Crystal Clear

"That first year was pretty rough. I remember going to Ala Moana Shopping Center and refusing to ride the escalator, because it scared me. We just didn't have those in Hilo," says Rose. "But then I made some lifetime friends at Kamehameha, who were from Maui, Kauai and Molokai and experiencing the same thing I was. I got to know a lot of people I wouldn't have met otherwise. We became very independent very quickly, learning a lot of life skills together."

Her world and opportunities would grow with every year at Kamehameha Schools.

Photo: Cory Lum

Earlier this year, in quick succession, Rose, a partner at Bays, Deaver, Lung, Rose & Baba, was nominated to the corporate boards of both Central Pacific Financial Corp. and Hawaiian Electric Co., two very public and powerful players in Island business. Her world grew again. But Rose isn't the wide-eyed girl from Hilo anymore. She's armed with the knowledge that her actions and those of her colleagues will have a profound impact far beyond the companies and their shareholders.

"This is a new step for me. I've served on some nonprofit boards, but this is the first time I'm on a corporate board," says Rose. "I hope to provide some value to those organizations by being a creative problem solver, to think strategically and make decisions based on the needs of all the constituencies involved."

According to Rose, much of her knowledge about relationships and communal responsibility were learned during her years at Kamehameha Schools-from her mother and father, who sacrificed a little bit of their parenthood for a good education for their daughter, to classmates, who grew up with her, to teachers and mentors, who guided her. She takes many of these life lessons into the courtroom, where success isn't always defined by a win.

Rose has litigated some of the Islands' most public and painful cases in recent memory. She represented trustee Oswald Stender in his effort to reform governance issues at the Bishop Estate. That legal action, combined with others, eventually led to the removal of fellow trustee Lokelani Lindsey and a transformation of the school. She was also the attorney for Xerox Hawaii, which was sued by the families of the seven employees murdered by Xerox technician Byron Uyesugi. More recently, she represented Central Pacific Bank in its merger with rival City Bank.

"Winning isn't always winning in the courtroom. Sometimes a win can be a settlement," says Rose. "In the case of Xerox, we reached a resolution that worked for everyone. This was a tragedy and these people were family. The company tried to be as responsible as it could under the circumstances."

"With Kamehameha Schools, events occurred that took our case to a completely different level," continues Rose. "In the end, the institution is doing more, reaching out and educating more Hawaiian children, something I believe in very much. We never dreamed that things would have turned out the way they did. So you always have to think big picture, because your actions may affect more people than you will ever know."