CTAHR Board of Advisors

Purpose:

The purpose of the Board of Advisors is to guide the strategic directions of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. This guidance involves providing general advice on the education, research and Extension programs, the administrative and fiscal functions, and the student services and promotional operations of the college. The Board also serves to ensure that the College leadership understands the current and future higher education needs of the College’s stakeholders. Finally, the Board assists in obtaining the necessary public and private support for the College to provide responsive higher education programs to the College’s stakeholders.

Deron K. Akiona is Vice President for Government Affairs at Accurate Information Systems. He has extensive public policy experience, coordinating political strategies for Governor Linda Lingle’s 2002 campaign, developing lobbying approaches for the state legislature from 1993 to 1997, working on the 1997 Interim Senate Committee on Coordinated Care in workers’ compensation, and serving as commissioner on the 2001 State of Hawai‘i Reapportionment Commission, and clerking for Representative Annelle Amaral in the House Judiciary Committee.

From 1997 to 2001, Akiona was the managing director of the Anesthesia Medical Group, Inc., the largest group of physicians in the state. He was the Executive Director of the Haku Alliance, a group focused on reforming workers’ compensation laws, from 1993 to 1997. From 1994 to 1996, he served as the Building Industry of Hawaii’s government affairs and community liaison.

Akiona received his Juris Doctorate from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in 1990.

Jan E. Hanohano Dill is president and chairman of the Partners in Development Foundation, an organization he founded in 1997. Since that time he has also served as president of Strategic Solutions, Inc. and as a senior advisor to the Massachusetts Foundation for Excellence in Marine Polymer Sciences. He is a member of the board and former president and vice-president of Na Pua a Ke Alii Pauahi and chairs the annual Governor’s and Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast. His work and volunteer experience includes employment with the Pacific American Foundation, Strategies Hawaii, The Oceanic Institute, Tufts University, and Punahou School and past chairmanship of the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Hawaii Board, Steering Committee for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hokulea Voyage, and Volunteer Corps of the Oahu Community Correctional Center. He served as a Fulbright Fellow with the National University of Guatemala and has been honored with the Distinguished Graduate Award from Kamehameha Schools. He holds master’s degrees in economic development and international affairs from Tufts University.

Susan Doyle is the president and chief professional officer of Aloha United Way, a nonprofit organization that works to improve lives, motivate people to help others, increase resources to meet needs, and inspire solutions to community problems. She is actively involved with the Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center, the Hawaii Employers Council, the UH Manoa School of Social Work, and the Hawaii Uninsured Project. An alumna of Brown University, she holds a master’s degree in business administration from UH and is a member of the UH Manoa College of Business Alumni Hall of Honor.

Richard Ha is president of Hamakua Springs Country Farms, a family farm on Hawaii’s Hamakua Coast that grows tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, watercress, and bananas. Richard has years of experience in farming, starting from running his father’s 40-acre chicken farm straight after college, to starting his own banana farm, formerly called Keaau Bananas, which evolved over the years and became the diversified, sustainable farm it is today. He has been immersed in the agriculture community for most of his life and currently is treasurer of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Allan Ikawa is president and founder of Big Island Candies. He attended Hilo High School and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo before earning his bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. In 1998, Ikawa returned to serve his alma mater as a member — and eventually chair — of the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents. True to his firm belief in giving back to the community, Big Island Candies and its non-profit Big Island Candies Foundation support a variety of educational and athletic activities in the community — especially those that benefit youth and senior citizens. Ikawa has received numerous local and national awards for his innovative retailing, marketing and entrepreneurial achievements. In 1995, he became the youngest person ever inducted into the Junior Achievement Hawai‘i Business Hall of Fame.

Wayne Katayama is president of Kilauea Agronomics. He is an alumnus of the University of Hawaii, receiving a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, both in business administration. He has served as a member of the Agribusiness Development Corporation since 2002 and is active in many organizations that promote agriculture in the state of Hawaii and economic development on the island of Kauai. He is a board member of the Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross and a retired Major in the Hawaii Air National Guard.

Senator Russell Kokubun represents Hawaii’s 2nd Senatorial District. He is a graduate of Punahou School and received a bachelor of business administration degree from Southern Methodist University. A Honolulu native, he moved to the Big Island in 1974 to pursue a career in agriculture, working as a laborer before establishing a farm in Volcano that he operated for a decade. Prior to becoming a state senator in 2000, he served on the Hawaii County Council and worked for the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, the Hawaii County Mayor’s Office, the Hawaii County Department of Planning, and the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. He chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Affordable Housing, is vice chair to the Senate Committee on Water and Land, and serves on the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, Energy and Environment, and Judiciary and Labor.

Sandra Lee Kunimoto is the chair of the state Board of Agriculture. Appointed by Governor Linda Lingle in 2003 to head the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, she has more than 25 years of experience in agriculture in Hawaii and California. She received a bachelor of sciences degree in the biology of natural resources from U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from UH Manoa. Her previous positions include director of marketing and business development for the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, vice president of a landscaping firm, general manager for a vegetable cooperative, research associate in horticulture at UH Manoa, technical consultant to a global agro-industrial firm, and research supervisor of a $20 million plant nursery. In 2001 she joined the state as an administrator for the Business Development and Marketing division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Derek Kurisu is the Executive Vice President of Perishable Operations for KTA Super Stores. In his 38 years at KTA, Derek has held positions ranging from part-time courtesy clerk, to meat cutter, to his current position as an executive vice president. In 1994, Derek created the Mountain Apple Brand label to market locally produced goods in KTA stores, bridging the gap between Hawai‘i farmers and retail consumers. He was named CTAHR’s Outstanding Alumnus in 2002 (B.S., Agriculture) in recognition of the Mountain Apple Brand’s contribution to Hawaii’s agriculture and value-added industries. An ambassador of aloha, Derek produces cable television’s “Living in Paradise,” “Paradise Live,” and “Seniors Living in Paradise.” He averages 50 public speaking engagements annually.

Susan Matsushima is president of Alluvion, Inc., a multimillion dollar nursery business on Oahu’s North Shore. A UH graduate and a teacher by training, Matsushima left teaching to work with Amfac’s nursery operation. She eventually opened her own business, Alluvion, which works actively with the Department of Education to provide internship opportunities for local high school students. She is a volunteer in organizations that promote agricultural development in Hawaii.

Richard McCormack is a plant manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. He holds a bachelor of sciences degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from UH Manoa. He has worked in the agricultural community in Hawaii for over 25 years and serves of the board of directors of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association.

Susan Miller is the president of CTAHR Alumni Association. She completed a PhD in CTAHR’s Agricultural and Resource Economics department in 1983. In 1984 she joined GTE Hawaiian Telecom. She moved to California in 1997 to serve GTE California as their Regulatory Affairs Manager and left the company in 2003. After returning to Hawaii in 2004, she has worked as a regulatory affairs consultant for Verizon and, currently, for Hawaiian Electric Company.

Brian Miyamoto

Interim Executive Director for Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation

David Morihara is president of the Hawaii 4-H Foundation. During a long career in public service, he was a public utilities commissioner, a technology advisor to Governor Benjamin Cayetano, and upcountry Maui’s representative in the Hawaii State Legislature’s House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000. A UH Manoa alumnus, he managed government relations for UH from 2001 to 2006. He is the president of Morihara Store, located in Kula, Maui.

David Buddy Nobriga is the CEO and President of Nobriga’s Ranch Inc., a family ranch that includes a feedlot operation on the island of Maui. A man who means business from the get go, Nobriga has spent most of his life in agriculture. He has served as Chairman of the West Maui Soil & Water Conservation District since 1958; President of Hawaii Association of Conservation Districts; past President and member of Maui County Boy Scout Council of America; Chairman of the Federal Land Bank Association and Farm Credit Services of Hawaii, ACA; and Chairman of the State and Maui Cattleman’s Government Affairs Committee. In addition, his commitment to the viability of agriculture includes his involvement with Maui’s Board of Water Supply as its Chairman from 1962-1978; Board member of Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture, 1994; and the State Water Commission from 1995-2002. He retired as President of Maui Soda & Ice Works, Ltd. (Roselani Ice Cream) in 1999 after more than 55 years, but maintains his position as Chairman of the Board.

Dean Okimoto is president of Nalo Farms, a farm that specializes in unique salad greens, herbs, and other specialty items used in many of Hawaii’s restaurants. He is also president of Local Island Fresh Edibles, Inc., (LIFE), which handles sales, marketing, and distribution of other locally grown produce.

Born and raised in Waimanalo, Okimoto graduated from Iolani School and University of Redlands, where he majored in political science.

Okimoto is co-founder and co-organizer of the very successful Kapiolani Community College Farmers' Market held every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Frederick Perlak

Vice President of Research and Business Operations for

Monsanto Company

Herbert ‘Monty’ Richards is Chairman of Kahua Ranch, Ltd. For more than 50 years, Richards has been the guiding force behind innovation at Kahua, being the first in Hawaii to use artificial insemination to enhance the genetics of the cattle, using intensified grazing to increase the capacity of the pastures, developing alternative energy sources to power the ranch, and diversifying the ranch’s offerings to include sheep, greenhouse vegetables, and ag tourism. His community service includes four terms as a University UH regent, chairmanship of the Rural Economic Transition Assistance–Hawaii program and the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii, and membership on the boards of The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, the Agricultural Leadership Foundation, and the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research,. He is Hawaii’s delegate to the Council on Agriculture, Research, Extension, and Teaching. He was voted Hawaii’s Cattleman of the Year in 1984.

Michael Saalfeld

Kukuipahu Ranch, LLC.

Alec Sou is general manager of Aloun Farms, a successful family farming enterprise on Oahu in business since 1976. Sou’s father's name, "Aloun," is the Thai word for sunrise. Sou comes from Waianae. He graduated from Punahou and got his bachelor's degree at the University of Puget Sound. After earning an MBA at Bowling Green State University, he returned to the islands in 1994 to expand the family farm and cultivate a greater area of central Oahu. He is a board member of the Institute for Human Services. His business works closely with the high school students involved in the state's Future Farmers of America through community activities such as the Kapolei corn maze.

Outside of the islands, Sou is President of Hawaii Asian-Pacific Associates, Inc. (HAPA), an agriculture development consultant group with projects throughout Asia. He also runs Fresh Care Technologies, Inc. which provides post harvest cooling systems and solutions to agriculture growers/shippers throughout the Pacific Rim.

Neil Tagawa is the chief financial officer for American Electric Company. Prior to joining American Electric he was a vice president for Grove Farm on Kauai, where he provided oversight for diversified agriculture ventures, water and wastewater utilities, and the entitlement process for a large mixed-use development. The diversified agriculture ventures included an open-ocean moi farm, a taro processing facility, and an agricultural park. He is a past director of the UH Agribusiness Incubator Program and has more than a decade’s experience as a business consultant and project manager. Neil is a UH Manoa alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and he received an MBA from San Diego State University.

Harold Tanouye is president of Green Point Nurseries on the Big Island. His primary product is anthuriums. He organized and incorporated Hawaiian Heart, Inc., and Hawaiian Anthurium, Ltd., with two partners in 1964. In 1977, he started Green Point Nurseries. Tanouye graduated as a history major from Grinnell College in Iowa. His affiliation with CTAHR dates back to the early 1970s when he served on an advisory committee for former dean Peairs Wilson.

Ernest Tottori is president of HPC Foods, Ltd., a closely-held family corporation which was started in 1946 as Honolulu Poi Company. The firm’s original product was Taro Brand poi and has since diversified and expanded its lines to include sprouts, fresh-cut fruits, salads and vegetables and value-added taro based products. Currently, due to its extensive distribution and delivery system, the firm also represents other local manufacturers and large mainland salads and vegetable processors such as Fresh Express and Ready Pac Produce. Because of his long-term interest in preserving and strengthening Hawaii’s diversified agriculture business, he has worked closely with individual farmers and has also served on various agriculture committees.

Fred Trotter is the president of F. E. Trotter, Inc., a business consulting service. A Honolulu native, he graduated from Punahou School before receiving a bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Oregon and attending graduate school at the University of Hawaii. He held operating and management positions in Hawaii’s sugar industry for 16 years and served for 21 years as a trustee of the James Campbell Estate. He currently holds directorships with Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Rehab Hospital Foundation, and Waterhouse, Inc., and is actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America (Director, Aloha Council).

Last updated on 2/2/2009