HB20: Zack Hernandez, AEP Hawai‘i
After recruiting on Wall Street and in Seattle, Zack Hernandez came home to build the tech talent pipeline Hawai‘i has always needed.
Hawaii Business Magazine - March 2026
HB20: Victoria Hanes, Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center
Leading a team of nearly 500 serving 40,000 patients, Victoria Hanes champions a bold shift from reactive treatment to prevention-first primary care.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Hawai‘i's Young People Are Asking.
With soaring costs, limited opportunities, and a rapidly aging population, more young people in Hawai‘i are weighing an uncomfortable question. For many, the answer is increasingly clear.
Aloha Stadium's $4 Billion Gamble
Demolition has officially begun at the old Aloha Stadium, kicking off the state's most ambitious public-private project ever. But with tariff threats, transparency concerns, and a 20-year timeline, the real question isn't whether it will get built, it's who pays if it doesn't go according to plan.
HB20: Elaine Gascon, Atlas Insurance Agency
A first-generation college graduate who broke into a male-dominated field, Elaine Gascon now oversees condo policies topping $200 million in replacement value.
HB20: Tricia Fujikawa Lee, First Hawaiian Bank
Under her leadership, FHB has earned the highest possible CRA rating through 11 consecutive examinations, the only Hawai‘i bank to do so.
HB20: Chris Fong, Tradewind Capital
Bridging mainland experience with local purpose, Chris Fong focuses on affordable housing development for the aunties, uncles, and families of Hawai‘i.
HB20: Chelsie Evans, Hawaiian Community Assets
Once a client of the organization she now leads, Chelsie Evans has grown HCA from $1.5 million to a $10 million agency serving Hawai‘i families.
HB20: Kapua Chandler, Namahana School
Kapua Chandler came home with a PhD and a mission, founding Kaua‘i's first tuition-free public middle school rooted in 'āina-based education.
Llamas With a Purpose: Inside Maui's Most Unexpected Farm
Christine and Sam Heidama turned a fiber arts hobby into a full-on llama and alpaca experience on the slopes of Haleakalā. The animals are stealing hearts at weddings, hikes, and everything in between.
HB20: Lance Askildson, Chaminade University of Honolulu
By asking what the community needs first, Lance Askildson has launched five first-to-market doctoral programs and chairs the Pacific's first UN training center.
HB20: Warren Altona, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union
Redefining growth as stability and opportunity for members, this first-generation college graduate leads HSFCU's boldest era of expansion yet.
Power, Character and the 20 People Shaping Hawai‘i's Future
Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Ablan reflects on what it meant to select this year's HB20 honorees and why the most meaningful kind of leadership in Hawai‘i rarely makes headlines.