diva tables
First Insurance Company
The Honolulu Advertiser



goddess tables
American Savings Bank
Bank of Hawaii
Central Pacific Bank
First Hawaiian Bank
Island Insurance Company/
Foundation

First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd.

Lynn Leong is Assistant Vice President, Commercial Underwriting Major Accounts at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  Lynn has been with FICOH for more than 6 years and was previously with Pyramid Insurance Centre, Ltd.  Lynn started her career at Pacific Insurance and has been in the insurance industry for more than 38 years.

April Putnam is Assistant Vice President, Liability Claims at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  April has been with FICOH for more than 20 years and was previously with SAFECO Insurance.  April holds a Masters Degree from the University of Michigan and prior to going into insurance taught Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Nebraska.

Linda Fernandez is Assistant Vice President, Marketing at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  Linda has been with FICOH for more than 17 years.  Linda also holds the CPCU designation and is a member of CPCU Society as well as the UAH, HAIP, and NAIW.

Janice Fukuda is Assistant Vice President, Workers Compensation Claims, Medical Bill Review, and Special Investigation Unit at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  Janice has been with FICOH for more than 15 years.  She holds a BS from the University of California, Irvine and an MBA from Chained University.  Janice also holds numerous professional designations from the American Educational Institute as well as an Associate in Risk Management. 

Stephanie Tokuhama is Assistant Vice President, Commercial Underwriting at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  Stephanie has been with FICOH for more than 2 years and was previously with Hawaii Insurance Consultants.  She also holds the CPCU and ARM designations. 

Amy Kaneshiro is Assistant Vice President, Corporate Underwriting at First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. (FICOH).  Amy has been with FICOH for more than 8 years and was previously with King & Neel and Industrial Indemnity.  She also holds the CPCU, CIC and ARM designations.

Leslie Kahana is major accounts sales manager of The Honolulu Advertiser.  She is responsible for the daily newspaper’s major and regional accounts, as well as national and military accounts, which in total represent the majority of retail sales for the department.

Jeanne Mariani-Belding is editorial and opinion editor of The Honolulu Advertiser, where she leads the revamped editorial pages with a greater emphasis on interaction with the public through “The Hot Seat” blog and other initiatives.  She serves as national president of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Marsha McFadden is managing editor for content at The Honolulu Advertiser.  She has worked at newspapers including the San Antonio Express-News, The Monterey County Herald and the Clovis News Journal. She was a
John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University.

Sandra Oshiro is managing editor for digital and multimedia at The Honolulu Advertiser, where the 30-year veteran of the newspaper helped launch honoluluadvertiser.com.  She is a founding member of the Hawaii chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and the recipient of a Fulbright Journalism Fellowship in Japan.

Miki Sugikawa is human resources director of The Honolulu Advertiser and Pacific Media Publishing.  With more than 850 employees to oversee, her department handles the human resources responsibilities at three site locations — Honolulu, Waipio and Kapolei — for the largest media employer in the state.

Jody Mukaigawa is a Vice President, Commercial Banking Officer and Team Leader at American Savings Bank.  She was previously with Bank of Hawaii, and is married to Tommy Mukaigawa, owner of Monarch Seafoods.  They have 3 children.

Laurice Otsuka is a Vice President and Commercial Banking Officer of American Savings Bank.  She is a Certified Public Accountant, and was recently the President of the Risk Management Association (Hawaii Chapter).  She was previously with Ernst & Whinney, and Nishihama & Kishida.  Laurice currently serves on the YWCA’s Board of Directors and Finance Committee.

Melanie Shishido is a Vice President and Commercial Banking Officer of American Savings Bank.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and was previously with Price Waterhouse, and Arthur Anderson.

Terry O’Reilley is a Vice President and Payments Department Manager at American Savings Bank.  She is married to P.J. O’Reilley, owner of Shadowfax, Inc.  Terry has been with American Savings Bank for 15 years and was previously with PriMerit Bank in Las Vegas NV.  Terry was an inaugural member of the Ways To Work Loan Committee and continues to donate her time to this YWCA program.

Gayle P. Ishima is a visionary leader who, in 2004, was recognized by Pacific Business News as one of Hawaii’s businesswomen making a big difference.  As the co-founder of Hawaii HomeLoans, Gayle was instrumental in growing the company into one of the largest mortgage loan providers in the State.  Day to day, Gayle does it all as the Chief Operations Officer.  To the many families that Gayle has helped, she is a hero and mentor as their lifelong dream of homeownership has been fulfilled.  Gayle even finds time to volunteer countless hours to numerous community and professional organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the Self Help Housing Corporation.  Giving back is part of her nature and is what distinguishes Gayle as a champion and role model for all.

Janice K. Nakamoto is passionate about her work and is committed to doing the right thing at the right time, every time.  As Central Pacific Bank’s Senior Vice President and Financial Technology Division Manager, Janice manages a team that is responsible for providing the Bank with its computing requirements and maintaining its technology infrastructure.  She is generous in her success, and eagerly shares recognition and celebrates the accomplishments of others.  Through her 25 years in banking, Janice’s strong technical expertise and amazing energy to take on new challenges have been recognized with many promotional opportunities.  Despite a very busy professional life, on the home front, Janice enjoys time with her husband and three children and being very involved in their school and soccer activities. 

Gwen S. Yamamoto Lau empowers others by creating collaborative partnerships that achieve results.  Under Gwen’s leadership, two programs are now being offered at Central Pacific Bank. The bank’s SBA Community Express Loan Program is an innovative program that provides technical assistance and SBA guaranteed loans to eligible companies that are owned by women, ethnic minorities or veterans, or located in a low-to-moderate income area.  Our Women’s Business Central program is an exclusive program that helps novice entrepreneurs obtain vital information to start and maintain their businesses.  Both programs were the first of their kind in the State and only a small sample of Gwen’s leadership abilities.  Very involved with the Leader Luncheon Event Management Committee and Leadership Development Task Force, the YWCA knows firsthand the contributions of this dynamic woman leader of Central Pacific Bank.  

Linda B. C. Fujitani is the Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for the Credit Administration Division.  When Linda began her career at First Hawaiian Bank in 1972, she was the first woman accepted into the bank’s prestigious Management Training Program.  And today, she is the first woman to hold the top position of Chief Credit Officer, responsible for maintaining the bank’s credit quality.  She leads by example, is very supportive of her staff’s career objectives, and is fair and objective in her decision-making.  In her nearly 35 years at FHB, Linda has always sought ways to promote opportunities for women at the bank.  She encourages women to take on new responsibilities even if it is a personal stretch and to look at challenges as opportunities to grow professionally and personally. 

Robin Midkiff is the Executive Vice President and the Private Banking Segment.  Robin, who has over 33 years of extensive banking, investment and trust experience, attributes her success to her ability to build credibility and trust with her clients.  She encourages her colleagues to work as a team, to find creative solutions for their clients, and to always do what is best for the client.  She is one of only two women on the FHB Senior Management Committee.  As a Director of Atherton Family Foundation, she continues her family’s legacy of giving back to the community, helping to build a stronger Hawaii. 

Sheila M. Sumida is the Executive Vice President for Human Resources.  Leading by example is not always an easy thing to do, but having access to input from great minds helps when you are the head of Human Resources.  Sheila Sumida hires the right people with the best fit, and her commitment to excellence has helped to shape the bank’s Ohana culture and team environment.  Always looking for innovative ways to make FHB a better place to work, Sheila developed the award-winning “ShareCare” program.  This successful program, which was ahead of its time, eases the burden of child and elder care for FHB employees, especially women.  Sheila has also been a member of FHB’s Senior Management Committee since 1997.

Marilyn Shimata recently celebrated her 44th year of service at AIG Hawaii.  Marilyn has displayed outstanding leadership by example, joining the company as an Assistant Manager in Customer Service and currently serving as Operations Manager.  She has dedicated herself to servicing the needs of AIG Hawaii customers and has provided an enriching work environment for her fellow employees with her warm and caring attitude.

Doris Ohara is Vice President of Human Resources and Administration at AIG Hawaii. She oversees the development of workplace policies, employee benefit programs and staff development.  She has more than 20 years of management experience in the private and public sectors and has also served as Director of Client Services for Human Resources Solutions, an AIG Hawaii subsidiary.  She is a dedicated executive and grandmother.

Elise Burkart is the Controller for City Mill.  Elise is very much a numbers person, detailed and thorough, yet at the same time, strategic and big picture in her thinking.  She is a great manager and smiley 100% of the time!

Lynn Shimono is a senior manager in the assurance practice and has been an active leader in our office.  We wish to highlight her 20 years of service with Grant Thornton.

Linda Chung Miki became the youngest principal in the firm at age 32. In addition to being a principal architect on both institutional and resort projects, she has spearheaded the development of an asset management practice within the firm.  Linda is an excellent example of the opportunities Group 70 makes available to motivated individuals regardless of age or gender. 

Christine Mendes Ruotola, a principal with the firm, has 14 years of professional experience and is responsible for the preparation of master plans, feasibility studies, environmental documents, and entitlement applications for private developments, educational and health facilities, and government and institutional projects.  Christine coordinates Group 70’s mentor-protégé program and enjoys flexible scheduling to attend soccer practices and school events.

Wendy Crabb believes that a “hand reaching out to help is a gift that comes too infrequently in the world today.” 
She comes from a legacy of philanthropy that began with Abigail Kuaihelani Campbell, and believes that regardless
of what you have, everyone has a privilege to share with others.  A wife and mother of three, Wendy works towards improving the lives of Hawaii’s children by increasing their educational opportunities.  She devotes countless hours on the boards of Hanahau‘oli School, La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls, Punahou School, Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center Trust, Family & Peace Center, Parents & Children Together (PACT), and the James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation.  She is also concerned about improving the health care of the Hawaiian community, a passion which began with her early career in the healthcare industry.  At Kaiser Hospital, Wendy taught prenatal classes for expectant mothers and worked in the Department of Psychiatry; she also worked in the Labor/Delivery and Newborn Nursery of Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

Sheryl Delsol is GVP, Director of Human Resources for Servco Pacific, Inc.  Throughout her twenty-five years with Servco, she has become a distinguished leader who contributes to our business success through her strategic partnering with business operations, her collegial approach to problem solving, her wise decisions, and her caring spirit.

Lois Kawano is the Chief Financial Officer for Title Guaranty of Hawaii, Inc.  Lois was born in Hawaii and grew up in beautiful Wahiawa.  She attended Leilehua High School and went on to the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. She earned her Certified Public Accountant designation in 1988.  Lois held the position of Audit Manager at Ernst & Young for 6 years and prior to joining Title Guaranty, she was employed with Amfac Distribution Hawaii, Inc. as their VP of Finance and Controller.  Lois is heralded by many colleagues as a great leader!  She possesses tact and diplomacy, which enable her to interact with employees at all levels, she exemplifies a “can do” attitude and is a great listener.  She is very empathetic to the needs of Title Guaranty employees and colleagues alike.  And . . . last but not least . . . is her wonderful sense of humor and famous “robust laugh” which can be heard on a regular basis throughout Title Guaranty!

Kristine Foster is the Financial Assistance Program Administrator for the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services.  As a key leader in our State’s efforts to support and promote self-sufficient families, Kristine works tirelessly as a public servant and volunteer.  She played an essential role in the establishment of YWCA’s Ways to Work program in 2001, and has since provided valuable insight as a founding member of the program’s loan review committee.

Heather Wallace is the Operations Supervisor for the YWCA’s Fernhurst Transitional Housing.
Heather’s leadership in the past year resulted in excellent results, including exceeding net profit goals by 7%.  Promoted to her current position in mid-2006, she carries with her a clear vision of social entrepreneurship.  Last year, Fernhurst housed 584 women and children, 64% of whom were
economically challenged.

Brenda Souza, is the Resident Assistant at the YWCA’s Fernhurst Transitional Housing.  Brenda is consistently a strong role model for women.  Being a single parent, she is a hard worker giving her all without question.  She is a compassionate face when residents check in.  She is a friend when residents need to laugh and a mother when they need a hug.  She is a teacher, always encouraging Fernhurst residents to pursue their dreams and not to give up.  In 2006, 80% of our residents reported a positive change in their lives while staying at Fernhurst.

Juanita Cabral is the Assistant Facilities Supervisor for the YWCA of O‘ahu.  Juanita clearly lives YWCA’s mission of empowering women.  Recently promoted to her current position supervising maintenance staff, she motivates and leads by example, and is often seen at Laniākea with a broom or mop in-hand.  As the situation demands, she is strong, assertive, and compassionate.