100 years

Advancing Nonprofit Excellence
Ho‘okele Award

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The Ho‘okele Award pays tribute to leaders from the nonprofit sector – the guiding forces in our community who strive to make Hawai‘i a better place.

Named for the ho‘okele, or steersman, the award recognizes the significant role that a nonprofit leader plays in improving the quality of life for Hawai‘i’s people. The award provides recipients with the opportunity for personal renewal and professional development.

The Ho‘okele Award was made possible from 2002-2016 through a partnership between the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF). In 2017, HCF’s Board of Governors created the Kelvin Taketa Ho‘okele Leadership Award Fund in honor of Kelvin’s visionary leadership as former CEO of HCF. The Fund ensures that the award will continue in perpetuity.

 

Congratulations to the 2023 Ho‘okele Award Recipients

Līpoa Rae Kahaleuahi

Līpoa Rae Kahaleuahi

Lipoa Rae Kahaleuahi is from Hāna, Maui, and leads Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻIke (MKHKI) as a previous graduate and a Gates Scholarship recipient. After earning her graduate degree and working as a Hawaiʻi Island school teacher, Lipoa served MKHKI as an outreach coordinator, a project manager, and as deputy director before becoming executive director in 2019. She is an accomplished surfer, a former student of the prestigious Hālau O Nakaulakuhikuhi, a former member of the Hāna Advisory Committee to the Maui Planning Commission, and a founding board member of Ke Ao Haliʻi (which, since 2018, has placed more than 180 acres of sensitive coastal lands under conservation in perpetuity).
hanabuild.org

Cheryl Ka‘uhane Lupenui

Cheryl Ka‘uhane Lupenui

Cheryl L. Ka‘uhane Lupenui founded the Leader Project as a place for learning about shared leadership from Hawai‘i for Hawai‘i. Now, as president and CEO of the Kohala Center, she is part of a larger community returning ancestral knowledge and research into daily practice across the fields of education, agriculture, conservation, and leadership. Her career path to this work has included serving on the Board of Education for Hawai‘i’s state Department of Education, being CEO for the YWCA of O‘ahu, managing business development for Servco Pacific Inc., running her own restaurant promoting sustainable local agriculture, and consulting for native-led entrepreneurs.
kohalacenter.org

Ryan Kusumoto

Ryan Kusumoto

Ryan Kusumoto has served as president and CEO of Parents And Children Together (PACT) since 2014, determined to ensure the provision of high-quality, client-centered, and values-driven services that honor the dignity and autonomy of each person. During these years, Ryan has guided strategy for the agency to emerge as a future-focused social services leader grounded in mission, place, and culture. He currently serves on several boards, including Hawaiʻi Employers Mutual Insurance Company (HEMIC), Employer’s Protective Insurance Company (EPIC), Camp Mokulēʻia, Mental Health America of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Appleseed, Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, Move Oʻahu Forward, San Francisco Federal Reserve Community Advisory Board (California), the 501(c) Unemployment Insurance Trust (nationwide), and The Church Pension Fund (New York/worldwide).
pacthawaii.org

Mary Frances Oneha

Mary Frances Oneha

Dr. Mary Frances Oneha has worked in community health centers for more than 30 years and has served as the CEO of the Waimānalo Health Center since 2012. Her experience at community health centers has aligned with her commitment to improve the health of Native Hawaiians and perpetuate Native Hawaiian cultural practices in healthcare. Dr. Oneha serves on the Boards of AlohaCare, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, and the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations. She received her doctorate in nursing from the University of Colorado, a master of nursing from the University of Washington, and a bachelor of science from the University of Hawaiʻi. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, a 2016 inaugural inductee to the University of Hawaiʻi School of Nursing Hall of Fame, and was recognized by the White House in 2013 as an AAPI Woman Champion of Change.
waimanalohealth.org

 

Ho‘okele Award Recipients

2022

Chad Cabral
CEO
Boys & Girls Club
of the Big Island

Jocelyn Howard
CEO
We Are Oceania (WAO)

Micky Huihui
Executive Director
Hawai‘i’s People’s Fund

Richard Yust
Executive Director
Maui Food Bank

2021

Kristin Frost Albrecht
Executive Director
The Food Basket Inc.

Twinkle Borge
Leader
Pu‘uhonua O Wai‘anae

Jeffrey Gilbreath
Executive Director
Hawaiian Community Assets

Sandy Ma
Executive Director
Common Cause Hawai‘i

Darryl J. Vincent
Chief Operating Officer
United States Veteran Initiative

2019

Brandee Menino
CEO
HOPE Services Hawai‘i, Inc.
Hawai‘i

Jessica Yamauchi
Executive Director
Hawai‘i Public Health Institute
Statewide

Deborah Zysman
Executive Director
Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network
Statewide

2018

Jan M. Harada
President & CEO
Helping Hands Hawai‘i
Statewide

Angela Hi‘ilei Kawelo
Executive Director
Paepae o He‘eia
O‘ahu

Susan Maddox
Executive Team Leader
Friends of the Future
Hawai‘i

Randy Wong
President
Hawai‘i Youth Symphony
O‘ahu

2017

Kevin Chang
Executive Director
Kua‘āina ‘Ulu ‘Auamo
O‘ahu

Brenda S. Ho
Chief Executive Officer
Hospice of Hilo
Hawai‘i

Heather Lusk
Executive Director
Community Health Outreach
Work (CHOW) Project, Hawai‘i
O‘ahu

Pauline M. Sato
Executive & Program Director
Mālama Learning Center
O‘ahu

2016

William Akutagawa
Executive Director
Nā Puuwai
Moloka‘i

John and Julianna Leong
CEO
KUPU
O‘ahu

Christine Richardson
Executive Director
North Kohala Community Resource Ctr.
Hawai‘i

Paul Singer
Head of School
Assets School
O‘ahu

2015

Kepā Maly
Executive Director
Lāna‘i Culture & Heritage Center
Lāna‘i

Richard Taaffe
CEO
West Hawaii Community
Health Center
Hawai‘i

Marian E. Tsuji
President & CEO
Lanakila Pacific
O‘ahu

Harry Wong III
Artistic Director
Kumu Kahua Theatre
O‘ahu

2014

Suzanne Case
Executive Director
The Nature Conservancy
Statewide

Howard Garval
President & CEO
Child and Family Service
Statewide

Nanci Kreidman
Chief Executive Officer
Domestic Violence Action Center
Statewide

Nola Nahulu
Executive & Artistic Director
Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus
O‘ahu

2013

Nancy Aleck
Executive Director
Hawai‘i Peoples Fund
Statewide

Nalani Fujimori Kaina
Executive Director
Legal Aid Society Hawai‘i
Statewide

Carol Kouchi Yotsuda
Executive Director
The Garden Island Arts Council
Kaua‘i

Kenneth Zeri
President & CPO
Hospice Hawai‘i
O‘ahu

2012

Jud Cunningham
CEO
Aloha House, Inc.
Maui

David Fuertes
Executive Director
Ka Hana No’eau
Hawai‘i

Connie Mitchell
Executive Director
The Institute of Human Services
O‘ahu

*Marjorie Ziegler
Executive Director
Conservation Council for Hawaii
Statewide

2011

Lea Hong
Hawaiian Islands Program Director
The Trust for Public Land
Statewide

Tony Krieg
Chief Executive Officer
Hale Makua Health Services
Maui

Robert G. Peters
Head of School
Hanahau‘oli School
O‘ahu

Leslie Wilcox
President & CEO
PBS Hawaii
Statewide

2010

Selena Ching
Executive Director
Hawaii Youth Symphony Assoc
O‘ahu

Patricia Tummons
Editor
Environment Hawaii
Statewide

Jeanne Skog
President & CEO
Maui Economic Development Board
Maui

Gregory Dunn
Executive Director
Hawaii Nature Center
O‘ahu

2009

Stacey Sproat
Executive Director
Waipa Foundation
Kaua‘i

Matthews Hamabata
Executive Director
The Kohala Center
Hawai‘i

Drew Astolfi
Executive Director
Faith action for Community Equity
O‘ahu, Maui

Laura Robertson
President & CEO
Goodwill Industries
Statewide

2008

David Derauf
Executive Director
Kokua Kalihi Valley
O‘ahu

Marilyn Cristofori
CEO
Hawaii Arts Alliance
Statewide

Ku Kahakalau
Co-founder/Director
Na Lei Na’auao
Statewide

Chipper Wichman
CEO
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Kaua‘i

2007

Dale Bonar
Executive Director
Maui Coastal Land Trust
Maui

Gary Forth &
Kukui Maunakea-Forth
Wai‘anae Community Directors
Re-development Corp.
O‘ahu

Michael Gleason
President & CEO
The Arc of Hilo
Hawai‘i

*Rose Nakamura
Director
Project Dana, Mo‘ili‘ili
Hongwanji Mission
O‘ahu

2006

Christina Cox
Executive Director
KCAA Preschools
O‘ahu

Roy Katsuda
Executive Director
Hale Mahaolu
Maui

Wally Lau
Executive Director
Neighborhood Place of Kona
Hawai‘i

Thein Tin Myaing
Executive Director
Pacific Gateway
O‘ahu

2005

Bob Agres
Executive Director
Hawaii Alliance of Community Based Economic Development
O‘ahu

Vanessa Chong
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union
O‘ahu

Janice Kalanihuia
Director Molokai
General Hospital
Moloka‘i

Darrell Lum
Editor
Bamboo Ridge Press
O‘ahu

2004

Carol Ignacio
Director
Office of Social Ministry
Hawaii

Robert Witt
Executive Director
Hawaii Association of Independent Schools
O‘ahu

Lynn Maunakea
Executive Director
Institute of Human Services
O‘ahu

Patricia McManaman
CEO
Na Loio – Immigrant Rights
Oahu

2003

Hardy Spoehr
Executive Director
Papa Ola Lokahi
O‘ahu

*Marsha Erickson
Executive Director
Hui O Laka - Koke‘e Natural History Museum
Kaua‘i

Puni Kekauoha
Papakolea Community
Development Corporation
O‘ahu

*Walt Dulaney
Executive Director
Alliance for Drama Education
O‘ahu

George Kon
Managing Director
Alliance for Drama Education
O‘ahu

2002

Andrew Aoki
College Connections Hawaii
O‘ahu

David Nakada
Executive Director
Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii
O‘ahu

Eric Enos
Program Director
Ka‘ala Farms, Inc.
O‘ahu

Jo-Ann Ridao
Lokahi Pacific, Inc.
Maui

*deceased