Noelle Fujii-Oride writes about affordable housing, working families, education, construction, climate change, tourism, entrepreneurship and more. She also leads the editorial department’s audience engagement efforts. Prior to joining Hawaii Business Magazine as a staff writer in 2017, she held internships at the magazine, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Honolulu Civil Beat. She is a graduate of UH Mānoa’s journalism program and now lives on Kaua‘i. You can reach her at noellef@hawaiibusiness.com.
Khara Jabola-Carolus Executive Director, Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women Khara Jabola-Carolus is a fierce advocate for women and girls. As leader of the State Commission on the Status of Women, she has helped pass legislation to prohibit…
Diverse projects are keeping Hawai‘i’s construction industry busy and offering much-needed support for the state’s fractured economy.
Danya Hakeem Director of Innovation, Agriculture & Circular Economy Elemental Excelerator Danya Hakeem takes a unique approach to her work: She’s always looking for ways to build bridges. Whether through documentary filmmaking, policy, legislation, community organizing or impact investing, Hakeem…
Four elements that define this practice and how you can get involved.
Two local CDFI-certified credit unions say the certification gives them access to additional funding and resources from the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund.
The pandemic accelerates new ways of lending, financing and investment in the Islands.
TRUE stands for Technology Readiness User Evaluation. The initiative started with a hypothesis: Technology-enabled, higher-wage jobs will be created if Hawai‘i can get more companies to adopt more technology. Paul Yonamine, CHANGE Economy Committee co-chair and member of the TRUE…
The coronavirus has put tens of thousands of local people out of work. Enhancing workforce development is the starting point, according to a report from the Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative, which is based on input from almost 200 people. The economic impact…
Part I examines implicit bias in Hawai‘i. Part II offers ways for individuals to counter their own implicit biases. (One step: Learn to recognize biases rather than deny them.) And Part III looks at how organizations can improve their hiring,…
Lessons learned from experts interviewed for this story: 1. Try to consolidate multiple projects into a big one. Dana Bergeman, CEO of construction management company Bergeman Group, says many condo associations and unit owners look at infrastructure improvements as individual…
Aging condo buildings need large, complex projects to keep them safe and functional. But many condo associations have not budgeted for these expensive, time-consuming repairs, says Dana Bergeman, CEO of local construction management company Bergeman Group.
This story was updated Sept. 10, 2020 to correct information on the expected useful lifespan of pipes and add further details. A 40-year-old Honolulu condominium can show its age in many ways: brittle, leaking pipes; cracks in its concrete walls…
Navigating the coronavirus pandemic requires leaders to be relentlessly curious, emotionally intelligent, vulnerable and authentic.
The pandemic will likely have different impacts on the markets for three types of commercial real estate: retail/restaurants, office and industrial spaces The aftereffects of the pandemic seem likely to reduce the demand for retail and office space on O‘ahu,…
Hawaii Restaurant Association chairman estimates 40% of local restaurants will close by the end of the year Learn more about Hawaiʻi restaurants' new normal. https://vimeo.com/431607302
Interview: Matt Resich, co-owner of Brick Fire Tavern Read the story on restaurants' new normal. https://vimeo.com/429835005
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many local restaurants to pivot their business models or risk closing for good. Here’s a look at how restaurants have changed and how they are preparing for their new normal. It was common to see…
Hawai‘i’s startup community creates and nurtures plenty of early stage innovative companies but loses them before they scale into national and global players. Should we be happy with that storyline or should we try to change it? Twenty years ago,…
Advice from both sides of the fence and the agents who sit in the middle, including separate tip sheets for tenants and landlords. Many businesses are struggling to pay rent as they scale back operations or close their doors entirely…
Practical advice to help you sell and maintain customer relationships during this uncertain time Salespeople are struggling with how to sensitively approach customers and make sales while many businesses furlough staff and scale back operations. Scott Hogle, senior VP of…
Regina “Lola” Miller founded Simply Sisters Boutique in Hilo in 2011. How are you coping with the COVID-19 crisis? Simply Sisters’ storefront on Kilauea Avenue is closed to customers, but you can buy online, writes Regina “Lola” Miller in an…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Schools and businesses are partnering in unprecedented ways to develop the state’s future workforce. This is Part II of a two part…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Schools and businesses are partnering in unprecedented ways to develop the state’s future workforce. This is Part I of a two part…
Aloha Dance Studio was founded by Tiffany Dick in 2002. The Līhuʻe studio has five independent, part-time adult instructors and five student teachers. Dick says thousands of keiki have danced with the studio over the last 18 years. How…
It’s possible that some businesses in Hawai‘i will try to claim that circumstances surrounding COVID-19 absolve them of obligations under a business contract. Whether they have…
Deep Kine Kitchen Cleaning was founded by Dana and Wendy Daniels in 2018. They have six employees and run the commercial kitchen cleaning business from their home in Haiku, Maui. How are you coping with the COVID-19 crisis? Prior…
Working from home is suddenly widespread in Hawai‘i as employers mitigate the spread of COVID-19. “Companies should be allowing temporary remote work arrangements because they care about the health and safety of their employees,” writes Derek Kanehira, VP and director…
Six local leaders in health care discuss coronavirus, health disparities, tomorrow’s doctors and nurses, and more at Hawaii Business Magazine CHANGE event “Whenever you look at an emergency, the more we collaborate, the more we communicate, the more we’re going…
Imagine an electric grid that keeps your lights on while the rest of the island’s grid is dark during a natural disaster or outage. That’s the promise at Kahauiki Village, a community for formerly homeless families near Sand Island. The…
Dana Takushi Senior EVP and Manager of the Consumer Banking Group Bank of Hawaii Age 50 Dana Takushi always steps up to a challenge. “She started with the bank in our commercial area, but as I’ve experienced challenges throughout the…
Mike B. Pietsch President and COO, Title Guaranty Age 41 Mike Pietsch grew up in the family real estate business and never considered any other career. He held summer jobs at the company while in high school and joined it…
Nathan Peters Director of IT Field Operations Par Pacific Holdings Age 40 Nathan Peters came to Hawai‘i in 2003 to visit a friend. He never intended to stay. “Not really knowing anything about Hawai‘i, it was very cool coming to…
Cayenne Pe‘a Principal and co-founder, Alaka‘i Development Age 37 West O‘ahu native Cayenne Pe‘a recalls waking at 5:30 a.m. so she could catch the school bus to Kamehameha Kapālama. “I remember when we first moved out to Makakilo, there were…
John Hulihe‘e Senior VP and Manager Central Pacific Bank Age 46 John Hulihe‘e had a hand in business from early on. While growing up, he and his two sisters helped their mother with her garment manufacturing business, trimming fabric, tagging…
Aimee Malia Grace Director of Health Science Policy University of Hawaii Age 37 Aimee Grace decided at first that she didn’t want to be a doctor. But she became passionate about global health while studying human biology and international health…
Laurie Ann Chan Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer Avalon Development Co. Age 38 Laurie Ann Chan originally wanted to be an architect. “I think as far back as elementary school I’d have my mom buy me graph paper and…
Lisa Doo Ayabe Partner, Cades Schutte Age 38 Lisa Ayabe’s first exposure to law was through her litigator father. “I’m not really an adversarial person by nature, but the law always interested me, and real estate in particular. I think…
Emi Au Senior VP, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis American Savings Bank Age 37 Emi Au loves animals and pondered a career as a veterinarian or doctor before choosing accounting while at the University of Southern California. “Just something…
Half of Hawaiʻi’s population is barely getting by. About 11% fall below the federal poverty level and another 37% are members of working families that barely make enough money to cover necessities like food, housing, transportation and child care, according…
Save now Social Security will probably not be enough to support today’s working population because people are living longer and might have long-term care needs, writes Hua Zan, an assistant researcher at the UH Center on the Family, in an…
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