College Students Have a Meaningful Summer Innovating Solutions to Significant Community Issues
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Ten college students spent this summer coming up with ideas to address important community issues in Hawaii.
The students were participating in the Jordan & Cara Odo Scholarship Foundation’s Next Gen Leaders Program -- an eight-week program intended to help students grow into servant leaders, engage in community issues, and build their professional networks. “With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, we wanted to provide students an opportunity to continue their development during the summer break as well as contribute to something larger,” said Jordan Odo, the Foundation’s President. Before launching the Next Gen Leaders Program, the Foundation worked with the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs to identify ways that students could contribute to the Hawaii 2.0 Initiative. Through this partnership, students had the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the discussion on the future direction of the state. The students worked in teams to gather data and interview community members and experts pertaining to three issue areas – homelessness, systemic racism, and environmental sustainability. They researched the root causes of these issues and how the issues interacted with and affected individuals, families, and the larger economy. Then, with a deeper understanding of the issues, the students proposed ideas on how to address the issues to a panel of community leaders. “This experience has inspired me to reach out to more organizations and individuals who truly care about my ideas as well as Hawaii’s future,” said Grace Tanuvasa, a rising sophomore at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “The Next Gen Leaders program has changed my outlook on myself and how I can contribute to society.” Over the course of the program, the students also worked on their own self-development. They discussed with their mentors topics such as how to lead with purpose and grow in their chosen professions; they received honest feedback from their peers through LearningBridge’s Team Rater process; and they sharpened their interviewing and resume writing skills with recruiters. Thanks to generous donations from The Queen’s Health Systems, Kaimana Hila, and American Savings Bank, each student participating in the Next Gen Leaders Program received a $1,000 scholarship. Six other scholarships were awarded based on essays and individual performance. |
student presentations |
2021 cohort of student leaders
- Angelica Joven, University of North Dakota, Commercial Aviation Major
- Cheyanne-Marie Cabang, American University, Data Science Major
- Grace Tanuvasa, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Civil Engineering Major
- Ivy Li, University of Southern California, Political Science Major
- Jamie Pagan, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Business Major
- Jonah Tiwanak, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Business Major
- Josh Rio, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Business Major
- Lydia Jun, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Finance Major
- Teiana Gonsalves, Stanford University, Undecided Major
- Tori Evans, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Creative Writing & TESOL Education Major
mentors
Phil Bacchus
SVP & Treasurer American Savings Bank Phil Bacchus is Senior Vice President & Treasurer of American Savings Bank, where he leads the firm’s capital markets and balance sheet management activities. Before joining ASB in 2019, Phil was Director & Segment CFO at Capital One Financial in McLean, Virginia. He also has experience in real estate and retail investment in the Caribbean. Phil is a graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he majored in Finance and International Business. He also has an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a Global Executive Masters from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Phil grew up splitting time between Long Island, New York and St. Vincent in the Caribbean. He enjoys SCUBA diving, hiking, sailing, skiing, basketball, and island life. |
Lori Fukumae
VP & Director of Membership Hawaii Employers Council Lori Fukumae is vice president and director of membership at Hawaii Employers Council (HEC). Her professional experience includes 23 years of sales and marketing experience, specializing in human resources. She is an active community volunteer with a passion for supporting young adults, families, and women. Some of the organizations that Lori volunteers with includes the Hawaii State Distributed Education Clubs of America (DECA), Lanakila Meals on Wheels, and the Creighton University Admissions Partners and Creighton Ohana Connection. She is a member of SHRM Hawaii and the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Lori is a University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business alumni where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing. |
Sarah Guay
VP, Human Resources HEMIC Sarah Guay is a passionate HR executive with experience leading people and culture functions in some of Hawaii’s Best Places to Work. Sarah currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources at HEMIC, the state’s largest provider of Workman’s Compensation services. Prior to her role at HEMIC, Sarah served as Senior Vice President of Organizational Development at American Savings Bank (ASB), where she led the change management and teammate readiness strategies related to the construction of ASB’s new campus in downtown Honolulu. Sarah also led culture-based development initiatives at ProService and Hawaii Job Corps Center. Sarah’s passion for authentic and purposeful leadership drive her to serve on several non-profit boards including the Institute for Human Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii and the Oahu Economic Development Board. She is a recent graduate of the Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance and serves on the faculty of the Global Institute for Leadership Development. Sarah earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Communication from Washington State University in her home state of Washington. Following graduate school she moved to Portland, OR and relocated to Hawaii in 2006. Sarah enjoys reading, gardening, watching college sports and spending time outdoors in Kailua, where she lives with her husband and three children (Henry, Zoey and Griffin). |
Derek Kanehira
SVP, Human Resources Alexander & Baldwin Derek Kanehira is currently senior vice president of human resources at Alexander & Baldwin, where he is responsible for overseeing the delivery of strategic HR solutions and supporting the company through organizational development, corporate culture and employee engagement initiatives. Prior to joining Alexander & Baldwin, Kanehira served as vice president & director of HR services at Hawaii Employers Council. In the community, he serves on the State of Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Advisory Council, State of Hawaii Workforce Development Council, State of Hawaii Department of Education – Merit Appeals Board, McKinley High School’s Academy of Finance, Hospitality and Tourism, Nareit’s Social Responsibility Council, Hospitality & Tourism, University of Hawaii – Masters in HR Management Program, American Heart Association’s Disability, Equality, and Inclusion Taskforce, and Ceridian HCM’s Executive Advisory Board. Kanehira is also a director of the Hawaii Compensation Group, executive director of Diabetes Care for Life and Board of Governor of Hawaii Employers Council. |
Alex Kuch
Hawaii HR Regional Manager The Odom Corporation Alex Kuch is currently the Hawaii HR Regional Manager for the Odom Corporation (beverage distribution.) Born and raised just outside of Flint, Michigan, he attended The University of Arizona, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Shortly after graduating, he joined the United States Peace Corps and served 3 years in Romania as an education volunteer and volunteer leader. Alex moved to Hawaii in 2010 and stumbled into the HR profession. He received my Master of Human Resource Management degree from the University of Hawaii’s Shidler College of Business. He and his incredible wife, Brynne, have three lovely children Reef (9), Kai (4) & Cruz (1). In his free time, he enjoys playing in the ocean, mountains, and around town as much as he can. Traveling to new and familiar places while enjoying good food & drink is part of his being. |
Jennifer Yamanuha
Construction Claims Manager Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit, C&C of Honolulu Jennifer Yamanuha is the Construction Claims Manager at the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit. Previously, she was an associate attorney at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel LLP, where she assisted businesses of all sizes with corporate law and technology transactions, including complex software licensing, intellectual property protection, information privacy compliance, and business entity structuring. She earned her juris doctor from Harvard Law School, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. |
community of supporters
Project Advisors
Project Panelists
Scholarship Selection Committee
Mock Interview Recruiters
Speakers
- Kristen Oleyte-Velasco, Legislative Affairs Specialist, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
- Leeanne Phillips
- Erin Roh, Communications and Community Specialist, Ulupono Initiative
Project Panelists
- Jason Chang, President, The Queens Medical Center; COO, The Queens Health System
- Dr. Ulla Hasager, Director of Civil Engagement, UH Manoa College of Social Sciences
- Brigadier General Moses Kaoiwi, Jr., Joint Staff Director, Hawaii Army National Guard
- Alan Oshima, Board Member, Hawaii School Facilities Authority
- Jennifer Sabas, Director, Daniel K. Inouye Institute; President, Kaimana Hila Consulting Company
- Allison "Allie" Saunders, Economic Development Program Coordinator, Oahu Economic Development Board
- Ben Treviño, President & CEO, Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs
Scholarship Selection Committee
- Anj Oto, Global Communications Manager, NSF International
- Tanya Sasaoka, Speech-Language Pathologist, Hawaii Department of Education
Mock Interview Recruiters
- Scott Miyaki, Recruiting Manager, American Savings Bank
- Tiffany Mitani, Recruiter, Servco
- Brandie Ota, Talent Development Manager, AlohaCare
- Kathy Oyadomari, Technical Recruiter, First Hawaiian Bank
- Tyler Tuipulotu, Talent Acquisition & People Operations Manager, ProService Hawaii
- Jeffrey Aglanao, HR Coordinator - Recruiter, Lanakila Pacific
- Tahnee Towill, Executive Recruiter, Hive Recruiting
- Sonia Ibrahimkhail, HR Specialist, KumabeHR
- Evan Leong, Executive Recruiter, BrainGain
Speakers
- Tiffany Huynh, Director of External Affairs, Hawaiʻi, Elemental Excelerator
- Jacquie Esser, Assistant Federal Defender
- Scott Morishige, Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness
- Senator Glenn Wakai, Hawaii State Legislature
- Dr. Manfred Steger, Professor of Global and Transnational Sociology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
leadership team
Jeff Berlin, Ph.D.
Mentorship Director Jeff is an Organizational Development Consultant focused on facilitating positive change with individuals, organizations, and communities. Among other things, he provides training and coaching on leadership development and works with companies to develop teams and organizational culture and plan for the future. Jeff obtained a Ph.D. in Community and Cultural Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2015 and an M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from San Jose State University. For the past 15 years, he has worked as an internal consultant for a variety of companies, including NASA, University of Hawaii, Bank of Hawaii, and American Savings Bank. He currently leads his own Organizational Development consulting company, Jeff Berlin Consulting. |
John Doyle
Capstone Director John is the Technical Director of Cyber Security supporting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the largest of ten Global Combatant Commands in the U.S. military. USINDOPACOM is responsible for U.S. military operations spanning from the east coast of India to the west coast of the U.S., in defense of America’s interests in the Pacific theater. Prior to joining the federal government, John led technical services as a senior manager for a venture capital startup, senior network engineer at several of the largest U.S. Defense Contractors, and project management/IT at the Walt Disney World Corporation. John earned an MBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Shidler College of Business and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Miami. In his free time, John serves as a member of the Shidler College of Business’s Alumni Association Board of Directors, where he was instrumental in establishing the Executive Mentoring Program (EMERG) and the Recent Alumni Mentoring Program (RAMP). He also teaches a course at UH Manoa called “INDOPACOM-UHM Mentoring Program for Intelligence” for students interested in a national security career. |
Katarina Matayoshi
Capstone Coordinator Katarina is an associate at the local venture firm Sultan Ventures, where she leads various initiatives focused on empowering entrepreneurs to build and scale viable companies and creating a thriving innovation community in Hawaii. She helped launch XLR8UH®, one of the top 30 venture accelerator programs in the nation, where she worked with a diverse group of startup founders, mentors, and partners. Today, she supports local entrepreneurs by connecting them to necessary expertise, resources, and network through XLR8HI®, Hawaii’s Entrepreneurship Center, and trains the next generation of innovators by leading Sultan Ventures’ Internship and Fellowship Program. Katarina is a graduate of UH’s Shidler College of Business, where she earned a BBA in Finance and International Business. She serves on the Board of the Shidler College of Business Alumni Association, where she has been another instrumental leader in launching the EMERG and RAMP mentoring programs. |
Jordan Odo, Esq.
Program Administrator Jordan is currently an Associate Counsel at American Savings Bank. Prior to working at ASB, he was an attorney at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel LLLP, where he advised executives on business and employment matters. Today, he also serves as the Board Secretary of the Susannah Wesley Community Center and chairs the Professional Development Class committee of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s Young Professionals program. Jordan earned an MBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Shidler College of Business and a juris doctor from the Lewis & Clark Law School. He is also a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and Roosevelt High School. |
Crystal Cebedo
Scholarship Coordinator Crystal is the owner of Crystal A. Cebedo Photography. She is a recent graduate of Menlo College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. At Menlo, she served as a peer tutor, admissions ambassador, resident assistant, and student communications leader. Prior to college, she graduated as a valedictorian from Waianae High School and was a leader in the acclaimed Searider Productions. Crystal is a gifted storyteller and talented in videography and photography. One of her news pieces, titled “Without Home,” told the stories of people living in the Hale Aʻole homeless encampment in Waianae. The piece received national recognition. Crystal is a past recipient of the Jordan & Cara Odo Leadership Scholarship. We’re excited that she’s helping us award scholarships this year! |
J. J. Bernardo
Networking Coordinator J. J. is a junior at UH Manoa’s Shidler College of Business, where he is triple majoring in human resources management, marketing, and international business. He is a Shidler Global Leader and peer mentor, and serves on the Executive Board for the Business Executive Society of Tomorrow. A Big Island native, J. J. is a graduate of Pahoa High & Intermediate School, where he had the distinction of valedictorian. J. J. participated in last year’s Virtual Summer Internship Program. We’re happy that he is serving in a leadership capacity this year. |