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Group
Meeting
Date & Time
Meeting Recording
February 16, 2024
8:00 - 9:30AM
Group
Meeting
Date & Time
Description
For learning group meetings, here is a growing list of resources from past meetings and more.
Brandee Menino is the Chief Executive Officer of HOPE Services Hawaii, Inc., an affiliate organization of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii, and is focused on ending homelessness in Hawaii. With more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she has served as a nonprofit administrator, crisis counselor, outreach worker, board officer, and advocate. Brandee holds a master’s degree in professional counseling with emphasis in marriage and family therapy from the American School of Professional Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Inspired by the belief that serving others is a privilege, she currently volunteers her time serving on three local nonprofit boards including as treasurer for Bay Clinic, Inc., as secretary for the Foodbasket, Hawaiʻi Island’s Foodbank, and as director of the HMSA Foundation Board.
Brandee is also a Weinberg Fellow, and a mom of four children. Spending time with her family and friends keeps her recharged and driven.
Bob Agres
Doug Adams is a member of the Maui ERC Community Interest Learning Group. From an East Hawaii kamaʻaina family, Doug serves as the Director of Research and Development in the County of Hawaiʻi.
Matthew Johnson - Pacific Gateway Center
On February 1, Matthew Johnson was appointed the Executive Director of Pacific Gateway Center, a nonprofit founded in 1973 to serve immigrants, refugees, and other low-income residents.
Johnson’s diverse career has been dedicated to non-profit and business development, entrepreneurship and agriculture.
Matt earned his Bachelors’ degree in business administration from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 2002 and joined the Peace Corp to work in the Philippines. He moved to Hawaii in 2006 to work in the non-profit sector supporting the local agriculture and conservation industries. In 2009 he co-founded Oahu Fresh, a farm to home delivery service and in 2015, he co-founded Oahu Food Hub, a co-working space for local food businesses. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Matt come aboard at this time of significant growth for PGC” said board president Gregory Pai.
Matthew is joined by Emma Bell, Kale Anitema and David Laeha
Jacky Takakura
Jacky is the Administrator of the County of Maui Long Range Planning Division of the Department of Planning. She brings decades of planning experience in Maui and continuity with the West Maui Community Plan.
Takakura grew up in Kahului and graduated from Baldwin High School. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in business administration and Japanese language and literature from the University of Washington. In December of 2021, she earned a Professional Certificate in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Before joining Maui County in 1998, Takakura worked for Ernst & Young Telecommunications Consulting and taught English in Japan. She began her career at the Department of Water Supply in 1998. Later, she transferred to the Department of Planning from 2014 to 2017 and returned to the Department of Water Supply for a year. In 2019, she rejoined the Planning Department as Administrative Planning Officer in the Zoning Administration & Enforcement Division, and in June 2022 was sworn in as the deputy director of the Department of Planning.
Kevin J. Block, Esq. is a dedicated, experienced and passionate immigration attorney in Maui and the founder of Maui Immigration Law, LLC. The son of an immigrant and the parent of an immigrant, Block is passionate about the positive contributions immigrants make to our Hawaiian community and throughout the U.S. His legal career and long history of service to the community are a testament to his dedication and commitment to social justice.
He currently serves on the ACLU’s Hawaii Affiliate Board of Directors and the Advisory Committee of the Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic at the UH Richardson School of Law. He is on the Board of Directors of The Legal Clinic, which provides high quality immigration services, education and advocacy to low-income immigrants and migrants in Hawaii. Mr. Block is also a consulting attorney to the Mexican Government’s Consul General, Department of Exterior Relations and is one of the founding attorneys of “Roots Reborn” which is a grassroots community organization that arose in the aftermath of the fire to provide services and build capacity in the Lahaina immigrant community.
Mr. Block is married, lives in Kula Maui and is the proud grandfather of three. When time permits, he enjoys paddling for Hawaiian Canoe Club, travelling to Oaxaca Mexico and writing.
Josie Howard graduated from Xavier High School in Micronesia and attended the Community College of Micronesia. She later transferred to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo studying Biology, Anthropology, and Pacific Island Studies in 1989 making her one of the first Micronesians migrating under the Compact of Free Association Treaty. At the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Josie Howard’s roles included student peer counselor, president of the International Students Association, a student researcher at the Minority Biomedical Research Program, a resident assistant at the student housing, president of the Chuukese Students Association, as well as chairperson for the Campus Ministry. Josie has over 15 years of servicing the community, with 8 years working with private agencies contracted by the Department of Health Waiver program, 5 years in the Department of Education, and 5 years in program development, implementation, and piloting a one-stop center model. Josie’s community involvement includes being the founder of the Young Voyagers, a youth club in Media with ‘Ōlelo, and the Micronesian Cultural Awareness Project. Josie earned her Master’s degree in Social Work and is now working as Chief Executive Officer for We Are Oceania (WAO). Josie is most recognized for her contribution to the “Micronesian Voices in Hawai‘i Conference” where she participated as one of six steering committee members who worked with Micronesian Government leaders, community leaders, as well as conference sponsors. She is also known for her work at Goodwill Industries of Hawai‘i Inc.’s “Imi Loa Program” where she worked with families and their adult children providing direct services as well as managing the programmatic and fiscal operation. Mrs. Howard is a native of Onoun Island in Micronesia and she speaks Chuukese, Onounese, and English fluently.
Kamuela Joseph Nui Enos was born and raised in Waiʻanae, on the island of O`ahu. He is the Director of Office of Indigenous Knowledge & Innovation for the University of Hawaiʻi System. He received his AA from Leeward Community College, BA in Hawaiian Studies from UH Manoa, MA in Urban and Regional Planning where his MA thesis was: Utilizing Traditional Hawaiian Land Use Practices to Create Sustainability Paradigms for the 21st Century. He sits on the boards of numerous community based non-profits, and was recently a commissioner on President Obama’s White House Initiative on Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Group
Name
Company
Employee Relations and Government Affairs Manager
ABC Stores
chigashiyama@abcstores.com
Resource & Social Media Manager; Volunteer Committee Member
Maui Nui Strong, County of Maui Office of Economic Development; Ho'ōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group (Maui's LTRG)
casey@kirei-concepts.com
Economic Development Representative
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
KNoji@eda.gov
Maui Center Director
Hawaii Small Business Development Center (HiSBDC)
wayne.wong@hisbdc.org
Group
Name
Company
Economic Development Representative
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
KNoji@eda.gov
State of Hawaii Office of Planning & Sustainable Development
lauren.m.primiano@hawaii.gov
Regional Economic Development Integrator
US Dept of Commerce – EDA, Seattle Regional Office
fsakaguchi@eda.gov
Director
State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT)
james.tokioka@hawaii.gov
Regarding Wai
,
What ideas do you have to foster economic development in Maui? And how can we collaborate to turn these visions into reality?
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