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.

The line, widely attributed to Lincoln — but in fact probably a description of him by another politician — stuck with me as we shaped this issue. In Hawaiʻi, power rarely looks theatrical. More often, it appears quietly—in persistence, in service and in the choices people make when given responsibility over others’ lives, futures and communities.

This issue introduces 20 for the Next 20, renamed HB20. When I think about what that means, I ask myself a deceptively simple question: If I were stuck on an island, who are the 20 people I would trust with this magical place we call home—Hawaiʻi?

After thoughtful debate, meaningful reporting and real due diligence, our editorial team selected the following honorees:

Kapua Chandler; Jamila Jarmon; Elaine Gascon; Danicole Ramos; Trung Lam; Chris Fong; Tricia Fujikawa Lee; Gabriel Yanagihara; Warren Altona; Ryan Kuniyuki; Daniel Moats; Erin Uehara; Victoria Hanes; Lance Askildson; Su Lazo; Kaloa Robinson; Chelsie Evans; Summer Shelverton; Richard Matsui; and Zack Hernandez.

Together with Ken Wills—HB’s managing editor and my longtime partner-in-crime—and the brilliant duo of Steve Petranik and Ann Auman, I had the privilege of interviewing and writing about these individuals. We often focus on the finished profiles, but what stays with me is the process. It was joyful, tearful and deeply human. These were not transactional interviews; they were moments of trust (There was absolutely no influence or interference by our publisher and commercial-sales unit).

Among our honorees are people for whom power was never assumed—it was earned. Elaine Gascon, the first in her immigrant family to graduate, represents the quiet force of perseverance. Her story is not just about professional success but about honoring sacrifice and expanding what is possible for the next generation. That kind of leadership reshapes families before it ever reshapes institutions.

Danicole Ramos is another example of character under pressure. Known publicly for his work on the high-profile Sae Joon Park case—a Hawaiʻi Purple Heart veteran who self-deported under threat of removal—Ramos operates daily inside what he calls a “complex and archaic” immigration system. His influence is felt not in headlines alone but in hundreds of lives altered through careful, compassionate advocacy. Power, in his hands, looks like credibility earned through service.

Others represent the power of return. When Zack Hernandez talks about Hawaiʻi, he does not frame it as a place people leave but as a place people are trying to get back to. After building his career recruiting talent on Wall Street and in Seattle’s tech sector, Hernandez came home to build what didn’t exist—AEP Hawaiʻi—creating pathways for local and Hawaiʻi-rooted professionals to access high-growth technology careers. His work acknowledges a simple truth: If people cannot thrive economically here, culture alone cannot keep them.

Power also shows up in stewardship. Summer Shelverton, a partner and department chair at Cades Schutte, works in trusts and estates—technical work with generational consequences. In a state where property is precious and the cost of living unforgiving, her work helps families preserve what they have built rather than lose it. Beyond her practice, she gives back through Volunteer Legal Services Hawaiʻi and public school support organizations, reinforcing that leadership is as much about protection as it is about progress.

Power comes from having a voice at the table where decisions are made. Chelsie Evans has served as the first Native Hawaiian member of the Advisory Board of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, advocating for equitable policies to address economic disparities. She is also a speaker at national events, including the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the NeighborWorks America Training Institute, among others.

And power, especially today, lies in preparation. Gabriel Yanagihara believes AI literacy is essential for Hawaiʻi’s future. As an emerging technologies teacher at ʻIolani School, he is committed to ensuring students, educators and families are ready not just to use AI but to understand its ethical and economic implications. Ignoring these tools, he argues, does not shield students—it leaves them behind.

Across industries—law, education, technology, housing, entrepreneurship—what connects this group is not ambition for power but respect for it. These are individuals willing to stay, to return, to build and to shoulder responsibility in ways that are often unseen.

HB20 is not about predicting who will be powerful in the next 20 years. It is about recognizing those who already understand that power, when entrusted, must be exercised with character.

After listening to these stories, I am not just optimistic—I am grounded in the belief that Hawaiʻi’s future is in capable, conscientious hands.