What advice would you give to your younger self?
We would tell our younger selves to be strong and know that all the adversities you endure in your youth will serve as helpful experiences in your future endeavors; also, be grateful for your family as the values they instill in you will lead to good choices, great friendships and a lasting love relationship.

Are there any exciting projects coming up in your career?
Kelly is currently running again for Maui County Council, after stepping down to run unsuccessfully for mayor, and is excited about continuing her efforts to represent the people of Maui, preserve our environment and natural resources for future generations and support the underrepresented in our community!

Through Pacific Biodiesel, we are in the throes of a new farming venture on Kaua‘i which will expand local feedstock for biodiesel and also support food security in the islands. Starting with 100 acres of sunflowers, we have involved public officials and the community of Kaua‘i as interested stakeholders and are receiving great support for the project which includes a crushing mill and collaborating with local livestock producers to deliver high protein meal. Our goal for the end of the first year is to have 1,000 acres in production, with crop rotations and other high value products (along with the culinary sunflower and macadamia nut oils we currently produce)!

How do you support local businesses?
Pacific Biodiesel works with many local businesses, including local trucking companies for delivery of biodiesel feedstock and fuel, collecting used cooking oil for free from local restaurants across the state, collaborating with local farmers who are growing their own products on our leased farm in Central Maui, working with other pump truck companies to receive their grease trap material, etc. Our biggest collaboration currently is bringing the sunflower operations to Gay & Robinson on Kaua‘i as we are leasing warehouse space for our mill, land for farming and housing for our employees over there. For all of our business customers, we work with them on marketing and provide tools to help them get recognition for greenhouse gas reduction to attract more concerned customers to their businesses.

How can individuals contribute to their communities?
One of the best ways to contribute is to learn about the important challenges in our communities (i.e., climate change, houselessness, environmental degradation) and join a non-profit that is addressing issues you care most deeply about. Also, gaining experience in the issues, honing your skills in communication and policy-making, and learning to interface with the public could lead to running for office to make a huge contribution in making change happen for the better!

What strategies do you use to maintain a healthy work-life balance as a married couple in business together?
Our best strategy is to recognize each other’s strengths and to allow them to shine. We work hard in all aspects of our business, but we are careful to allow each other to make the decisions in our own wheelhouse. For example, Bob is the technical and business genius and Kelly oversees decisions on messaging and marketing. By respecting each other’s strengths, we stay focused on the end goal of producing renewable energy for a cleaner environment and are able to have a strong working relationship as well as keep our personal relationship healthy and happy!

In what ways do your individual skills and talents enhance your business operations?
Bob’s business, technology knowledge, and experience have been invaluable and are well respected by folks in our community. This has allowed us to keep growing, make calculated business investments and engage with government entities at all levels. My skills in communications and understanding of government processes have helped us obtain government grants and other funding to engage in experimental ventures such as the biofuel crop projects and added value endeavors. We believe Kelly’s experience and expertise in messaging and collaboration have also aided our ability to garner public support for our business and bring in cohorts from several higher education entities to assist with studies that show the benefits of community-based biodiesel.

What key advice would you offer to married couples considering a joint business venture?
Don’t try to run a business together in your first year of marriage! You first need to have confidence you understand each other’s values, skills, and communication requirements in your personal relationship before you can develop a successful business where you are truly equals in your investment and return. Bob and I were married for 11 years with two children before we started Pacific Biodiesel and our solid personal relationship has been our bedrock upon which we relied during hard times. As bad as things in the business had gotten, we were together in our values, our love and respect for each other, and our family priorities, so we knew we could endure any adversity!

How do you prioritize and manage your work tasks alongside family commitments?
We look at all tasks as contributions to each other and the life we are building together. There is no keeping track of the amount each other contributes—we just both try to do the things that need to be done, especially at home. During the time when I stayed at home with the kids, Bob was working as a mechanic and I did his bookkeeping from our house as well as the housework, cooking, taking care of the kids, etc.

When I was elected to the State Board of Education in the late 1990s and had to be on O‘ahu much of the time, Bob stepped up to handle more of the household chores and caretaking of the kids for the four years of my term. Much later, when I was elected to the Council, the kids were older, but Bob again took over the cooking and most of the household upkeep, as well as running the business. We both are happy to do what needs to be done to help each other reach our personal goals because they align with our collective goals.

Can you share some specific challenges you’ve encountered while running a business together and how you addressed them?
Perhaps our biggest challenge was building a biodiesel plant in Texas with Willie Nelson and having it flounder because the truck stop it was built to serve underwent a longer than intended remodel.

Bob and I thought this endeavor could take the whole company down, and we were also being heavily criticized by a couple of our investors. I remember not sleeping for a week and having deep discussions about what we would do if we lost Pacific Biodiesel and our personal investment in the company. The hardest part was having employees that we felt responsible for because now there were other families that would be affected. We always knew we would be okay, even if Bob had to go back to “wrenching” and I had to waitress for a living.

While enduring that business trauma (and later similar experiences), we always focused on the fact our strong personal relationship would carry us through anything and we would do what was necessary to keep our kids clothed and fed. We continued to leverage our financial assets to support the company we believe in even when other stakeholders would not.