It is not uncommon for women to leave their work because they don’t feel like they have ample time to recover or bonding time with their newborns,” she says. “Companies that offer paid leave, such as parental leave, enable employees to balance family responsibilities without jeopardizing their jobs. This benefits both employees and employers by enhancing recruitment and retention efforts.” Shelly from Chun Kerr says the firm’s paid family-leave benefit also serves a broader mission of keeping young professionals in Hawai‘i. “If you want to start a family and you’re already having a hard time making ends meet, and then your company is saying, ‘If you want to be home with your infant, you’re going to have to sacrifice your income,’ that’s asking people to leave,” says Shelly. “We want to do our part to help the local economy and keep local talent here.”

MAYA (who asked that her real name be withheld for privacy reasons) works in the financial office of a large chain hotel in Waikīkī. The company offers no paid leave for its workers. When her firstborn son was born in April, she received eight weeks of TDI benefits for a C-section delivery, at 58% of regular pay, and supplemented it with vacation and sick time. She says she’s grateful to have gotten two extra months of unpaid leave, tagged onto the three months she got through the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

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Know Your Rights FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) The federal FMLA guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for parents, including adoptive and foster parents, and people caring for themselves or family members with serious health conditions. For parents, leave must be taken within a year of birth; for people with serious health conditions, leave may be renewed each year. The law applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Employees must have worked 1,250 hours with the employer during the 12 months before they start leave. Because of these restrictions, FMLA only covers about half of U.S. workers. Pro tip: Employees’ jobs and health benefits are protected through FMLA, but a legitimate business issue, such as a branch closure, could be an exception, says Arynn Nagahiro, a labor and employment attorney with Torkildson Katz.

Maya lives with her partner’s family in Honolulu, and her mother lives on the island. Everyone is willing to pitch in and help, so she’s not alone. Her partner, who works late afternoons and nights, helps when he can. Even with the support, she says the ﬁrst months were rough and breastfeeding was difficult, with latching problems and trouble producing milk. When she turned to formula, the pointed questions started coming: “Why aren’t you breastfeeding? Why are you letting your baby drink formula?”

HAWAI‘I FAMILY LEAVE LAW (HFLL) The state HFLL says employees “may be eligible” for 4 weeks of unpaid family leave each calendar year for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition. The law applies to employers with 100 or more employees. Employees must have worked at least 6 consecutive months, either full time, part time or as temporary workers; unlike the federal FMLA, no minimum number of hours is required. Pro tip: “Employers may implement a written leave policy requiring FMLA, HFLL and other paid or unpaid leave to run concurrently where permitted, to prevent employees from stacking leaves – taking one leave after another for the same issue,” says Serena Puaokalani, a senior HR consultant at ProService Hawaii.

TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE (TDI) Hawai‘i employers are required to provide TDI benefits for their employees. Benefits for mothers generally cover about 6 weeks for vaginal births and 8 weeks for C-sections, but the first week after birth may be excluded. Payments are 58% of the claimant’s average wages; many employers don’t allow vacation/sick time to be taken at the same time as TDI benefits.

To receive benefits, employees must have worked at least 20 hours per week for at least 14 weeks in Hawai‘i; and earned at least $400 (total) in the 52 weeks preceding the first day of disability; and be in “current employment.” Be warned: Not every job is eligible. See section 392-5 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes for exclusions. Pro tip: People with work gaps are often still eligible, says Nagahiro. For example, an employee works at least 20 hours a week from January through May. They stop working from June through September. In October, they start a new job. The employee is immediately eligible for TDI as they meet the three criteria above.

HAWAI‘I ADMINISTRATIVE RULES Hawai‘i administrative rules prohibit employers from terminating a female employee because she needs to take leave for a disability due to and resulting from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. The administrative rules further require employers to allow female employees to take leave for a “reasonable period of time” as determined by the employee’s physician, taking into consideration the employee’s physical condition and the job requirements.

She was stressed all the time. “It gets to you mentally,” she says. “I wasn’t eating or drinking anything at all. I was just trying to get things done for the baby and I wasn’t taking care of myself.” The pressure to breastfeed is a huge stressor on mothers, says Rachel Ebert, a therapist specializing in maternal mental health at Nurture Mental Health, an O‘ahu-based organization. “Some people have an easy time, but others have a horrible time, and it causes a lot of mental strain.”

Pro tip: For mothers working for employers with fewer than 50 employees, FMLA’s 12-week job protection doesn’t apply. However, the Hawai‘i administrative rules do offer some protection, says Nagahiro.

PREGNANT WORKERS FAIRNESS ACT (PWFA) Federal PWFA regulations went into effect on June 18, 2024. They apply to private- and public-sector employers with 15 or more employees. Employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees with “known limitations” related to pregnancy and childbirth if those accommodations don’t cause “undue hardship.” Examples of accommodations are providing a stool to sit on, more rest breaks or a later starting time. Pro tip: The purpose of the law is to require employers to allow and enable pregnant workers to keep working, says Nagahiro. “As long as you’re willing and able to work, the employer should be making reasonable accommodations.” Be advised: Leave can be complicated and policies differ. Make sure to consult with a legal or HR expert.

She says social media elevates expectations and triggers guilt among her clients, and even herself, a mother of two. “Motherhood can be so lonely at times, so the phone can be a nice connection, but it can also easily go from ‘I’m having a good day’ to ‘Oh no, I didn’t do six minutes of tummy time with my baby. Maybe I’m a bad mom.’ ” For Maya, the longer leave, even unpaid, helped her ﬁnd more stability and conﬁdence as a new mother embarking on a completely new life. H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

IS YOUR COMPANY ONE OF THE

BEST PLACES TOIN HAWAI‘I? WORK O U R P R O G R A M I D E N T I F I E S T H O S E E M P L OY E R S W H O D O T H I N G S R I G H T BY C R E AT I N G W O R K P L A C E C U LT U R E S T H AT R E C R U I T E M P L OY E E S A N D M A K E T H E M WA N T TO S TAY. W E G I V E R ECO G N I T I O N W H E R E I T ’S D U E A N D P ROV I D E E M P L OY E R S W I T H H O N E S T A N D U S E F U L F E E D B A C K F R O M T H E I R E M P L OY E E S . R E G I S T E R YO U R B U S I N E S S AT

W W W. B E S T P L A C E S TO W O R K H AWA I I . C O M T H E D E A D L I N E TO R E G I S T E R I S O C TO B E R 1 8 T H

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Clarice Casamina: Leading with heart and vision, inspiring change, and making a difference with every step she takes. At House of Finance, Inc., we transform the home-buying experience into a warm, family-centered journey, celebrating over 25 years of guiding dreams with unparalleled expertise and personal touch.

1001 Bishop Street, Suite 2650 Honolulu, HI 96813 www.wsghi.com

Richard D. Pecson Managing Partner Phone: (808) 548-5711 | Fax: (808) 548-5710 Email: Richard.Pecson@CFNmail.com H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

RS PRO A E Y 50

U D LY S E R V I N G H A W

Since 1974, Cutter Ford has been a proud employer and local business serving Hawaii’s community. We are now honored to support Hawaii’s women leaders whose achievements, personal determination and heart inspire us to work together for the future of our islands.

Mahalo, Hawaii, for 50 amazing years!

HEATHER CUTTER President, Cutter Management Co.

CUTTERFORD.COM 54

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AII

BY RYANN N OE L A N I C OU L E S A N D K AT H RY N D R U RY WAG N E R

DAUGHTERS WHO

STEPPED IN

THE

FA M I LY

BUSINESS P H OTO GR A P H Y A A R ON YOS H I N O

E AC H YE A R , H AWA I I B U S I N E S S M AG A ZI N E PRO FI LE S LO CA L “ WO M E N O F I N FLU E N C E .” TH I S YE A R WE FO C U S O N FIVE WO M E N WH O N OW PL AY LE A D I N G RO LE S I N TH E I R FA M I LY B U S I N E S S E S

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

SUN NOODLE

HISAE

UKI

SHE LEARNED ALMOST EVERY PART O F T H E FA M I LY B U S I N E S S W H I L E HELPING IT TO GROW INTO AN INTE RNATIONAL B R AN D

isae Uki didn’t envision herself going into the family business. “I majored in psychology. I’ve always been interested in human behavior,” she says. After graduating from the University of Puget Sound, she moved back to O‘ahu and thought she might continue studying psychology at graduate school. While sorting out her plans, she started working at the office of Sun Noodle, her family’s noodle manufacturing company. “I was just kind of learning the very basics, like how to take orders, customer service, and then also helping my mom with the payroll and some basics of HR,” she says. Uki discovered she enjoyed working there. “This is also a time where the ramen boom was really picking up in the mainland, especially in New York, and the company was growing. And so, I’m thinking in the back of my mind, it’ll be a waste or a lost opportunity if I didn’t kind of stick around to see how I can be a part in helping grow the company.”

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Her father, Hidehito Uki, founded Sun Noodle in 1981, right after moving to O‘ahu from Japan at age 19. He then met her future mother, Keiko, and she became both his wife and business partner. They have three children: Jamie, Hisae and Kenshiro. “So my childhood, that’s when our parents are still grinding every day, trying to really build this business. My brother and I spent our Saturdays, sometimes Sundays, our summer break, our Christmas break at the factory. The driveway was like our playground; we would bring our bicycles or rollerblades, bring books. And then, if we were allowed to, we would help out sometimes in the packaging area. So our childhood was spent a lot with our original employees here.” Sun Noodle makes many kinds of noodles, with ramen as their specialty. “I believe we have 200 different types of noodles. And that’s because we can (count) ramen as one category, but there would be different subcategories of ramen,” says Uki. The company also sells yakisoba, saimin, chow fun, udon, chow mein,

traditional Japanese soba and Okinawa soba, as well as gyoza and wonton wrappers. Over the years, the company has expanded to California, New Jersey and, most recently, the Netherlands. Uki’s brother, Kenshiro, is one year younger. Unlike her, she says, “he knew from the very beginning that he wanted to be in the business.” While she was working at Sun Noodle’s Hawai‘i headquarters, he was learning the ropes at their California factory, then their New Jersey facility. Uki herself spent a decade at the California factory before moving back to Hawai‘i in January 2023. Since becoming an official employee in 2007, she’s worked in administration, HR, food safety and quality assurance, and marketing. “My current job title is VP of business operations, but I feel like my job title changes all the time,” says Uki.

PHOTO COURTESY: HISAE UKI

HISAE UKI AND HER YOUNGER BROTHER, KENSHIRO, SPENT WEEKENDS AND BREAKS AT THE FACTORY, SOMETIMES HELPING IN THE PACKAGING AREA.

“I’m kind of in accounting and finance, and at the same time operations overall. So some people call me the jack-of-all-trades, or as I like to say, the jade-of-all-trades.” Although she oversees Sun Noodle’s operations in Hawai‘i, Uki says her “parents are still here running the day-to-day a lot.” And while she admits working with family can be difficult to navigate at times, she says they put in the effort to maintain healthy relationships with one another. “My favorite part about working in the family business

is, honestly, my family. You know, we hear these horror stories where families don’t talk because of whatever happened in the business. When my brother and I were getting involved in our mid-to-late 20s, we had to figure out how to communicate. We’re both pretty receptive to how to be better every day.” But it’s not just the Uki family’s hard work that’s brought Sun Noodle success. She says the company’s workers deserve a fair share of the credit.

“When we were kids, my parents used to tell us all the time we have to be grateful for the employees that work for us, you know, because we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. The joy that I really like about the family business is being able to know that they are all part of the family as well.” – Ryann Noelani Coules

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

hen Candice Sombrero Ishikawa was 3, she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called immune thrombocytopenia. It occurs when a person’s immune system produces antibodies that attack platelets, preventing their blood from clotting. “My parents first noticed that it was similar to hemophilia, where if you hit yourself, you would just bruise internally forever. Or if I had a cut, it would not stop bleeding. Even when I would cry, they said blood would come out of my eyes and it was the scariest thing in the world,” Ishikawa says. Her family moved from Guam to Hawai‘i so she could get treatment and later lifesaving surgery from a doctor here who specialized in rare blood disorders. Her health is no longer compromised, but the experience shaped her character.

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A DV E R S I T Y E A R LY I N L I F E HELPED PREPARE HER FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THE BUSINESS WORLD

CANDICE

I S H I K AWA

SOMBRERO ALOHA BEER

“I think that instilled in me this intense, fervent need to be independent and competent, and to show others that I can thrive on my own. And it’s come full circle, because I feel like I use that drive to make my family’s business succeed.” The family business is Aloha Beer, which her father, Steve Sombrero, founded in 2010. Located on Queen Street in Kaka‘ako, Aloha Beer produces local craft beers that you can enjoy at their brewpub and local restaurants or buy from stores. Before she joined the family business she was on the mainland, running a business that she and her husband, Yusuke, launched in 2012. That business, Skoshbox, which offered subscription boxes packed with Japanese snacks, was acquired by another company. “As part of the acquisition, we had to stay on with that company for two years to help them transition everything,” says Ishikawa. When that commitment ended, she and her husband moved

to Hawai‘i; they joined the family business in 2018. She is head of marketing at Aloha Beer and Yusuke is head of operations and finance. Her father is still involved in the company, but he’s also the owner of Cushman & Wakefield ChaneyBrooks, a commercial real estate and property management organization, and “far more involved in real estate,” she says. And while he continues to provide vision and assistance on leases, capital and “all the big stuff,” the Ishikawas do things their way. “He really allows us to run every aspect of the business, and he trusts us. There’s no micromanaging. It’s nice,” Ishikawa says. When the couple first ran Skoshbox together, they fought a lot. “But I think after 14 years, we trust each other, we know the objectives, the mission, and I feel like we work really well together,” Ishikawa says. “It’s definitely not for everyone, but I think we make it work.”

As head of marketing, Ishikawa leads on branding and collaborations. “One of the things I love most about my job is doing the collaborations” with retailers, restaurants and everyone from airlines to video game companies. A video game called Like a Dragon recently launched a Hawai‘i version that features an interactive map depicting real-life local businesses like ABC Stores and the Moana Surfrider hotel, and players can see Aloha Beer cans in the game. And for their part, Aloha Beer created a special edition Like a Dragon-inspired beer that customers can buy in real life. She says that was an especially cool collaboration since she often played video games as a child. “As a kid, I never dreamt that I would be running my family’s beer business, of all things. But I’m here now, and I love what I do.” – Ryann Noelani Coules

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

RESILIENCE IS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE IN BOTH HER PERSONAL LIFE AND HER FA M I LY ’ S B U S I N E S S

ALLISON

“ B O”

TANAKA TA N A K A O F TO K YO R E S TAU R A N T S

here’s a Japanese proverb Bo Tanaka lives by: “Nana korobi, ya oki!” It means “Fall down seven times, get up eight!” For Tanaka, the mantra encourages fortitude when faced with adversity, and unwavering determination to rise above challenges. “In my late teens, I had my first experience with an abusive relationship. When people think about abusive relationships, they mostly think about the physical abuse, but the emotional and psychological abuse can also be insidious and leave invisible scars on your self-worth and mental health for years, destroying your confidence and holding you back from going after what you want and deserve in life,” says Tanaka. She says she was lucky to have a loving family and strong support system that helped her escape that abusive relationship. Afterward, Tanaka felt compelled to “get rid of the stigma of speaking up and help others in the same situation.” A few years later, she competed in and won the 2012 Miss Hawaii United States pageant, which gave

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her a platform to advocate against domestic violence and highlight mental health awareness. “I’m definitely not a pageant girl and I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. At the time though, it was a really empowering experience being able to speak up about things I had kept to myself for a long time and help others going through something similar,” says Tanaka. “I was definitely outside my comfort zone, but that is the only place where real growth and personal development happens.” She also credits working at Tanaka of Tokyo Restaurants – which her father founded in 1978 – for giving her a sense of purpose and drive. She started as an hourly employee at 18 and worked her way up to her current role as VP and CFO – or “Fuku Shacho,” as she’s called at work. “I’ve worked every position: front, busser, server, cashier, bartender, dishwasher, kitchen helper, and cooked teppan during Covid takeout. I also worked in the office as an executive assistant and bookkeeper. I got my

MBA in 2015 while working and joined the management team immediately after. I worked as an assistant manager, manager, AGM, GM, corporate GM and eventually VP.” She says the restaurant industry is a tough business – and became harder during the pandemic, especially for Tanaka of Tokyo, whose big draw is teppanyaki, where chefs cook at the tables while cracking jokes and performing impressive tricks. It was challenging to adapt to takeout-only, and then socially distanced dining when in-person gatherings resumed, but she says the business not only survived but emerged stronger. “We’ve had a great past few years” thanks to trying new things and being creative about attracting customers, she says.

Historically, she says, Japanese tourists have been a big part of Tanaka of Tokyo’s customer base, but the pandemic reduced that flow. “It’s still not quite recovered, so figuring out how to adapt our marketing strategy to bring in more domestic and local visitors is where we focused our efforts, and it actually really paid off,” says Tanaka. The Daruma doll represents the proverb “fall down seven

PHOTOS COURTESY: ALLISON TANAKA

WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG, BO TANAKA SAYS HER FATHER ENCOURAGED HER TO PURSUE A DIFFERENT CAREER BECAUSE THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS IS A “TOUGH INDUSTRY” WITH “A LOT OF LATE NIGHTS.” THAT DIDN’T DISSUADE HER. “FROM THE FIRST SECOND THAT I WORKED IN THE RESTAURANTS, I WAS HOOKED. I LOVED THE EXCITEMENT,” SHE SAYS.

times, get up eight.” It’s designed to bounce back upright after being knocked down. “I think it is the perfect symbol for our company and our people. The challenges thrown at myself and the company have definitely

shaped us to be determined fighters, to strategize, to change and adapt, to have a deep sense of humility and gratitude, and to not take anything for granted.” – Ryann Noelani Coules

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

hough she grew up on O‘ahu in a prominent family known for its auto dealerships, Heather Cutter had another career in mind: She planned to become a judge. In pursuit of that path, she graduated from California Western School of Law and went to work as an attorney at the Superior Court of California in San Diego. In 2011, she gave birth to her daughter on what happened to be the birthday of her father, Nick Cutter. “He called from Hawai‘i and said he was going to come visit as soon as he could, but that I should really start thinking about moving back to the Islands to raise her with my family.” Heather Cutter took the birth date as a sign. “My daughter is actually the key factor on how I became a daughter who stepped up,” she says. Cutter and her husband, also an attorney, moved from San Diego to Hawai‘i, where she dove

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CUTTER MANAGEMENT

H E LPING TO BU ILD “A PATH FORWARD, FOR MY DAUGHTER AND FOR THE FUTURE OF EVE RYONE IN HAWAI ‘I”

HEATHER

CUTTER into her role at Cutter Management. She represents the third generation of Cutter leadership at the company, which was founded by her grandfather, Gerald Cutter, now 96, and grew exponentially under her father. Her two uncles are also in the business. Cutter Ford, which opened in ‘Aiea in 1974, was the family’s first Hawai‘i dealership; Cutter currently represents nine brands at multiple locations around O‘ahu: Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat and Mazda. As president, Heather Cutter oversees 300 employees in sales, service, parts, accounting and other departments. “Every day has new challenges,” she says, “but no two days are the same.” She says she relishes “being an employer in the state of Hawai‘i and providing opportunities for people to be able to live in paradise. That seems to be getting harder and harder. I hope our companies and other local companies like ours that have been

here for years don’t get pushed out and can stay and support our community. That’s important to me – that there’s a path forward, for my daughter and for the future of everyone in Hawai‘i.” Guiding a family business is rewarding, she says, because “you get a sense of pride and accomplishment that I don’t think would necessarily exist in corporate America. I’m grateful that I have that opportunity to make my family proud. Of course, this also goes with the challenge that when you do make a mistake, then it’s also those people who you’re disappointing. That can be a double-edged sword – it’s more than just a job.” Separating work from their personal lives is key to the family’s success, Cutter says. “We talk about business when it’s the time and place, such as at board meetings and business lunches, but at family barbecues or when we’re watching my daughter’s volleyball games, it’s all about being

present in the moment and being a family. That happened organically but I’m glad it did; it’s better not to be consumed.” Cutter is on the board of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and is a member of YPO, formerly known as the Young Presidents’ Organization. “I’ve never seen gender as a barrier for me, whether it was when I was an attorney and all the partners that were at my firm were male,” she says, or when she’s sitting on the board of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, meeting with manufacturers, or leading her family business. “I’m often the only female in the room. I haven’t taken that as a disadvantage. I think it forces me to strive, to push and to lead by example.” – Kathryn Drury Wagner

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

CLARICE

CASAMINA HOUSE OF FINANCE

“C

lients are trusting me with the biggest financial decision of their life,” says Clarice Casamina, VP at House of Finance, a mortgage lending business that helps local families become homeowners. “We’re sitting with you the whole time during what traditionally is a very stressful experience. We try to take on as much as possible to alleviate some of that,” she says. Team members who make themselves available to clients outside of normal business hours are a big part of that. “This is not a 9-to-5 industry,” she says. For people who work all day and are buying a house, the really challenging questions arise when they’re lying in bed next to their spouses, stressed out about the monthly payments they’re about to take on, she explains. “And the last thing I want you to do is say, ‘Oh, it’s past Clarice’s working hours.’ So if it’s 11 p.m., and you’re tossing and turning or you’re losing sleep over this, I’m your resource.”

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C O N T I N U I N G A FA M I LY LEGACY OF HELPING CLIENTS BUY THEIR OWN HOMES

Casamina was in elementary school when her parents, Roland and Evelyn Casamina, founded House of Finance in a tiny office in Kalihi in 1995. “We grew up with this company being our fifth sibling,” says Casamina, who has two younger sisters and an older half-brother, who is House of Finance’s COO. Casamina says they all spent a decent chunk of their childhood hanging out or helping at the office. “I remember being 9 years old and answering the phone, like ‘House of Finance, can you please hold?’ ” she says. “I reflected about it with my dad now. I was like, ‘Dad, there’s child labor laws.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, I wanted you guys to be able to have soft skills. I needed you to learn soft skills of communicating, appropriately speaking, properly speaking professionally, and there’s no other way you’re going to do it other than by doing it.’ ” Learning those soft skills early allowed her to focus on mastering the hard skills as an adult, she says.

“I started from the beginning of the process, I worked the receptionist desk, I worked the processor desk, I worked the underwriter role for a long time before I filled the loan officer role, one, because my dad was adamant that we truly understand the nature of the business, and two, I couldn’t make a recommendation on how to implement any type of efficiency until I understood the entire process.” Casamina says the company culture at House of Finance is unlike that of similar businesses. She recalls one time when a client asked if he had to take his shoes off because he saw an employee not wearing any. “I laughed about it, because we’re not the typical bank. We’re not all in these tight suits and everyone’s expected to be perfectly dapper,” she says. Instead, their focus is helping people through unfamiliar processes. “Our jobs are collecting paperwork that people have never seen in their life and looks

PHOTO COURTESY: CLARICE CASAMINA

CLARICE CASAMINA NOW HAS AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER – CASAMINA’S AGE WHEN HER PARENTS STARTED HOUSE OF FINANCE. “IT’S TOTALLY COME FULL CIRCLE,” SHE SAYS.

complicated to them (with) terms they’ve never heard of. This is the place that’s going to help you own a home and understand the 30-year obligation that you’re putting yourself through,” she says. “We get dirty, we roll our sleeves up and take our shoes off. So, if it means that we’re going barefoot downstairs when you’re running from the Xerox machine to the clients’ folders to talking on the phone, whatever is going to make it easier on my staff. Absolutely. But it made me laugh, because he’s like, ‘Is this a no-shoe policy bank?’ Just make yourself comfortable, right?” – Ryann Noelani Coules

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

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BY MA R I A TOR R E S - K I TA MU R A ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES

The Hawai‘i chapter of Women Corporate Directors brings together female members of local corporate boards and helps prepare strong candidates for those posts

Supporting Women Leaders

HE LATEST FIGURES FROM THE 50/50 WOMEN ON BOARDS GENDER DIVERSITY INDEX SHOW THAT WOMEN COMPRISE ONLY 29% OF BOARD SEATS ON COMPANIES IN THE RUSSELL 3000 INDEX, which represents 97%

of the public equity market. The percentage of women on corporate boards continues to increase, but the rate of growth has slowed in recent years, says Jennifer Reynolds, CEO of the global nonprofit Women Corporate Directors. “As much as we’ve been talking about this for decades, we have to continue talking about it

because we’re not where we should be,” she says. WCD is the world’s largest network of female corporate board directors, with more than 2,500 members serving on more than 8,500 public and private boards around the globe. Its Hawai‘i chapter was launched 10 years ago to help support local women who serve on corporate boards and those who are strong candidates for board membership. Barbara Tanabe, who has served on the boards of many organizations, including Bank of Hawai‘i and the East-West Center, was the key driver in the founding of the local chapter.

She emphasizes that placing women on boards requires a group effort, and not just from women. “We can’t be the sole voice. We need everyone to participate,” Tanabe says. Part of that is inviting male speakers – who can help spread the word about local candidates – to WCD Hawaii events. “When they see the level of experience and achievements of the participants, most of them are quite impressed,” she says. “They realize that there is a cadre of groups in Hawai‘i with the experience, knowledge and desire to fulfill directorships on various boards.” H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

PHOTO: TRISH MENNELL, COURTESY JENNIFER REYNOLDS

Chapter meeting topics have evolved over the years, says Catherine Ngo, chair of Central Pacific Financial Corp., the parent of Central Pacific Bank. Ngo noted that earlier topics centered on board governance-related topics, such as the importance of board member independence and compensation committee responsibilities. Now they have broadened into discussions about hot topics such as artificial intelligence and cybercrime. Ngo joined the chapter in 2015. As Central Pacific Bank’s new CEO and a member of a public company board, she was looking for mentorship and support from other women who had reached the top of their careers, as well as camaraderie. Now a member of the chapter’s executive committee, she credits Tanabe as a trailblazer. “In the same way that she paved the way for us, it’s time now for us to step up to do the same,” she says. That means strengthening the pipeline for future female board members. In the last 10 years, the share of WCD Hawaii members who are 40 or younger has increased from 20% to 35%, says Ngo. “Our Hawai‘i chapter has been very intentional about using our meetings to provide more networking opportunities and advice to our younger women attendees on setting a path to an eventual board seat.”

EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY

That same focus has led to greater flexibility in the criteria for inviting new members in health care and nonprofit organizations, she says. “We may invite a woman who currently is not sitting on a corporate board, but whom we believe has strong potential to be appointed a seat down the road,” she says, adding that women on the rise in their careers are not only strong board candidates themselves, they can also influence the advancement of other women within their organizations. 68

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WCD Hawaii has shared its influence with other chapters as well. Last year, guests from WCD Japan attended a luncheon meeting of the local chapter, where they discussed the challenges they faced in advancing board membership for women. In response, WCD Hawaii members shared how they go about it: “We told them that we actively engage not just with our women leaders, but also our male leaders, so that we have a broad group of leaders here keeping women’s interests top of mind,” Ngo says. Reynolds notes that several studies have proven the business case for board gender diversity. For example, a 2021 Harvard Law School Forum that addressed diversity in Fortune 500 boards cited a McKinsey & Co. report that says companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to deliver above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile. Additionally, ISS Corporate Solutions’ research shows that, in areas at the forefront of growth in a post-pandemic economy – corporate sustainability, socially responsible investing, government, sales, marketing and technology in the workplace – women have more skills and experience than white men, who are a dominant presence on American boards. Reynolds says that, in the face of rapidly evolving technological, environmental and social issues, the case for diversity should be clear. “These are very challenging things, affecting the way we work, what companies survive and fail,” she says. “... If you think about it that way, you need diversity.” At least one regulator agrees. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved listing rules requiring board diversity to be included in annual disclosures starting in 2022. Nasdaq-listed companies

JENNIFER REYNOLDS IS CEO OF THE GLOBAL NONPROFIT WOMEN CORPORATE DIRECTORS, WHICH WORKS TO INCREASE REPRESENTATION ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BOARDS.

must have at least one diverse director by 2023, and two diverse directors – at least one woman and at least one member of an underrepresented community – by 2025. If a company doesn’t meet that requirement, it has to explain why. Potential penalties include delisting the company after a grace period of 180 days of noncompliance, or the company’s next annual meeting, whichever is later.

INCLUSIVITY AND COMMUNITY IMPACT

Reynolds says that companies need to take diversity and inclusion on their boards at least as seriously as they take their stakeholders, and that while political pushback might have cooled public rhetoric around diversity, companies are still doing the work. “The community wants companies to show representation from them. Employees want to see that. Companies can’t really ignore this,” she says.

PHOTO: DANA EDMUNDS, COURTESY BARBARA TANABE

ENRICHED CONVERSATIONS

WCD maintains a database of board-ready female candidates as a resource for boards and circulates board seat openings to its members. Member benefits include continuing education on board governance; networking events; and mentoring programs like BoardNext, which prepares a new generation of board-ready leaders through training and by introducing them to CEOs, board directors and chairs of nominating committees. Reynolds says chapters in Minnesota, Florida and other states have successfully launched initiatives to advance women of color. She notes that these programs have had an overflow of qualified candidates from the start. “We’ve had multiple cohorts in those chapters go through, and many of them are getting on boards,” she says. Once women are recruited, the real work of inclusion begins, says Reynolds. “It’s not just ticking a box to say, ‘I’ve got three; that’s enough, that’s all we have to do.’ That concerns me. The question then becomes, ‘Were you really thinking about changing the

COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE BARBARA TANABE FOUNDED THE HAWAI‘I CHAPTER OF WCD, AND HAS HELPED GET MEN INVOLVED IN ADVOCATING FOR FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON LOCAL BOARDS.

dialogue? Did you really want to benefit from these new voices?’ ” As a longtime member of several corporate and nonprofit boards, Tanabe was originally drawn to the idea of board gender diversity after attending a WCD event in Singapore. She saw a supportive, enthusiastic community of high-achieving women in competitive industries sharing ideas, and envisioned the same for Hawai‘i. “We tend to become insular if we only look at ourselves and our peers,” she says. “We really need to be able to look outside, try to figure out how we can use the best practices, and adapt it to our style.” After learning that she needed a minimum of 12 members to form a chapter, she launched her campaign to gauge interest from the local business community in January 2013. WCD was supportive of the idea and the Hawai‘i chapter formally launched in October 2014. But to get there, Tanabe had to overcome some challenges. WCD requires that its members represent companies with annual revenues of at least $100 million, which is difficult because it limits the state’s candidate pool. “The minimum revenue requirement was the biggest hurdle. This caused many potential members to decline,” says Tanabe. But she had support from international business icons and WCD leaders with Hawai‘i ties. One was Merle Aiko Okawara, a former Hawai‘i resident and chair of JC Foods, the first woman-owned company to be publicly traded in Japan. The other was Phyllis Campbell, former chair of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. operations in the Pacific Northwest. Okawara founded the WCD chapter in Japan, and Campbell, who traces her family roots to Maui, did the same in Seattle. Campbell also later served as vice chair for WCD Asia and Hawaii. Tanabe credits Okawara for coming up with the idea for the chapter and Campbell for help-

ing her establish it. But Campbell downplays her and Okawara’s roles. “Merle and I were just accessories. I was simply an advocate saying, ‘I think it’s a good time for this.’ ” Campbell noted that other WCD leaders shared the vision of the Hawai‘i chapter as a bridge between members in Asia and the U.S. mainland, but it was up to Tanabe to make the case to leaders of the global WCD organization. Tanabe justified easing the minimum revenue requirement for Hawai‘i due to its smaller economy – with a GDP of just over $100 billion, it’s less than 1% the size of the Los Angeles metro economy. WCD eventually agreed, allowing the state’s leading companies to be invited even if they fell short of the $100 million revenue requirement. And while not every qualified business was able to join, that decision helped Tanabe to gather the 12 founding members needed for the first phase: creating the chapter. (See sidebar for the founding members.)

GROWTH AND EVOLUTION

To further grow the chapter in 2019, Tanabe petitioned for nominees from private, multi-generational, family-owned companies to have membership dues waived on a case-by-case basis. “She knew that these businesses are really the heart of Hawai‘i,” says Campbell. “She really went to bat for them, and she was spot on.” As of 2024, this waiver has helped to expand the chapter to 26 members. This year, as a benefit to all members, Tanabe received approval to halve their annual dues, regardless of revenue. Tanabe explains that annual fees had been split between the chapter and the global organization to cover expenses. Key member benefits included two live monthly sessions: WCDirect, covering investor engagement topics, and Peer H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

PHOTO: AARON YOSHINO

Exchange. Unfortunately, they were scheduled at times convenient for East Coast members – typically before dawn in Hawai‘i. “I had lobbied for years for WCD to give Hawai‘i a discount, since we were unable to receive the full benefit of WCD membership. This past year, they finally agreed – our dues are 50% of national,” she says. “Along with the discount – annual fees are now $400 instead of $800.” Tanabe says the chapter’s growth reflects reality: Hawai‘i now has more women on public and private boards than it did even in the recent past. Today, “there’s a heightened awareness that women will raise questions that cause the board and the company to look at issues in ways that align with business objectives,” she says. Campbell says inclusivity and community-mindedness have been part of WCD Hawaii’s makeup since its founding. As the featured speakers for the chapter’s launch, she and Okawara say they were impressed that half of the business and community leaders in the audience were men. “That was very different from most WCD chapter meetings at the time,” she says. “Barbara saw that the men of Hawai‘i would play a key role in helping make all these connections and growing the influence of WCD Hawaii. That’s something a lot of chapters have now copied.” Campbell says WCD Hawaii has an opportunity in the next 10 years to help diversify the state’s economy by helping out-of-state investors understand the importance of building relationships and honoring Hawai‘i’s culture. Any one of WCD Hawaii’s members “would be fantastic advisors, mentors or peers to foster that understanding and help open the door for new businesses to thrive and grow in Hawai‘i,” she notes.

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CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK CHAIR CATHERINE NGO JOINED WCD HAWAII IN 2015; IN THE PAST DECADE, SHE HAS SEEN THE NUMBER OF UNDER-40 MEMBERS GROW SIGNIFICANTLY.

WCD HAWAII’S FOUNDING MEMBERS 1. Connie Lau, then president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries

7. Fain McDaniel, then partner at audit firm KPMG

2. Louise Ing, then-president of the Hawaii State Bar Association and VP of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, now a partner at the international law firm Dentons

8. Alicia Moy, president and CEO of Hawai‘i Gas

3. Donna Tanoue, Bank of Hawai‘i board vice chair and former board member of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

10. Debbie Berger, then-board chair of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation

4. Shirley Daniel, director, Pacific Asian Management Institute 5. Mary Bitterman, president of the Osher Foundation 6. Virginia Pressler, then-executive vice president and chief strategic officer, Hawai‘i Pacific Health

9. Jen Chahanovich, then CEO of Pali Momi Medical Center, now president and CEO of Wilcox Health

11. Terri Fujii, then managing partner at Ernst & Young LLP 12. Michele Saito, then president and CEO of DTRIC Insurance Group

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WA I K I K I ’ S O N LY A L L OCEAN VIEW HOTEL OFFERING OCEAN VIEW AND OCEANFRONT ROOMS AND SUITES

P ro u d s p o n s o r o f H a w a i i B u s i n ess M a g a z i n e’s Wah i n e Fo r u m

P R I N C E W A I K I K I .C O M

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BY S H E L BY MAT TOS

Homeschooling in Hawai‘i The reasons for homeschooling vary with each family, but a recurring theme is the ability of parents to direct their children’s education and tailor it to their kids’ wants and needs

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PHOTOGRA PHY AARO N YO SHI NO

ANDREW AND JOY ANNA HIGASHI AND THEIR TWO OLDER BROTHERS HAVE BEEN HOMESCHOOLED FOR ALL THEIR STUDENT YEARS. FOR THE HIGASHI FAMILY, HOMESCHOOLING HAS BROUGHT THE FAMILY CLOSE TOGETHER AND ALLOWED EACH SIBLING TO DEVELOP A STRONG SENSE OF SELF.

ine years ago, stay-at-home mother Mio Chee was running out of education options for her two sons, then in the third and seventh grade. The younger son had a bad experience with a teacher, and Chee pulled both from the small private school they attended. Because of the issues then faced by her younger son, Chee believed the same problems would arise if they simply enrolled in another private or public school. She believes homeschooling was her only choice despite her biggest concern: English is her second language. “The second biggest concern was just not knowing where to start, what to do, what to expect, because

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it’s not like we’re excited to homeschool,” Chee says. “We actually did homeschool out of necessity, so we learned as we went.” But homeschooling wasn’t as hard as she imagined. “We met the right people, the right time, the right kind of support and at the end, everything just worked out.”

FORMS ARE REQUIRED Parents who want to homeschool their children in Hawai‘i must submit state Department of Education Form 4140, called “Exceptions for Compulsory Education.” On the form, parents provide information about the student and are required to select one of four “exceptions” to explain why they

are choosing homeschooling. Those exceptions are for disabilities (a doctor’s note is required), employment (only applies after age 15), alternative education or pursuant to a Family Court order. The DOE says in the 2022-23 school year, it received about 4,700 forms signaling parents’ intent to homeschool. But the DOE says it does not know how many children were actually homeschooled. There are no education requirements or standardization for homeschool academics. However, parents are required to submit an annual report to the DOE that shows how their child is progressing. And Hawai‘i administrative rules require that each homeschooled student complete a standardized test in third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades.

DOE Educational Specialist Sara Alimoot says, “Homeschooling is a parent-initiated education alternative, so when a parent chooses to homeschool their children, they’re taking on full educational responsibilities.” Those responsibilities include socialization, curriculum, athletics and extracurriculars. The federal DOE’s National Center for Education Statistics most recent figures show that in 2019, 2.8% of American children ages 5 to 17 were homeschooled – an estimated 1.5 million students. But the National Home Education Research Institute, a nonprofit that supports homeschooling families, reports a much higher rate for the 2021-22 school year: about 3.1 million homeschooled students in grades K-12 – roughly 6% of schoolage children.

ADVOCATE FOR HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES Peter Kamakawiwoole, director of litigation for the Home School Legal Defense Association, a Christian nonprofit based in Virginia, was homeschooled while growing up in Hawai‘i. He says he now helps families all over the nation with legal issues they encounter while switching to homeschooling. When Kamakawiwoole was about to enter kindergarten, his mother left her teaching job to homeschool him and then went on to homeschool his siblings. “Homeschooling is first and foremost family- and parent-directed,” he says. “What that means is it will look differently based on what the family wants it to look like.” While some families follow the homeschooling stereotype of being locked up at home all the time, poring over books, that’s not common, especially in Hawai‘i, Kamakawiwoole says. “It’s hard to stay inside when you live in some place like Hawai‘i,” he says. “The local culture is very communal. Everybody is Uncle and Auntie, everybody’s outside.”

He says another invalid stereotype is that homeschool families are antisocial and poor communicators. Maile Higashi is a homeschool mother of four children and the District 1 regional director for the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. She also oversees Hawai‘i’s Christian Speech and Debate League – a group open to all students, not just Christians and homeschoolers. Higashi says she originally had no plans to homeschool: The idea sprang from the successful homeschooling of her husband’s cousin. When raising their first child, Higashi and her husband decided to see if it would work for them too – and have since gone on to homeschool all of their children. Because she teaches them one on one, she says, her children can develop their interests and personalities early on. “My 16-year-old is passionate about flying, so he is currently working on his pilot’s license and flight school,” she says. “Who knew that at 16, 17 he could become a private pilot?”

NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL The reasons for homeschooling vary from family to family. Chee, the mother who pulled her two sons out of a Honolulu private school, was concerned that her background was different from her sons’. Originally from Japan, she learned in ways that aren’t taught in Hawai‘i. For example, she says that she was taught math with the metric system and wasn’t taught English in a classroom setting, so she never learned phonics. However, she found that locating teaching material for her sons wasn’t difficult. “That was the biggest issue or concern for me, but at the same time I knew that they had a lot of resources,” Chee says. “We are fortunate enough to be able to hire tutors for the subjects that they really needed help with.”

Because of her sons’ five-year age difference, Chee used different methods for each, as well as an online program that followed the same curriculum as some private schools. She used both online programs and traditional sit-down learning with her younger son, Micah, who was still learning fundamental skills. “My main goal was to teach him how to read and write so that he can be a little more self-directed and if he wants to, he could attend school later on,” Chee says. “I was spending more time with Micah and making sure that he was able to get all the help he needed.” She says she didn’t need as much help with her older son, Dyson, who had attended conventional schooling longer. Instead, she outsourced his learning to “high-level intellectual experts” who were able to explain the nuances and niches that he was interested in. She says her biggest contribution to Dyson’s homeschooling was connecting him to local experts, driving him to the right opportunities and helping him make friends. Like other parents, Chee found it easy to connect with other homeschool families through social media. She joined Facebook groups and coordinated with other families to plan gatherings and grow friendships. “It was pretty easy. There are always opportunities,” she says. However, because the other families live elsewhere on O‘ahu, “there’s always driving and planning involved.”

SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT GROUPS Those same Facebook groups also served as a guide for Chee when she started homeschooling. She says that seasoned parents had a lot to share – she could just type a question and other parents would answer. “There’s so many people who are happy to share and support, so that was really enticing for me,” she says. “I didn’t have to spend hours Googling trying to find answers. So that really made it easy and I felt a sense of support in the community.”

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HOMESCHOOLING ALLOWED AN EASY EDUCATIONAL TRANSITION AS THE HIGASHI FAMILY MOVED FROM SEATTLE BACK TO HAWAIʻ ‘ I TO BE CLOSER TO FAMILY.

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“

Homeschooling really worked for us. I really don’t know where our kids would (otherwise) be. Their life would be very different if homeschooling was not a choice .

”

M IO CHEE , H O M ESCH O O L M OT H ER O F T WO SO N S Dyson stuck with homeschooling until he graduated from high school, but after three years Micah enrolled in a charter school so he could see his classmates and friends daily. But without homeschooling, Chee says, “I really don’t know where our kids would be. Their life would be very different.” Dyson Chee graduated from UH Mānoa in 2023 and Micah Chee graduated from high school in May and is now attending Kapi‘olani Community College. “I know that most people – like 99.9% of the homeschooling families that we’ve met through Facebook and also in person – they are very happy,” she says. “The key is parents know what works for their kids, and also always trying to listen to what the kids want and need and try to cater to their needs.”

VOUCHERS AND EDUCATION ALTERNATIVE Sixteen mainland states provide school vouchers – money that parents can use to help pay for private or religious schools or homeschooling.

Corey Rosenlee is a former teacher at Campbell High School, former president of the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association and now the Democratic candidate for state House District 39 (including Royal Kunia, Village Park and Ho‘opili). He says that adding a voucher system in Hawai‘i would widen the gap between rich and poor families. Instead, Rosenlee says, the state should focus on repairing public schools. State Rep. Elijah Pierick, the Republican incumbent in District 39, and Republican Rep. Diamond Garcia of District 42 introduced a bill in 2023 that, if enacted, would have established a scholarship program similar to school vouchers. The bill failed to pass. Pierick says that if people are mandated to pay state income taxes, “parents should have liberty and freedom when it comes to the education of their children.” “If the parents then choose to homeschool their kids or send kids to private school, I don’t think that their state income taxes should be going to public schools,” he says. H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

However, Pierick doubts such a bill would ever pass as long as there is a Democratic majority at the state Legislature and a Democratic governor. Vouchers promote freedom, individual choice and competition among schools, he says, which “isn’t the main focus of the Department of Education and the teachers unions.”

WE ’ RE A FAMILY “OF OPTIONS” Brandon and Kathy Bell, owners of HI Insurance & Financial Services, educate their children through a private online school and believe that the more options given to families, the better. “We’re a family of options,” Brandon Bell says. “The more options you have, especially with schooling,” the better choices parents can make. The Bells’ two daughters attend an online school, which gives them the freedom to enter more golf tournaments than they would otherwise. “I honestly wish that I had what they have now for like this online platform … when I was in school,” Brandon Bell says. 78

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Their oldest daughter, Arianna, is now a junior at an NCAA-approved online school – a key consideration when they selected a school as she is preparing to continue her golf career in college. The Bells chose that format after seeing her thrive when schooling went online during the pandemic. During her last year at Punahou School, her teachers noted that she missed a lot of classes because of her golfing, even though she played on the school’s team and only attended Hawai‘i tournaments. At their daughters’ online school, “There’s more options for different types of courses they can take, compared to what you would normally find at an in-person school, whether they’re public or private,” Kathy Bell says. After seeing Arianna thrive through a year of online classes, the Bells enrolled their youngest daughter to start this fall. “It just allowed us a lot of flexibility. And so far in our first year, it’s been great.”

Top 5 Reasons for Homeschooling Based on a national survey of homeschool parents, who were allowed to cite multiple reasons. 1. A concern about school environment, such as safety, drugs or negative peer pressure (80.3%) 2. A desire to provide moral instruction (74.7%) 3. An emphasis on spending more time together as a family (74.6%) 4. A dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at conventional schools (72.6%) 5. A desire to provide religious instruction (58.9%) Source: National Center for Education Statistics

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COMME MOR ATE YOUR

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ACHIEVEMENTS PRESERVE YOUR STORY WITH OUR MODERN AND MEMORABLE KEEPSAKES. W W W. N E W S K E E P S A K E . C O M / PA G E S / H AWA I I - B U S I N E S S

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BY KATHRYN DRU RY WAG NE R

The Hawai‘i Data Collaborative is helping nonprofits manage their data more efficiently and effectively – and that means better understanding, better decisions and better services

Finding Solutions in Numbers

magine running both a baseball team and a football team. The baseball team requires data on pitch counts and launch angles, a fielder’s range and a hitter’s ability to get on base; the football team needs information that reflects a player’s strength and speed and quickness off the line. Now merge the two datasets. This scenario – having datasets that are siloed and difficult, or impossible, to compare – is exactly what many nonprofits face. And it inhibits progress on big challenges facing Hawai‘i’s households. “Much of what we do in the social services sector is mandated by or commissioned by the government,” and whether a service contract is federal or state funded, each is unique in terms of reporting requirements, explains Ryan Kusumoto, president and CEO of Parents And Children Together. Meeting those requirements is a tall order for an organization like PACT, which serves 17,000 people a year statewide, focusing on such issues as early education, domestic violence, at-risk children, mental health and economic opportunity. Yet, says Kusumoto, “we also have a responsibility because we are holders of key information. We can’t just hold onto the data and not look at it deeper.” That’s where the nonprofit Hawai‘i Data Collaborative comes in. “HDC helped us figure out how to pull together the information to better understand what is happening on the ground,” says Kusumoto.

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THE POWER OF DATA

HDC works with government, nonprofit and private sector organizations. It recently released its 2024 Data Landscape Report, sharing how data is being used to improve outcomes for Hawai‘i households. It features case studies on four organizations that HDC has partnered with: PACT, Hawai‘i’s Department of Human Services, the Hawai‘i Foodbank and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. HDC does not charge for data support. Its funding comes from the Omidyar ‘Ohana Fund at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and is supplemented by other funding sources on a project-by-project basis. To prioritize requests coming in, HDC looks for organizations that

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES

want sustained data capacity, says Nick Redding, HDC’s executive director. “That way we can transition out and those systems and processes can remain,” he says. “We give them resources and the time of our team but it’s a tremendous amount of work for them too. So, we co-create.” Some nonprofits turn to HDC because they want to collect data, while others seek to stand up the systems they already have to better use their data. “And then we look at how insights can be shared with other organizations, so it’s more efficient, effective, useful and timely,” says Redding. “It’s getting out of the recordkeeping mindset to see the bigger picture. “We have deep conversations with their teams about what we call data strategy: What are you trying to do? What are you trying to transform, and where do the data fit into that? What will you need to be able to do with the data? And then we get to the analytics and talk about frequency, format, dashboards.” He notes that in the human services sector, providers such as caseworkers need to have a lot of input about the kind of data collected and how it’s collected. “Organizations need to be asking, ‘What matters about that?’ rather than simply focus on collecting more information,” he says. HDC is also building capacity to teach Hawai‘i’s nonprofits the ins and outs of data, and sharing with leaders how to think about it and how to design processes accordingly.

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF FOOD INSECURITY

Hawai‘i Foodbank works with 225 local partners to distribute more than 17 million pounds of food annually. “I love the model because we are able to get people food where they are, especially in an island community, and can

“HDC helped us figure out

really tailor the support,” says the nonprofit’s president and CEO, Amy Miller. But the reporting side is arduous. Many of the partner agencies are run by volunteers, some of whom aren’t particularly tech savvy. The food bank receives some reporting in Excel, while other reports are created using pen and paper. “We might get 50 pages of sign-in sheets faxed to us,” she says, and for the bigger picture, “we were missing out on knowing who we were collectively serving.” Alongside a team from HDC, Hawai‘i Foodbank is implementing Service Insights, a data collection and reporting system sponsored by Feeding America. Miller says several agencies are already working with the food bank’s new system, and that it will take a few more years to get everyone on board. “But we’re already getting data in from the early pilot group,” she says. This data collection and processing will help the nonprofit determine food needs more precisely, end data redundancies and better serve the community. “For example, we might determine that people are driving quite far out of one area into another ZIP code to receive food.” In that case, Miller says, the food bank could set up a new distribution point, closer to where the need is, “or get a refrigerated truck to offer produce where it’s needed.” The streamlined data system means Hawai‘i Foodbank can share data dashboards with agency partners. It will allow the organization to help connect its clients with other agencies on overlapping issues, such as having tables at food bank locations that can help with rental assistance or SNAP outreach. Most importantly, the data will help Hawai‘i Foodbank better understand the complex and interrelated factors driving food insecurity.

how to pull together the information to better understand what is happening on the ground.” –RYAN KUSUMOTO

President and CEO, Parents And Children Together

FULLER PICTURES OF A COMMUNITY

PACT’s partnership with HDC has helped it centralize data. Says Kusumoto: “We have a client file, and some contracts require we put that into various databases. It could be in 10 different places for an agency of our size. HDC helped us build a system that sucks up the data from all the systems and puts it all in one place, and that system is designed to spit out the aggregate.” Now PACT is working with HDC on how to report that data in a way that is valuable to the funders, and how “to use the data for more thoughtful leadership.” Kusumoto urges groups across the state to follow suit. “Let’s collect better data, flow it from agencies like ours, analyze it, and provide better data to government and the philanthropy sector,” he says. “That can drive policy and lead to positive outcomes for the health of our community.” H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

BY STEV E PETRANI K MACNAUGHTON BOUGHT AND NOW OPERATES HOTEL RENEW IN WAIKĪKĪ, PART OF ITS RECENT HOSPITALITY EXPANSION.

A Local Company with Broad Expertise and Reach Real estate developer MacNaughton started five decades ago with mostly shopping center developments but has branched into other areas, including recent purchases and management of three local hotels

ACNAUGHTON IS A RELATIVELY SMALL LOCAL COMPANY, SO I WAS SURPRISED WHEN I ADDED UP ALL THE DIVERSE PROJECTS IT HAS DEVELOPED AND INVESTED IN.

That includes local hotels, housing projects in various price ranges, health care development, a restaurant, insurance company and investments in seven states. To learn more, I spoke with MacNaughton’s COO, Emily Reber Porter, who has her own vast set of accomplishments: graduate of Punahou, Princeton and Harvard Law, plus 15 years of experience in law, tech and business in Hawai‘i, D.C. and California before she joined MacNaughton in 2015. She was part of our 2017 cohort of the 20 for the Next 20 and has served on the boards of Punahou, Child & Family Service, Oahu Transit Services, Young Brothers and Kualoa Ranch, and advisory boards for Kupu and UH’s Shidler College of Business. And in case you were wondering what she does with all her spare time, she received an Outstanding Mother Award from the American Lung Association of Hawaii in 2022. This interview has been lightly edited for comprehension and conciseness.

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Q: HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE MACNAUGHTON? PORTER: MacNaughton is a family-

owned, multigenerational real estate development and investment company. Our founder, Duncan MacNaughton, is celebrating 50 years in real estate development and investment in Hawai‘i next year. We only have about 20 people in our corporate office but are diverse in our expertise and bring in relevant expertise as we need it. We have local values: We all live, work and play here, and have deep connections to the community. We take global sophistication and pair it with local sensibilities.

PHOTOS COURTESY: MCNAUGHTON

Q: WHY THE RECENT FOCUS ON HOSPITALITY INVESTMENTS? PORTER: It’s definitely an expansion, but

we’ve been involved in hospitality since 2002, when we invested in Twin Farms, Vermont’s only luxury five-star hotel. In the recent expansion, the hotels we bought are Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head in 2018, Hotel Renew two years later and then co-ownership of Waikiki Malia and management of all three in 2023. The hospitality expansion is a natural progression from our development of iconic and innovative residential condominium projects, beginning with Hokua, where our office is, and then Capitol Place and One Ala Moana, and, most recently, the billion-dollar Park Lane Ala Moana. In those properties, we worked hard to re-envision living in those properties, combining the best of single-family living and condominium living: floor plates, high ceilings, big balconies and amenities, plus the service provided – this concept of residential specialists

and bringing in the right people. For instance, the GM at Park Lane Ala Moana has a hospitality background. It was a natural progression from these residential properties to an interest in ultimate hospitality services MACNAUGHTON’S COO EMILY REBER PORTER AND at hotels. That’s CEO AND PRINCIPAL IAN one reason for our MACNAUGHTON. investment in and refresh of those hotels. Q: THAT’S TRUE, YOU ARE. DO YOU FEEL The second reason is we’re a INTIMIDATED COMPETING AGAINST local company and tourism is one of MUCH LARGER COMPANIES WITH HUGE Hawai‘i’s top industries, and it made HOTEL INVESTMENTS IN HAWAI‘I? sense for us to participate more in that important sector and bring in PORTER: We don’t think of it that way. our global sophistication and local We look at each opportunity to see if it sensibilities. We take a lot of pride makes sense for us to invest. We have in knowing we are one of the few Lotus Honolulu, this beautifully located remaining locally owned and operatproperty right between Diamond Head ing multiproperty hoteliers.

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PHOTOS COURTESY: MCNAUGHTON

MACNAUGHTON BOUGHT LOTUS HONOLULU AT DIAMOND HEAD IN 2018; LAST YEAR, THE COMPANY OPENED THE RESTAURANT ARDEN WAIKIKI ON THE SECOND FLOOR, SHOWN BELOW.

allows us to invest in the properties and people in ways that we see playing out well for us and our community for a long time.

and the Pacific Ocean; we have Hotel Renew, half a block from the beach, looking out to the Pacific Ocean; and then Waikiki Malia in the heart of Waikīkī on Royal Hawaiian Avenue. Each of those were compelling enough opportunities to make us feel confident that they were good investments, and we could add something to them through our management. The synergy between ownership and operation is wonderful, and we have a very long-term investment horizon. We are family owned. We have no mandate to sell in any period of time and that 84

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Q: YOU ALSO CONSULT ON HOTEL PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE HILTON GARDEN INN IN WAIKĪKĪ AND THE HYATT REGENCY WAIKIKI STREETSCAPE. THAT STREETSCAPE IS DESCRIBED AS 150,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL WITH 60 TENANTS, ALMOST THREE FOOTBALL FIELDS. HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE THE RETAIL EXPERTISE TO DO THAT? PORTER: Over the course of Duncan’s

nearly 50 years of developing and investing in Hawai‘i, we’ve built expertise across multiple sectors. Retail was the staple of the early years and he’s been involved in building many retail centers.

We developed and currently have ownership and management of Kapolei Commons, Moanalua Shopping Center and Stadium Marketplace on O‘ahu, and Kona Commons on the Big Island, and also the Hokua commercial podium. (All on leased land.) We were the first licensee of Starbucks and partnered with Starbucks corporate to bring that to the Islands, built out over 60 stores, operated those stores. Jamba Juice, Blockbuster, P.F. Chang’s. So for decades, MacNaughton has had experience in the retail sector, also leasing, landlord side, tenant side, tenant rep, all of this, and then also building shopping centers around core tenants that we think are really important to have in Hawai‘i. A lot of these hotels and some condominiums have mixed use – retail on the streetscape, etc. – so it was a natural fit for us to be able to bring the retail expertise together with our knowledge of development, residential, hospitality and also our local sensibilities. A lot of these larger companies aren’t as deeply rooted in Hawai‘i as we are, so we can bring all this expertise together and bring it to bear on a project. We have a culture that fosters innovation and creativity. We have talented people, but at the same time, we are constantly challenging one another to figure out: Is that the best way or is there something we’re not hearing? We listen to the market. Understanding the community is important, and this changes over time. So as the world changes, as the community changes, we always want to stay ahead of the curve. I think that expertise and approach makes us attractive to consult with. We don’t consult on every project that people ask us for; we need to feel there’s synergy, and it’s going to be either a

special thing for the community or will result in a further opportunity for us to do something special in the future. Q: TELL US ABOUT OTHER IMPORTANT PROPERTIES THAT MACNAUGHTON DEVELOPED BUT DOESN’T OWN. PORTER: We have had involvement

in Kukui Marketplace in Līhuʻe, Maui Marketplace in Kahului and Waikele Center. We also had a hand in Kapahulu Market, Kukui Grove Center (Līhuʻe), and Kailua Village shops and Henry Street Shops (Kona). Q: IN A DIFFERENT VEIN, HAWAI‘I PACIFIC HEALTH HIRED YOU TO MANAGE THE $20 MILLION-PLUS RENOVATION AND EXPANSION OF KAPI‘OLANI MEDICAL CENTER FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN. PORTER: We weren’t the builders

but were approached by the senior leadership at HPH to help consult on the project. They’re wonderful health

care providers, but development or renovation is not their core expertise. We have close relationships throughout the community and are, I think, a trusted partner to give expert guidance, honest answers to problems, and innovative and creative solutions. I don’t know all the details, but I know the parking structure in particular was quite the puzzle that we helped them to figure out how to build. That was a wonderful partnership and something we thought was important to our community. Q: THANK GOODNESS FOR THE NEW PARKING STRUCTURE, BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN THERE AND A PATIENT AFTERWARD, AND I REMEMBER THE OLD STRUCTURE AND THE MANY TIMES WHEN WE EITHER GOT THE LAST PARKING SPOT ON THE ROOF OR HAD TO WAIT FOR ONE. PORTER: I’ve been there many times

too. Folks with expertise in one area have trusted our guidance in other

areas. That’s also how we worked with General Growth Partners, later Brookfield Properties. Duncan and Ian MacNaughton convinced their CEO to develop residential on the old Sears parking lot at Ala Moana Center once it became available. General Growth Properties was clearly a retail expert, and we had other expertise, including development design. Q: AND YOU OPENED A RESTAURANT. PORTER: Yes, last October, a phenomenal

restaurant in the Lotus Hotel on the second floor called Arden Waikiki. It is spearheaded by chef Makoto Ono and his wife, Amanda Cheng, who’s a pastry chef, and their menu celebrates innovative culinary techniques and locally sourced ingredients. Our chefs are passionate about partnering with local farmers and purveyors and creating exceptional dishes. We also have live music on Sundays with local artists, and we’re bringing that space to life overlooking Kapi‘olani Park.

H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

PHOTO COURTESY: MCNAUGHTON

tage while embracing new opportunities to serve Hawai‘i with the spirit of aloha that defines us.”) Q: WHAT IS THE COMPANY’S CULTURE? PORTER: When I joined the company,

WAIKIKI MALIA IS OWNED AND MANAGED BY MACNAUGHTON, WHICH IS ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATING MULTIPROPERTY HOTELIERS.

Q: HOW HAVE YOUR PROPERTIES BEEN AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC, THE SHIFT TO REMOTE WORK AND THE GROWTH OF ONLINE RETAIL – FACTORS THAT HAVE DISRUPTED COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE WORLDWIDE? PORTER: One thread throughout all of those is our emphasis on relationships. Relationships have always mattered to us, and during the pandemic, they mattered through remote work. They mattered with our employees and with the growth of online retail, they mattered with our customers and tenants. For our customers, we brought in a lot more local restaurants and tenants to fill our properties, especially Kapolei Commons. Through all these experiences – pandemic, remote work, online retail – it’s those connections with people that really matter to us and we leaned into it, and that helps everyone through it. Q: 2025 IS YOUR COMPANY’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY. WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE? PORTER: Duncan is still chairman,

though day to day, the company is now led by his middle son, Ian MacNaughton, who serves as our CEO. When we think about the future of MacNaughton, obviously Duncan’s mark and oversight is still apparent, and he and Ian are close and talk about 86

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the business a lot. The current vision is with Duncan’s guidance and blessing, but it’s really something Ian is carrying forward with his team, including myself. I thought you would ask me about this, so I asked Ian about that and he said we’re going to be persevering as an enduring real estate development and investment company based in Hawai‘i, serving the needs of Hawai‘i and bringing innovative solutions and experiences to enhance our community. From a business standpoint, we’re going to continue to diversify our portfolio in terms of activities as well as geographic holdings, and we’ll continue to seek synergistic partners that share our vision and values on a project-by-project basis. Speaking with Duncan this morning in the office, we both feel strongly about continuing to serve as a responsible, reliable development and investment partner in Hawai‘i for Hawai‘i. (The day after my interview with Porter, Ian MacNaughton followed up with an email. “Over the past five decades, our company has grown and evolved, but our core values of integrity, innovation, collaboration and community commitment have remained steadfast,” he wrote. “We owe our success to the dedication of our team and the trust of our partners and clients. As we look to the future, we remain committed to honoring our heri-

I led a strategic planning session and met with different people in the company, some of whom had been there for decades and some newer. What was remarkable is that the way the longer-term employees and newer employees described the company was almost identical, and we distilled it all down to innovation, integrity, collaboration, community and balance. That’s how Duncan built the company. That’s how Ian has been perpetuating the company. Q: THE FIFTH VALUE YOU LISTED WAS BALANCE. WHAT BALANCE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? PORTER: Balance as applied to many

situations. Work-life balance is a part of it. We work hard, we play hard, we make sure that families and health always come first. But we also want to do excellent work. So that’s a part of it. Also balance in understanding what’s going on in the broader world, making sure we are still driven by the needs, sensibilities and values of our community in Hawai‘i. We try to take things into account and come up with something that’s special and right for the project where it’s situated, the place, everything. We partner a lot with local nonprofits, either because our employees or our partners are involved, or because those organizations work in areas where we have real estate developments or investments and we want to support the community there, or because these organizations support the health of Hawai‘i’s people and economy. We started the MacNaughton Foundation several years ago and we meet several times a year to discuss what else we can do to support our community. I personally take a lot of pride in that.

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“The newly rebranded Top 250 CEOs Celebration was a fantastic opportunity for Hawai‘i’s top leaders and up and coming individuals to connect and share ideas. It was very apparent that spirits were high and all of the attendees were grateful for the chance to come together. Mahalo to Hawaii Business Magazine for putting on successful Black Book events for nearly a decade. Cades Schutte is proud to have supported for many consecutive years.” A

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On August August 15, 15, Hawaii Hawaii Business Business Magazine Magazine On hosted an exclusive for Hawai‘i’s Top 250 hosted an exclusive event for Hawai‘i’s Top CEOs at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Mahalo 250 CEOs at the Honolulu Museum of Art. nui loa to our sponsors. A big congratulations Mahalo loa honorees! to our sponsors. tonui all the A big congratulations to all the honorees! MAHALO TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS

— NATHAN T. OKUBO, PARTNER AND MANAGEMENT COMMIT TEE MEMBER , CADES SCHUT TE LLP

“Central Pacific Bank is honored to support the Hawaii Business Top 250 event, where emerging leaders exchanged ideas for a better Hawai‘i. This year we celebrated our 70th anniversary. We were founded by World War II Nisei veterans who returned from the war as heroes, only to face difficulty finding banking services. Our founders envisioned a community focused bank that would provide financial services to all of Hawai‘i’s people. Today, CPB is a local banking leader with a focus on exceptional customer service and support for community causes statewide.” — BR ANDT FARIAS, EVP, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER , CENTR AL PACIFIC BANK

“At ALTRES, we believe in the transformative power of leadership and the potential of our community. Sponsoring Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250 CEO event is more than an honor—it’s a commitment to nurturing the visionaries and trailblazers who are shaping a brighter, more sustainable future for Hawai‘i. Mahalo to Hawaii Business and all of the attendees for an incredible night and for their collective work of making Hawai‘i a better place.” —ALTRES

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“UHA Health Insurance is proud to partner with “UHA Health Insurance is proud to partner with Hawaii Business Magazine in sponsoring the Top Hawaii Business Magazine in sponsoring the Top 250 Companies 2024. Congratulations to the CEOs 250 Companies 2024. Congratulations to the CEOs and leaders of Hawai‘i’s top companies for their and leaders of Hawai‘i’s top companies for their outstanding contributions to shaping the future outstanding contributions to shaping the future of Hawai‘i and strengthening our economy. Let’s of Hawai‘i and strengthening our economy. Let’s celebrate their success and the positive impact celebrate their success and the positive impact they’ve made in our community.” they’ve made in our community.” — HOWARD LEE , PRESIDENT AND CEO, — HOWARD , PRESIDENT AND CEO, UHA HEALTHLEE INSUR ANCE UHA HEALTH INSUR ANCE

“WestPac® Wealth Partners was honored to be a “WestPac® Wealth Partners was honored to be a sponsor of Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250 sponsor of Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250 event and to be recognized as one of Hawai‘i’s top event and to be recognized as one of Hawai‘i’s top companies. As a locally founded company, we value companies. As a locally founded company, we value collaboration and celebrating the achievements of collaboration and celebrating the achievements of Hawai‘i’s business community. We are dedicated to Hawai‘i’s business community. We are dedicated to growth, innovation, and being a trusted partner in growth, innovation, and being a trusted partner in financial success for our clients and our community!” ﬁnancial success for our clients and our community!” —SPENCER DUNG , CFP®, CHFC®, MANAGING DIRECTOR , —SPENCER DUNG ,PARTNERS CFP®, CHFC®, MANAGING DIRECTOR , WESTPAC WEALTH WESTPAC WEALTH PARTNERS

“It was a pleasure to partner with a respected authority “It was a pleasure to partner with a respected authority like Hawaii Business Magazine to host the Top 250. like Hawaii Business Magazine to host the Top 250. We truly appreciate the work that Hawai‘i businesses We truly appreciate the work that Hawai‘i businesses do to enrich, enliven, and strengthen our community, do to enrich, enliven, and strengthen our community, and their continued belief in the importance of place, and their continued belief in the importance of place, culture, history and connection. There was great culture, history and connection. There was great mutual support and camaraderie at the event, and mutual support and camaraderie at the event, and it was an honor to host the leaders of the business it was an honor to host the leaders of the business community at the Honolulu Museum of Art.” community at the Honolulu Museum of Art.” — HALONA NORTON -WESTBROOK , DIRECTOR AND CEO, — LESA GRIFFITH, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER , HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART H AWA I I B U S I N ES S

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BY RYAN N N OEL AN I C OUL E S

| LOCATION: KĀNE‘OHE | PHOTOGRAPHER: AARON YOSHINO

Create, Wait, Celebrate LAUREN SHIN TEACHES CERAMICS AT HER TRANQUIL NORAE CERAMICS STUDIO IN KĀNE‘OHE.

“I was selling my pottery for a while, and I had a lot of people ask if I teach classes. There’s a different kind of joy and fulfillment in sharing something that I’ve made with somebody, as

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opposed to teaching someone else how to create their own work,” says Shin. She offers both a one-day class and a six-week course. After graduating from the six-week course, students can become members and continue making ceramics at the workshop during open-studio time. Shin says ceramics is a wonderful way to practice mindfulness. “When you’re doing ceramics, it engages all of your senses and you have to be present. You can’t be off thinking about something else, or the clay just flies all over the place.”

The waiting stage sets ceramics apart from other art forms. After shaping the clay on the spinning wheel and glazing it, you must wait a month for your piece to completely dry before firing it in the kiln. “Every time we unload the kiln, it’s like Christmas! And it’s nice that you have to wait because it builds that anticipation,” says Shin. noraeceramics.com

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Workshopping for Culture and Community A N E W S E R I E S O F WO R K S H O P S BY T H E L Ā N A‘ I C U LT U R E A N D H E R I TAG E C E N T E R I S B R I N G I N G T O G E T H E R C O M M U N I T Y, OV E R M U LT I P L E G E N E R AT I O N S . Diane Preza works with students during a Hana Ka Lima lei-making workshop at the Lāna‘i Culture and Heritage Center. PHOTO: ELYSE BUTLER

N A SMALL ROOM IN LĀNA‘I CITY, a and Heritage Center (CHC), part of group of 10 people, ranging in age a series of educational classes called from junior high-school students Hana Ka Lima (meaning “to work with to kūpuna, are gathered around a the hands”) intended to preserve and long table stacked with colorful piles perpetuate cultural skills and knowlof flower blossoms—bougainvillea, edge within the Lāna‘i community. hydrangeas, agapanthus, cup and saucer Since the program kicked off in fall flowers, bachelor’s buttons, as well 2023, the Center has held workshops as palapalai fern fronts. They’re all on pounding pa‘i‘ai (taro), ulana niu studiously engaged in selecting flowers (coconut leaf weaving), and making from the piles and weaving traditional hau cordage. them into their own slowly “These are things That last one was a twothat are part of part workshop—students growing strand of haku lei, but the conversation is a living culture. spent the first class also flowing. It’s been exciting learning about the Kumu (instructor) hau, or hibiscus tilaceus, to be able to Diane Preza looks around plant and how to strip reinvigorate that and soak its bark, then the group and says, “The here on Lāna‘i.” returned two weeks later best thing about these workshops is not just  S H E L LY K A I A O K A M A L I E , to dry the bark fibers, the learning, but talking EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and twist and roll them O F T H E L Ā N A‘ I C H C story. Because you’ll be into cordage. talking and you’ll learn so Shelly Kaiaokamalie, much. You learn a little executive director of the bit about Hawaiian language, native Lāna‘i CHC, says, “I think sometimes plants, and then you learn from the folks think these kinds of practices are kids about football and everything in the past, but these are things that they’re up to these days. I never knew.” are part of a living culture. It’s been This is a lei making workshop exciting to be able to reinvigorate that being put on by the Lāna‘i Culture here on Lāna‘i.”

In a place like Lāna‘i, with a population of just over 3,300, where many of the young adults leave the island to pursue education and better economic opportunities, fostering links between generations and passing along traditional knowledge is especially important. “The Culture and Heritage Center serves not only as a cultural resource, but as a connector of this local community,” says Kaiaokamalie. “We’re able to bring folks together, to learn with people who have these skills, and to have fun doing it. Talking story, learning about each others’ families. It’s a way to build relationships and community, in addition to the cultural enrichment.” The Hana Ka Lima workshop series is being funded by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through its Kūkulu Ola: Living Hawaiian Culture Program, supporting Island programs that perpetuate Hawaiian culture and community. Kēhau Meyer of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, which administered the Kūkulu Ola program through July 2024, says, “There’s intrinsic value in investing in Indigenous practices, and supporting cultural practitioners as essential members of our community. These programs reinvest into people and place, which are the two most valued things that make Hawai‘i Hawai‘i.” Kaiaokamalie says Lāna‘i is one of those places you really have to come visit to understand. “Lāna‘i is a special community, with many rich stories and histories and values,” she says. “I think that people elsewhere in Hawai‘i and from other places can really learn from experiencing Lāna‘i.”

T O L E A R N A B O U T H O W T H E H AWA I ‘ I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N DAT I O N C A N H E L P YO U R E AC H YO U R P H I L A N T H R O P I C G OA L S , V I S I T H AWA I I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D AT I O N . O R G H AWA I I B U S I N ES S