Trustees

The Foundation is led by volunteer trustees who are committed to supporting public school teachers and students statewide.

Sharon Shiroma Brown

Senior Vice President (retired), First Hawaiian Bank

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Spaghetti

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Miss Morita was my favorite teacher. Her motto was “do not believe everything you read, know the source!”

Daniel Chun

Director of Sales, Community & Public Relations-Hawaii,
Alaska Airlines

Liz Chun Uyehara

Director of Foundation Communications, Hawaii Pacific Health

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Spaghetti

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Mrs. Carrie Mizoguchi and Mrs. Leinaala Freitas made a lasting impression on me as teachers and class advisors in student government at Roosevelt High School. They provided constant guidance, challenged me, and were my first mentors in leadership responsibility.

Darcy Endo-Omoto

Executive Advisor to the President, Hawaiian Electric

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Anytime they had “Grandmother’s cookie” as dessert.

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Ms. Bobbi Kakuda – She truly inspired me and really made learning interesting and fun. How many teachers can do that with AP European History?

Guy Fujimura

Secretary/Treasurer (retired), ILWU Local 142

Dana Michiko Gusman

Government and Community Relations Director,
Alexander & Baldwin

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Stuffed potato skins, I remember thinking it was so fancy!

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
I want to do my part to change the narrative of public schools as a default option for families and highlight the profound pride felt by public school grads. PSHF focuses on the best of public schools and enthusiastically funds programs to support teachers.

Ken Hiraki

Director of Government Affairs, Hawaii REALTORS

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Baked spaghetti with the top layer of cheese slightly burnt.

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
My Roosevelt High School social studies teacher, Ms. Joy Denman. She made me believe in myself and gave me the confidence to dream big.

Anna Hu

Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer,
Central Pacific Bank

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Spaghetti

 

Your favorite teacher growing up? Why?
Mrs. Emma Ling, my second-grade teacher who inspired me to work on my penmanship. She had a beautiful writing style and she often told me that I had it too.

Nolan Kawano

Chief Financial Officer, Island Holdings, Inc.

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Teri burger

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
I truly believe that education when done in an innovative and sincere way can have everlasting results and is the foundation for Hawaii’s greatness.

Ian Kitajima

Director of Corporate Development, Oceanit

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Sloppy Joe

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
My intermediate school band teacher, Mr. Jaderstrom. He was so passionate, patient, and kind to our out-of-control band. We were so bad to him, and he was so good to us.

Michael Magaoay

Senior Electrical Engineer, Ronald N. S. Ho & Associates

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Sloppy Joe but I could never resist the freshly-baked butter cookies.

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
I definitely support the mission of PSHF to initiate, fund, develop, and train our educators to provide the social-economic environment through education and mentorship to our Keiki O Ka ‘Aina. The future is endless!

Ani Menon

Director of Government and Community Affairs,
Hawaiian Telcom

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Whatever my mom packed in my lunchbox.

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Miss Puanani Howell, my McKinley High School music teacher. She instilled a love of music and performance, taught me how to play the ukulele and guitar, and provided a welcoming environment for students to come together to learn and play music.

Lance Mizumoto

Chief Lending Officer and Vice Chairman,
First Hawaiian Bank

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Pizza definitely ranks first on my list!

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Ms. Mae Tsugawa who was my Social Studies teacher. She helped me open my mind to other ways of thinking, and to respect other people's opinion. Ms. Tsugawa also exposed me to issues on a global scale that enabled me to think more broadly. I cannot thank her enough for what she's done for me.

Lauren Nahme

Vice President of Strategy & Innovation, Kamehameha Schools

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Tacos

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
Our public schools are our most critical asset in our system of government entities. The Foundation rewards and shines sunlight on the amazing brilliance and dedication of those teachers and students who fight all odds for the sake of excellence.

Rhonda Nishimura

Judge, Tenth Division (retired),
Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Baked spaghetti

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
My first-grade teacher Mrs. Hayashi. She was humorous, down-to-earth, kind, generous in her praise, and made every student feel special. Little did I know her husband was Associate Justice Hayashi at the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Wendy Odo

Chief Financial Officer, Healthcare Association of Hawaii

 

Your favorite school lunch?
I loved the rolls that the cafeteria would serve! But, as far as lunches – spaghetti!

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
I had three teachers from second grade Mrs. Santoki, Mrs. Shibuya, and Mrs. Uda. It was a long time ago but I remember enjoying going to school – they were encouraging and challenging!

Terri Okada

Senior Vice President, Bank of Hawaii

 

Your favorite school lunch?
I don’t recall a favorite school lunch, but what was memorable for me was hot chocolate!

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Mrs. Kano, my first-grade teacher at Noelani Elementary, was a favorite because she was nurturing and always made me feel special. She continued to look out for us as we grew up and moved on to the older grades.

Julia Okinaka

Consulting Managing Director, Accuity LLP

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Cheese pizza

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
Teaching is a great responsibility. Every positive teacher, classroom, and experience in the school can help a student to expand their abilities, promote self-esteem, and become a better human being.

Danford Oshima

Senior Vice President & Manager, American Savings Bank

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Pizza

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Mrs. Mew (fifth grade at Benjamin Parker Elementary). She provided tough love with which I learned how to treat classmates with respect and dignity.

Jennifer Sabas

Owner, Kaimana Hila

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Spaghetti

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
The best and brightest have come through Hawaii’s public schools and gone on to serve in leadership posts in all of Hawaii’s sectors. The Foundation spotlights and amplifies these successes, and encourages teachers and students to be their best.

Toby Taniguchi

President and Chief Operating Officer,
KTA Super Stores

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Tacos

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Deborah Miyao and Paula DeMorales, who I truly respect for their commitment to educating and mentoring their students!

Brian Tatsumura

Principal, Briant 808, LLC

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Sloppy Joe

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
Mr. Choy who taught Geometry and was a very disciplined but fair teacher.

Lionel Tokioka

(President Emeritus)

Tyler Tokioka

Chairman, Island Insurance Companies

 

Your favorite school lunch?
Sloppy Joe

 

Why do you support the mission of the Foundation?
It is important to allow teachers to find different ways to engage with and inspire students' desire to learn. PSHF provides teachers the opportunity to explore different ways to do so and create magic in the classroom.

Sharlene Tsuda

Vice President of Community Development (retired),
Queen’s Health Systems

 

Favorite school lunch?
Spaghetti

 

Why you support the mission of the Foundation?
All students deserve a quality education, and I am honored to support the Foundation in its efforts to strengthen quality public education for Hawaii’s keiki.

Nicole Velasco

Business Development, NORESCO

 

Your favorite school lunch?
I can't even remember what we ate for lunch.

 

Your favorite teacher growing up?
My memory of my teacher Auntie Hattie Eldredge Phillips is strong because she truly was 'ohana. Her aloha made the classroom an absolute haven for learning, and her soul was infused into campus traditions that made her a cornerstone of my core childhood memories.