HB20: Erin Uehara, Choco Le‘a

A chocolate entrepreneur, author, and decade-long Salvation Army volunteer, Erin Uehara turned her business into a relief vehicle after the Maui wildfires.

Leadership is serving others,” Erin Kanno Uehara says—and she lives that belief every day.

For more than 10 years, Uehara has dedicated her time, talent and leadership to The Salvation Army, serving on the Honolulu Advisory Board and the Echelon Young Professionals Board. Through Echelon, a network of young professionals committed to service and community impact, she has held leadership roles, including vice chair and chair, helping to build a strong foundation and expand the board’s reach across the community.

Echelon works alongside The Salvation Army to meet urgent needs through hands-on service projects, fundraising and long-term planning. “I fell in love with the organization — the mission, the people and the way they serve without discrimination,” Uehara said. “They show up when there is a need and do it with kindness, care and love.”

Her leadership became especially visible following the devastating Maui wildfires. Uehara immediately looked for ways to help and leaned into what she could do.

Through her chocolate business, she created a special collection titled “We See You, Maui,” donating all net proceeds to The Salvation Army’s relief efforts. Over two months, the initiative raised $2,500, which Uehara personally matched to further support families impacted by the fires.

Uehara’s leadership style is shaped by lived experience. She is deaf in her left ear, a reality that has influenced how she listens and communicates. Rather than seeing it as a limitation, she views it as a reminder to be present, observant and intentional — qualities that define her approach to service and relationships.

Born and raised in Hawai‘i, Uehara never planned to become an entrepreneur. In 2012, after reconnecting with a longlost family member who taught her how to make chocolates, she followed God’s calling to Choco le‘a with a mission that mirrors her service work: “Bringing peace to our world, one chocolate at a time.” By 2014, she opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Honolulu and built partnerships with major hotels and brands.

When the pandemic disrupted her business, Uehara leaned into faith, reflection and community, openly sharing her rebuilding journey with her “chocolate friends.” Those reflections later became her book, Bringing Peace to Our World: One Chocolate Story at a Time.

Today, Uehara balances life as a wife, mother of two, entrepreneur, author, speaker and volunteer. Through her Instagram, @erinkuehara, she documents her Salvation Army work and her personal goal of “learning and leading with God’s love”— a mindset that has her back in school again to pursue her PhD in Organizational Psychology.