Vice President & General Manager
Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection
Robert Johnson
If you ask for “Robert Johnson” you might be surprised by just how many there are in the world.
“I’mbanned from airlines, on most wanted lists,” said Johnson, “every time I go to Bank of Hawaii, I stand there and I see their eyes bug out as soon as they look at the screen because they see how many Robert Johnson’s there are.”
Some still may be surprised to learn that Robert Johnson, President of Johnson Brothers of Hawaii, is not an actual “Johnson Brother,” just an honorary one. Lynn Johnson founded the Johnson Brothers wine and spirits wholesaler company in 1953 in Minnesota. Since then the company has expanded to 26 states and remains a family business, managed out of Minnesota by Lynn’s two sons Michael and Todd.
Johnson, a Southern California native, went to school in the Bay Area at Santa Clara University and was recruited out of his senior year by E.& J. Gallo Winery. From there he spent two years working in San Francisco and was quickly promoted to district manager.
“I just thought it was an exciting field, I knew I liked sales and marketing,” said Johnson, “I was a foodie, and I loved wine even as a senior in college and thought it was a booming industry which it proved to be.”
What had originally begun as a one year assignment in Hawaii, opening up Johnson Brothers as a distributor, turned into a 30 year career. Though it was a big risk to move to Hawaii and learn a whole new market and culture, Johnson had just married his wife who grew up on the Big Island which made the transition somewhat easier. Feeding off the energy and passion of former GM of Johnson Brothers Hawaii, George Szigeti, Johnson quickly embraced the energetic and competitive nature of the industry. He has also been successful in leading his team, who typically come from a related background in hotels, restaurants, or supermarket chains before making the transition into wine and liquor sales.
“It’s all about your team, and getting the right people, and giving them the space and autonomy to do their job,” said Johnson, “I’m a pretty good cheerleader, I’m very positive-reinforcement, and our people have the energy and passion to be successful.”
Johnson has faced his fair share of personal challenges as well, having lost his wife of 21 years to breast cancer in 2009. He subsequently had to navigate the challenge of raising his two children while continuing his career, which though difficult he was able to manage. Johnson recalls his own upbringing fondly as a positive family environment which no doubt has helped contribute to his strength as a father, and his competitive nature. The youngest of 10 children, he credits the healthy sibling rivalry and his admiration for his older brothers as the catalysts of his driven personality.
“As number 10 I’m getting pounded all the time by my older brothers, it was always sports, sports, sports around the house constantly,” said Johnson, “it was a very good environment to grow up in. It got me to know what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.”
Johnson notes that in his industry it’s very easy to tell how well a distributor is doing based on how prominent their products are on liquor and grocery store shelves and in restaurants. However, the products that distributors now stock in these locations are far different from even a decade ago. Johnson has had to keep up with ever-changing consumer desires which have moved from inexpensive Italian 1.5 liters in the mid-nineties, to a French craze in the early 2000’s, followed by a more recent popularity for New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Currently the trending product is single-serve canned wines which have been heavily embraced by on-the-go millenials.
“In this business you’ve gotta be very competitive,” said Johnson, “you’ve gotta treat it like a sport, you’re either winning or losing every day, are you winning or losing?”
Clearly, Johnson is winning.
Margo Mau Bunnell
Though most people choose the career that they are in, that is not the case for Roberts Hawaii’s humble General Manager, Margo Mau Bunnell.
She feels she was probably born into the position since her father, Robert Mau, worked for Roberts Hawaii for forty-five years before he retired, and her mother, Keiko Mau Manapat, also worked in hospitality at Duty Free
“I got to go on tours with my Dad and all the drivers were my uncles, you know?” said Bunnell. “The owner, Robert Jr., was so nice to me and I grew up with his kids. I never even knew he was the boss.”
Bunnell was positive she did not want to get into the hospitality industry. She recalls that her parents seemed to work 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even on Christmas, Bunnell’s family would wake up at 3:00am to open presents before her parents had to leave for a day’s work.
“I thought, oh my God, this is a crazy industry.”
When it came time for Bunnell to attend college, she attended the University of San Diego and earned a degree in Communications, Political Science, and Religion. Her plan was to become an international liaison for the United States, but her plan did not go as she predicted. Upon graduation, she found herself working for the Sheraton Grand Torrey Pines, now known as the Sheraton La Jolla Hotel, as their Front Desk Supervisor for a year and a half.
Bunnell’s unexpected love for hospitality began to grow. She found herself among the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and the Barbie team at Hasbro.
“I was like, wait I think I like this. I get to meet and interact with new people every day, “said Bunnell. “I think this is my calling.”
It was during this work experience that Bunnell’s mother thought that she may be ill, so Bunnell decided to come back home to Hawaii and search for another job in order to be closer to her mother.
It just so happened that Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel at Mauna Kea was just being built, and she was soon recruited as their Japanese Guest Services Supervisor and Front Desk Supervisor. The hotel was so new that everyone wanted to experience it, including Mr. Tsuji, owner of Sanrio, Prime Minister Hashimoto of Japan, and even comedian/actor Eddie Murphy.
After working at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel at Mauna Kea, Bunnell’s career took her to multiple companies. First, the Hilton Waikoloa Village as their Director of Far East Sales and Services, then the Big Island Visitors Bureau as their Director of International Sales and Marketing, before signing on with the Waikoloa Beach Resort for eleven years where she served as their Marketing, Sales, and Operations Manager.
Now a days when Bunnell is not at the beach, her son’s volleyball games, or at the farmer’s market, she is serving as Roberts Hawaii’s General Manager. Bunnell oversees all employees and management while using her knowledge to teach and control the marketing and sales for Hawaii Island. Bunnell’s sixteen-year-old son, Nathan, recognizes how her character and talent are perfect for the position that she is in.
“She is very respectful to the culture and community we live in,” stated Nathan. “She is an innovative thinker and likes to coach her other team members to be proactive.”
Despite her loyalty to the industry, Bunnell recognizes that her position may not be around forever.
“I have an occupation that is dying. Everything is now electronic and people are listening to tours on their phone or an app and that human connection is gone, “stated Bunnell, “I’m worried the industry is going to die out. But I want to make sure it’s still here.”
However, the human side of Bunnell’s job is still paramount. After his forty-five years of work with Roberts Hawaii, Bunnell recalls her father stating that guests from all over the world are going to remember most what a Hawaii local taught them about their home. This type of connection is not something you can gain from an app on your phone.
This change in the tourism industry is not the only change Bunnell has noticed. While hospitality used to be a predominantly male dominated field, she points out the number of female drivers and managers within Roberts Hawaii.
“I think it just adds such a bigger dynamic because women like to try new things and are so driven,” said Bunnell.
She likes that women can still be “feminine” while driving a huge tour bus, amidst ideas that it is a masculine job. Bunnell inspires to some day write an article titled, The Wonder Women of the Transportation Industry, paired with a photo of women bus drivers jumping in the air wearing whatever it is they like; dresses, or pants.
With all her exceptional experience behind her, Bunnell reflects on what she wants to leave behind.
“Am I going to be known for a resort name or a website I made?” stated Bunnell.
“I want to be known for teaching people and coaching them to be good managers. I want to help build people up and then learn from them.”
Taylor Kellerman
Taylor Kellerman’s office is big. It has to be.
As the Director of Diversified Agriculture and Land Stewardship at Kualoa Ranch Private Nature Reserve on O‘ahu’s East Side, he is responsible for managing 3,800 acres, spanning from mountain peaks at 3,150 feet elevation to the lower regions and shorelines of three valleys — Hakipu‘u, Kualoa, and Ka‘a‘awa. Kellerman oversees the livestock, aquaculture, and diversified agriculture departments while maintaining the property through invasive flora control, encouragement of native species, and proper conservation practices.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to implement an overall land management system that stretches from the mountains to the sea,” said Kellerman, who has been there for four years. “Our team spans the biggest footprint of the ranch and our world occupies all of this space; however, we are only one part of the larger economy here at Kualoa Ranch.”
Being an integral part of something grand came from his roots in the pineapple plantations of Del Monte Fresh Produce in Kunia and later with Maui Pineapple Company in Haliimaile.
“Even though it was towards the tail end of Hawai‘i’s plantation era, having that experience left a profound impression on me,” said Kellerman, who was born and raised in Kailua, then earned his degree in Tropical Agriculture from U.H. Hilo. “When you live and work with such a dedicated population of folks, it creates a sense of community like no other. You truly felt like you were part of something greater than yourself.”
As the state was making the transition from an agrarian economy to diversified agriculture, Kellerman found himself in a vital position to lead the charge. While working for Hawai’i’s seed industry as an operations manager for Monsanto Kunia, Kellerman began sowing seeds of innovation by serving on numerous volunteer industry boards, including West Oahu Soil and Water Conservation District and the Kunia Water Commission.
“Every person that I looked up to early in my career had industry board involvement. I was amazed at how much someone can learn from and help influence an industry by volunteering their time and energy,” said Kellerman, who later joined the Hawaii Cattleman’s Council and is the current board president for both the O‘ahu Resource Conservation and Development Council and the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai‘i.
“We have a responsibility to perpetuate the growth of food in the Hawaiian Islands,” said Kellerman, “our agrarian history is rich with examples of innovation and dynamic solutions, starting with the ancient Hawaiian ahupua’a system and continuing through today. We now have both the burden and opportunity to keep agriculture and ranching relevant in the ever-changing landscape of our state.”
For Kellerman, it’s always been about doing something small for the greater good and perpetuating strong roots for positive growth to flourish for generations to come.
“Agriculture is unique because the work of a few impacts the lives of many,” said Kellerman, ”It’s up to us to ensure that this impact is positive for both now and our future. The only way we can accomplish this is by working together.”
Kelly Kitashima
Kelly Kitashima embraces life’s journey. She understands that there is not necessarily one set path for someone’s life and has certainly found that to be true for herself
Kitashima grew up on Oahu and graduated from Kamehameha Schools. She attended the University of Hawaii for two years and then transferred to University of Nevada Las Vegas where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management. While attending college, Kitashima also began her career in hospitality working at the MGM Grand full-time.
“Once I got to Vegas I think is when I absolutely fell in love with the industry after seeing all the excitement,” said Kitashima. “I just knew that if I could take back some of the skills that I learned there then I could make an impact here locally in Hawaii.”
After working as the National Sales Manager and Associate Director of Catering and Convention Services at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for a little over four and a half years, Kitashima brought her skills back to Hawaii. She grew her talents while working for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The Modern Honolulu, Hyatt Hotels, and The Kahala Hotel and Resort.
While Kitashima’s story may appear on paper as though it was all planned for, that is not completely true. Kitashima noticed that the hospitality industry had started to become the target, or ‘bail out’ as she calls it, for the rail here on Oahu. She also was bothered by the tourism tax increase and learned that other fees within the industry were possibly going to increase as well. She started questioning why the industry was always the first to be targeted in this way.
“This really led me to do a lot of personal research on my own,” said Kitashima.
The more she learned, the more passionate she felt that she had to do something about what she was discovering. She decided to take a leave of absence from her career and pursue action.
“Out of a lot of questions and answers with several great mentors, I decided to take that enormous leap of faith and run for our local city council” said Kitashima.
Kitashima became a city council candidate and ran from February 2018 to November 2018. She ended up being just shy of winning the election. Although, with all of her passion, motivation, and drive Kitashima is not putting off running again in the future.
“I have no regrets about running. I learned so much and never in my years did I ever think I would have ever gone on that journey, but I felt like I had to,” said Kitashima.
Running for City Council is not the only path Kitashima has walked down that has been a surprise to her. In 2015, one of her close friends and Kitashima’s husband signed her up for the Mrs. Hawaii United States Pageant.
“When my friend first mentioned it to me I was like, ‘oh no, that is definitely not something on my bucket list.’ But long story short they ended up signing me up without me knowing,” said Kitashima.
Kitashima did not take the pageant seriously. She did not invest in proper clothing for the pageant and thought of herself as the ‘unpolished pageant girl.’ But when she did not place in the pageant, she was actually crushed.
“I’m an extremely competitive person so when I didn’t place, I was really upset!” said Kitashima. “So the next year in 2016, I signed up again and actually took it seriously that time and ended up winning the title of Mrs. Hawaii United States 2016.”
Now-a-days, Kitashima spends her time as Director of Sales for the new Residence Inn by Marriott, Oahu Kapolei that opened in October 2019. There are many aspects that she enjoys about her job, but taking care of the staff is what she loves most.
“I am a mother of two young kids and I feel like my motherly nature kind of transfers over into my job sometimes,” said Kitashima. “If I do a great job every day, it positively affects the team and really that’s what drives me and motivates me every day to come in to work knowing this role has such a positive effect on all departments.”
Working in the role as Director of Sales for a new upcoming hotel keeps Kitashima extremely busy, but when she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband are very family-oriented and recently purchased a tiny home where they spend time with their children on the weekends. With all of Kitashima’s exciting endeavors, it’s no surprise that she spends her weekends in a tiny home!
2019 Healthcare Leaders
Between pervasive healthcare reform, an aging baby boomer population and the wave of new technology sweeping the landscape, we’re at a pivotal moment in the business of improving the health of our communities. Read on for a glimpse into the world of healthcare in Hawai‘i.
Glenn Medeiros
Born in Lihu‘e and raised in small-town Lawa‘i, Glenn Medeiros never guessed his cover of George Benson’s “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” would make him a household name. But after winning him Brown Bags to Stardom, a local talent competition, the Kaua‘i native’s recording of the song went on to become an international hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and topping the charts in countries around the world. Medeiros spent the rest of his teenage years and early 20s riding the wave of his breakout hit: touring the world, releasing seven albums, even making an unexpected turn in hip-hop—a directive from his record label—by way of the No. 1 smash hit “She Ain’t Worth It” featuring Bobby Brown.
In this era of YouTube sensations and Instafame, you’d think Medeiros’ meteoric rise to fame would make him an advocate of quitting your day job in uncompromising pursuit of your dreams. But though he hopes his story has inspired others to pursue their passions, he is wary of the kind of all-or-nothing thinking that encourages people to consider fame and fortune their birthright.
“For every person who becomes successful, I can give you hundreds of others who put everything in and still didn’t make it,” Medeiros says. “The most successful people I’ve met aren’t just passionate about one thing. They create a new top-five
Even at the height of his music career, Medeiros was at the mercy of the volatile record industry, pressured into making music he wasn’t invested in and dropped from one of his labels despite his chart success. So after a whirlwind eight years, Medeiros moved home to Hawai‘i rather than chase his next hit in Los Angeles, inspired to make a difference the same way his teachers had cultivated his passion and gift for music as a shy kid on Kaua‘i.
He didn’t give up the spotlight completely. To help pay the bills and scratch his itch for performing, he moonlighted as a headliner with local celebrities Loyal Garner and Frank De Lima at the Polynesian Palace in Waikiki, sharing the stage with the pint-sized Elvis impersonator who grew up to become superstar Bruno Mars.
But his career in education took center stage. On the road to earning his postgraduate degrees, Medeiros found gratifying work teaching not just music and voice lessons but special ed, elementary school and history to students around the island. Along the way, he realized he could make an even greater impact in the lives of youth in his community as an administrator, and upon making the jump to vice-principal of Maryknoll School, he found the role a perfect fit.
“Whether as a singer or an administrator, I always felt a responsibility to the people of Hawai‘i and to the kids out there watching who may want to do the same thing.”
It was there that Medeiros was confronted with the many challenges facing Catholic schools in our 21st-century landscape. A shortage of the unsalaried nuns and priests who historically kept costs low for Catholic institutions have forced schools to raise tuition and, in many cases, accept an academically diverse community of students to keep up enrollment. Add to that growing competition from non-Catholic private schools and it became clear to Medeiros that something needed to change.
Armed with insight about the plight of Hawai‘i’s Catholic schools, Medeiros focused his doctoral dissertation on technology-based differentiated instruction, advocating for the approach when he later took the reins as head of Saint Louis School, Hawai‘i’s oldest Catholic school and the only all-boys college preparatory institution in the state.
Saint Louis is now in its third year of utilizing a blended learning curriculum, which combines online interaction with traditional classroom education in a way that Medeiros believes empowers students to make the highest gains. “What I like about it is that it’s a balanced approach,” he says. “You don’t throw away all of the things that have worked in the past.”
With the recent closing of several local Catholic schools—among them, the nearly century-old Saint Francis School and St. Anthony’s in Kalihi—Medeiros has been busy implementing this and myriad other changes at Saint Louis to stay ahead of the nationwide trend of growing debt and declining enrollment at Catholic institutions. That includes working with the Saint Louis School board, the school’s Marianist landowner and the Saint Louis Alumni Association to get the school out of the red. “Most schools carry debt—it’s part of running a business—but we were able to make the changes necessary to bring that down, so we’re doing really well,” Medeiros says.
Also high on the agenda was opening Saint Louis to elementary school students for the first time in more than 60 years, a move that’s increased enrollment by nearly 50 percent and enabled the school to expand its programs to include robotics and orchestra. That’s in addition to wrapping up renovations on roughly 50 classrooms and the ongoing construction of a new, state-of-the art athletic center—an investment not only in Saint Louis’ nationally ranked football program but in Saint Louis athletics overall. “If we win championships, great. If we don’t, we don’t, but I would love to have athletic programs that are successful enough so that our students can get the scholarships they need to go to college,” Medeiros says. “Everything comes down to what benefits the students.”
Medeiros has also been the driving force behind a recent partnership with Kamehameha Schools to provide need- and merit-based financial assistance to Saint Louis students, 60 percent of whom are of Native Hawaiian heritage. All-boys Catholic school isn’t necessarily a fit for everybody, Medeiros says, but those who do choose Saint Louis School will find an experience like nowhere else, one steeped in Hawaiian culture, Catholic values and brotherhood.
“For a lot of people here at Saint Louis School, this is like their second home,” Medeiros says. “I’m 100 percent Portuguese so, for me, the Catholic Church is not just a religious entity. Catholicism is so intertwined in Portuguese culture that it’s a way to connect culturally to my ancestors.” Such is Medeiros’ commitment to the mission and vision of Saint Louis School that he willingly took a pay cut his first year, keeping his twice-weekly singing gigs at the Hale Koa Hotel’s lu‘au show so that the school could put those resources toward regaining its financial footing.
Not that it was ever the money calling Medeiros to the stage. From captivating a packed stadium in his youth to that priceless moment when lu‘au-goers recognize him wistfully as the teenage pop star behind “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You,” singing has allowed Medeiros to reach people in a way that’s kept him coming back for more. “That energy going back and forth,” he says, “is a powerful feeling.”
Like others in the local spotlight, he’s also driven by the powerful force of his Hawai‘i roots. “The great thing about being from Hawai‘i is that people want to see you succeed,” Medeiros says. “You’re part of the Hawai‘i team. Whether as a singer or an administrator, I always felt a responsibility to the people of Hawai‘i and to the kids out there watching who may want to do the same thing. I take that very seriously.”
saintlouishawaii.org
gmedeiros@saintlouishawaii.org
gmedeiros@saintlouishawaii.org
Kathryn Raethel
Now heading into her 45th year as a registered nurse and 20th year with Adventist Health Castle, Kathy Raethel reflects on her career-defining turn as Castle’s first woman president, including leading the organization to win the 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest honor for performance excellence and quality management.
Congratulations on landing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. What an accomplishment!
It was a long journey—close to 20 years in the making. Our clinical results are the best in the nation in some categories, and our engagement results are also among the best in the nation. Our associates and physicians are happy, and, most importantly, our patients are very satisfied with the care they receive.
We call it “chasing zero”—making sure that no harm comes to patients while they’re in the hospital. There are a lot of infections people can get when they’re in the hospital, which slows down their recovery, and we’ve been able to avert those before they happen.
Falls are also a problem in hospitals—patients are on medications, they’re unsteady on their feet—and we’ve been able to prevent a tremendous number of them. We discovered that people were falling on the way to the bathroom, and so as we say at Castle now, nobody potties alone.
It’s all about training our associates to make sure they have the skills they need and know what the best practices are. Sometimes best practices emerge somewhere else, and if you’re paying attention, then you can be an early adopter of those best practices.
Where were you when you found out about winning the award?
I was on the mainland at a system meeting when I got the call from the secretary of commerce. I was really emotional, but I held it together until after I hung up. I had promised Steve Bovey, our quality improvement coordinator who championed the Baldrige process here for the whole 20 years, that he’d be the first to know if we won. I couldn’t speak—I was just blubbering—so I called my husband and then I called Steve. Our system CEO was speaking at the conference center next to my hotel, so I went down and told him next, just as he was getting ready to go on stage.
But even more exciting for me was what happened when I came back. I got to my office really early the next morning, and there was a housekeeper cleaning the corridor outside. She put down her mop and came over to me and said, “Mrs. President”—she’s the only person who calls me that!—“I have chicken skin. We won the Baldrige award!” Even the housekeeper recognized that we as an organization had won it and that she’d done her part. It was a really lovely moment.
That’s what it’s all about—disseminating that effort throughout the organization. They don’t just want to know that we in the administration can tell the story. They want to know that every person in the organization understands the mission and the part they play in achieving those results. I mentioned preventing infections—housekeepers are a really important part of that. Now we’re doing the work of sustaining those results and making sure we’re still worthy of the award.
Were other Hawai‘i facilities in the running?
I don’t believe anyone in healthcare here has made the choice to pursue Baldrige excellence. It’s a lot of work. We’re part of a nationwide system, and there are other Adventist hospitals that are on that journey, but not everybody gets to the finish line. We are the first and only organization in Hawai‘i’s history and in our 22-hospital healthcare system to receive the award.
That’s not Castle’s only noteworthy accolade in recent years.
We also made Healthgrades’ list of America’s 250 Best Hospitals for 2019. That was a big honor. There are about 6,000 hospitals in the country, so to be top 250 was pretty cool. Again, we were the only one in Hawai‘i and the only one in Adventist Health’s nationwide system.
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In addition to our America’s Best 250 Hospitals Award, we received Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award, Critical Care Excellence Award and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for General Surgery Award.
We’re also recognized by the Women’s Choice Award as one of the country’s top 100 hospitals for patient experience and have earned consecutive “A” grades for patient safety in Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grade program.
The SafeCare Group ranked us 23rd among the nation’s 4,500 acute care hospitals, placing us in the top 1 percent in the country for patient safety.
Castle recently purchased Hawai‘i Pacific University’s 132-acre Hawai‘i Loa campus in Kane‘ohe. What’s the vision for that expansion?
Our vision is for a beautiful, healthy campus that’s focused not just on illness, but on health. It will be home to Windward O‘ahu’s first cancer center—including a 5,000-square-foot radiation treatment space—and we’ll be adding outpatient facilities and a new 160-bed hospital with single-occupancy rooms over the course of the 15-year redevelopment.
We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on solar panels, charging stations and other energy efficiency measures with the goal of it being an environmentally conscious operation to serve our patients and the community into the future.
What else is new at Castle?
We brought on a spine and neurosurgery program and expanded and renovated our emergency department. We used to have curtained bays that weren’t very private, so now we have individual rooms with a glass doorway that goes cloudy when you flip a switch.
Certain things can’t be treated here—if you fall off a ladder from a certain number of feet, for example—so we’re also working towards Level III trauma designation. The tunnel closing shined a light on that need, and we’re working really diligently to get that certification so people in Windward O‘ahu don’t have to be taken all the way to town.
Tell us about the name change from Castle Medical Center to Adventist Health Castle.
We’ve actually been an Adventist facility since our inception in 1963 and have had several name changes along the way. The change to Adventist Health Castle was about shifting the focus away from being hospital-centric. We really believe that we’re here to care for the community. We don’t want to wait for you to get sick. We want to help you stay well.
Are there specific issues in our community that Castle is working to address?
We do a community health needs assessment every year in concert with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and we look specifically at our Windward population as well. Diabetes is a huge problem, so there’s a lot of effort there.
Homelessness is another one. It’s a tough issue that we can’t solve ourselves, but we try to be part of the solution. We have a behavioral health unit with 29 beds, where we often serve members of the homeless population. It’s a busy place, unfortunately. We’ve just hired psychiatrists who are there all day, every day, and we work with the Institute for Human Services, which has shelters downtown as well as transitional care homes in our neighborhood where we can discharge patients for integration back into the community. We’ve really taken a holistic approach in these respects.
We also opened a rural health clinic in La‘ie, which is an area of great need, and just recently opened the neighborhood’s only dental clinic.
You’re the first woman in the history of the organization to hold the position of president. What advice to do you have for women looking to get ahead?
Do a really good job at whatever task you have in front of you. I’ve rarely interviewed for a position. It’s always been somebody tapping me on the shoulder because they recognized a job well done.
It’s not about aspiring to a position, it’s about doing really great work. And if someone asks you to do something that’s outside the realm of what you’re comfortable with, go for it with gusto. Make a name for yourself.
What leadership best practices have you picked up along the way?
A great leader is someone who wants to help others, not just be autocratic and tell people what to do. We’ve cultivated a sense of servant leadership in our associates. At Castle, it’s our belief that we’re all in this together. I think that’s why people enjoy working here. It’s really a kind and compassionate place, and you notice it when you walk around. People are friendly, they make eye contact, they enjoy each other’s company.
Castle is big on career development and promoting from within. What kind of resources do you have available?
In addition to an Emerging Leaders program and an on-site MBA focusing on healthcare management, we offer educational opportunities through our new COPE Health Scholars program. I heard about it several years ago and went to the mainland to visit a couple of places where they were bringing in high school and college students for on-site experience and training. I was blown away by the aspiring physicians, physical therapists and nurses I met in these programs.
Students can spend the entire summer or as little as four hours a week with us getting hands-on experience and deciding what area of health care they might want to specialize in. The hope is that, now that they have an introduction to Castle, maybe they’ll want to come back and work for us someday. We’ve already hired a couple of them part-time.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
When I first took this position, the system CEO told me, “Surround yourself with people who you have to tell “whoa,” not “giddy up.”
That story about the housekeeper is a great one. What’s another memorable moment from your career at Castle?
When the former president here, who I worked with years ago, asked me to consider joining Castle, I initially turned down the offer. But after several months’ convincing, I agreed to come and visit the hospital, and they flew my family and I out here from the mainland for a long weekend. Our daughter was 11 years old at the time, and when we came out onto the breezeway, she stopped and said, “Feel that, it’s like the wind is kissing my cheek!” My decision could’ve been made at that point.
But the moment I walked into Castle, I knew it was a special place. I’d spent my entire life in hospitals, and this was different. People were friendly—you felt welcome in a way that I had never experienced before. And that still exists today, perhaps even more so. It’s a place where you feel comfortable, and that’s really important for a hospital.
I had a local family, a brother and sister, make an appointment to come see me last year. At first I thought maybe they were upset about something. They told me their mother had passed away unexpectedly in the emergency department, but that when the doors to the ED opened, they felt like they had stepped into heaven.
I hear it from people all the time. One wrote to me from the mainland, “Lucky me, I had a life-threatening condition and got to be seen in one of the best hospitals in the country.” They fall in love with Castle, but what they fall in love with is the people who care for them. We care for patients like they’re our own family.
Lori Uezu
Lori Uezu isn’t one to seek the limelight, but you’ve likely seen her work. Since joining the family business in 2014, she’s leaned in alongside her father, mother and brother to open two new locations of the multinational fast-food chain Popeyes as vice president of the Hawai‘i franchise.
She’s well suited for the job, having grown up helping her parents in the office after school and witnessing them put countless hours into the business started by her father, Kal Uezu, a former chicken farmer and restaurateur who jumped at the chance to bring the Popeyes franchise to Hawai‘i after sampling its famous Southern-style fried chicken at the flagship location in New Orleans.
Uezu always saw herself going into the family business, but not without spreading her wings first on the mainland, where she spent 14 years immersed in the tech industry in Silicon Valley. Around 2014, Popeyes Hawaii was positioning itself for further growth in Hawai‘i, and Uezu saw it as the perfect opportunity to come back and be a part of the expansion effort.
Though Mom and Dad are “Sue” and “Kal” during business hours, Uezu says her family ties have opened doors for making strides at the company from the get-go. “There are challenges in any job, but [working with family] is exciting because there’s a lot of opportunity,” Uezu says. “But the best thing about it is being able to work with somebody you trust. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do.”
“It’s never a dull moment.”
To cater to the local palate, the company offers limited runs of unique-to-Hawai‘i menu items, such as Cajun-spiced liver and gizzards and Japanese-style curry made with the company’s signature marinated chicken. And that isn’t all that sets the Hawai‘i franchise apart—Popeyes Hawaii was one of the first in the nationwide chain to offer online orders through a mobile app, an initiative the company launched more than four years ago and that Popeyes is now working to implement nationwide.
Coming from Silicon Valley at the end of the dot-com era, Uezu knew one thing for certain. “Everything needs to be at your fingertips,” Uezu says. “You have to be constantly evolving and willing and open-minded to change. You can’t stay stagnant or everybody will pass in front of you.”
In addition to overseeing the company’s physical expansion, Uezu has been a driving force in integrating new tech at Popeyes, implementing new POS, phone and camera systems, rolling out electronic versions of the company’s paper processes and working with a marketing agency to bolster the company’s local branding and social media presence.
“I wear a lot of hats,” Uezu says. “When we were in the development phase, I was in the stores often,” Uezu says. “I wanted to understand what [was or wasn’t working], working really closely with the teams, watching the process and seeing their challenges to make sure that as we develop, we [are always making] improvements. It’s never a dull moment.”
The company is now celebrating its 40th anniversary in Hawai‘i, a huge milestone for the franchise and the Uezu family. “We’re a quick-service, fast-food restaurant, but in reality, it takes so much care to create this product,” Uezu says. “My dad is so passionate about quality. He’s been working his entire life to try to get [Hawai‘i] back to fresh chicken.”
It’s an achievement that’s come full circle for “Chicken Kal,” as he’s known humorously by friends. Prior to opening Popeyes Hawaii, he raised and processed local chickens for his father’s company, 50th State Poultry—an anomaly in our island state, where frozen mainland chicken is the norm. Marinated for 12 hours and hand-battered-and-breaded to perfection, Popeyes Hawaii’s signature fried chicken is made with fresh, not frozen, poultry, a detail that makes all the difference.
And though Popeyes’ Bonafide bone-in chicken is great for a quick lunch—Uezu has it between five and six days a week—that’s not where Popeyes really shines. “A lot of families love it,” Uezu says. “Popeyes is great to be shared.”
Julie Hong
When environmental scientist Julie Hong was last at the state Senate, it wasn’t to provide testimony on climate change—it was to find out more information on human trafficking. Hong’s testimony was in favor of a bill that would require the state to maintain a database aggregating information on sex trafficking from the various organizations dedicated to fighting the issue here in Hawai‘i.
While Hong’s primary function as a senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton is managing the company’s infrastructure, energy, environmental and data science business in the Pacific Rim, she found out about the issue of human trafficking in Hawai‘i and had to take action. “We wanted to find a data science project in which we’re doing something to benefit society and do social good,” Hong says. “We couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was happening in our own backyard.”
Hong’s work in anti-human trafficking is a voluntary effort, and her company has been utilizing its initiatives in data science training and strategic communications to provide nonprofit organizations with statistics on the issue’s local impact. “When we think of trafficking, we think of Thailand, the Philippines, the women coming here and getting trafficked—and that is true, in some cases—but the majority are already here,” Hong says. “Several of those impacted are Native Hawaiians.”
Hong has also been working to empower women in the energy sector as one of the five original members of Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE), a nonprofit organization that hosts a monthly forum on topics relevant to the energy industry. Founded in 2013 by Dawn Lippert, president and CEO of Elemental Excelerator, the group has grown to 300 strong, with partner organizations and other chapters emerging in Canada, Armenia and Maui. “Whenever we went to conferences and symposiums on energy, it was the men who were dominating the conversation,” Hong says. “We felt that we didn’t really have a voice. We wanted to have a safe place for women to talk freely.”
WiRE has since become a valuable resource for job seekers as well as a vehicle to elevate capacity building and professional development. And it’s opened other doors, too—government agencies that typically don’t collaborate or share information freely have sought out members and past panelists thanks to relationships formed through WiRE.
“There’s a lot of brain drain. We’re trying to figure out how to keep students here instead of going back to the mainland.”
Through funding from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, WiRE has also begun providing scholarships for training opportunities and to send attendees to the annual C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium. “We’re trying to get women involved in STEM at a very young age,” Hong says. “There’s a lot of brain drain, where students get all of their education here and then leave because they think they can’t get jobs here. We’re trying to figure out how to keep the students who come out of UH, HPU and the other universities here instead of going back to the mainland.”
One way Booz Allen Hamilton is working to foster local talent is through the company’s summer internship program. Students are divided into two teams and presented with a number of client-focused challenges over the course of 10 weeks. The teams receive mentorship from the company and compete against other teams of interns in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Washington D.C., San Antonio, San Diego and other offices. Many of the interns eventually end up working for the company.
Hong is also proud of Booz Allen Hamilton’s diversity initiative, which earned the company a top-25 spot on Forbes’ 2018 list of the country’s best employers for diversity. For nine years running, Booz Allen Hamilton has also earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index, which ranks the nation’s best places to work for LGBTQ equality.
“When I first got here, the demographics were more homogeneous, but now there’s a lot more diversity of gender, race and thought,” Hong says. “We are really pushing for diversity and see the strength in it, which makes us unstoppable. Statistics indicate that the most financially successful companies have diverse leadership teams. That’s something I know other companies say they do, but we are actually doing things that are meaningful.”
Having lived in both the mainland U.S. and Korea, Hong fell in love with Hawai‘i’s unique, vibrant and diverse community. “Growing up first in Pennsylvania and then in Virginia and the D.C. area, I was always a minority, no matter what,” Hong says. “When I came to Korea, I still felt like a minority because I could speak the language, but not that well. I think people just looked at me and realized I wasn’t from there by the way I dressed, talked or acted, and so I always felt like an outsider.”
Hong originally intended to stay in Hawai‘i for a year—enough time to replicate the environmental programs she had helped build for multiple U.S. air bases in Korea—but one year quickly turned into 14. “I came here and thought, ‘Wow! These people look just like me, they talk like me and act like me.’” Hong says. “I really felt I was finally at home here, and I learned how to lead my life with aloha.”