Priscilla Zheng, BBA ’18, was named as the 2021-2022 president of Ad 2 Hawaii. In this leadership role, she manages the communications, programs, events, public services and membership development of Ad 2 Hawaii. Zheng is also a digital marketing community relations specialist at Hickam Federal Credit Union.

Congratulations to Teresa Hamabata, BBA ’11, for being honored in Pacific Business News’ 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 for her demonstration of business excellence, contributions to her organization and strong community involvement. Hamabata currently is the VP, commercial banking officer at American Savings Bank and also serves on the Shidler Alumni Association board.

Dustin Borromeo, BBA ’17, has been appointed development coordinator in the Office of Estate and Gift Planning (OEGP) at the University of Hawai‘i Foundation. In his new position, he is responsible for assisting with the functions of OEGP and providing administrative support to the development team. He previously served as client service association at Yim Investment Management, LLC.

Christopher Hodges, BBA ‘10, has been named vice president, deputy chief financial officer & finance division manager at Hawaii State Federal Credit Union. Hodge oversees all finance, accounting and treasury functions, including loan and deposit pricing, managing investment portfolios and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. Previously, he served as vice president and treasury investment officer at First Hawaiian Bank.

Jessica Yamamoto, BBA ‘18, has been appointed as communications and social media manager at FCH Enterprises, Inc. In her new role, she oversees all traditional and digital media relations. In her previous role, she was senior community manager at Yelp.

Drew Gladstone, BBA ‘11, has been promoted to controller at Seaboard Energy, LLC. In his elevated role, Gladstone oversees all accounting and finance related aspects of the company.

Timothy Goshi, MBA ‘10, has been promoted to senior associate at KAI Hawaii. Goshi will lead  building department engineers responsible for the company’s vertical/building projects. With over 18 years in the field, his expertise areas include residential, commercial, industrial, medical and hospitality.

Kisan Jo, EMBA ‘19, has been appointed executive vice president of retail markets and operations at Central Pacific Bank. In this leadership role, he oversees the bank’s branch network, call center, deposit and loan operations, consumer lending and client experience. Jo previously served as the president of Prince Resorts Hawaii. 

Keone Nakoa, JD/MBA ’15, was appointed as deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. In this role, Nakoa works to strengthen insular economies through strategic investments in environmental justice activities, clean energy deployment and infrastructure improvement. The OIA office also promotes policies and works to restore trust with territorial communities. He previously worked as a bureau chief at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in Washington, D.C. 

Derek Lin, BS ’17, has been named as an IT technician for Autoclerk. He previously served as a front desk manager for Marriott International.

Alyssa Tanabe, BBA ‘11, welcomed baby boy, Maddox Tanabe, to the family on Feb. 4.

Congratulations to Trevor Newman, BBA ’12, for being honored in Pacific Business News’ 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 for his demonstration of business excellence, contributions to his organization and strong community involvement. Newman currently is the director, citywide sales at the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and also serves on the Shidler Alumni Association board.

Taylor Ricca-Mirzayan, BBA ‘18, has been named marketing specialist at ThousandEyes. She is responsible for planning and executing email campaigns, copywriting and improving existing marketing automations. Ricca previously served as a marketing coordinator at Plumb. 

Sara Strona, MBA ‘15, has been appointed director of Starn O’Toole, Marcus & Fisher. She practice in the areas of real estate law, commercial transactions and corporate law. Strona holds Martindale-Hubbell’s® highest possible rating of AV Preeminent®. This rating is given by her legal peers, based on their knowledge of her work, knowledge and integrity.

Stefen Joshua Rasay, BBA ‘18, has been named rating analyst at S&P Global. In this new position, he is a part of the U.S. Public Finance team, reviewing the creditworthiness of public power and electric cooperative utility entities.

Kyle Kinman, MBA ’19, MAcc ’21, and Tiffany Yoshida, MBA ‘19 were engaged in July 2021 and married on Nov. 14.

Alyssa Tanabe, BBA ‘11, has been hired as development associate at the East-West Center. Tanabe most recently served as development coordinator for the University of Hawai‘i Foundation.

Madison Behnen, BS ’18,  has been appointed senior manager of conference services at The Curtis Hotel in Denver. In this position, she is responsible for planning, managing and executing hotel events. Behnen previously served as a field sales and marketing representative at Techtronic Industries. 

Riccardo Coffani, BS ‘11, has been named general manager of Tokyo Pizza London, a concept restaurant that marries the flavors of Japan with classic pizza. He most recently served as marketing manager at Orange Hospitality Limited. 

Congratulations, Ashley Takitani Leahey, MBA ‘13, for being selected for Pacific Business News’ 40 Under 40: Class of 2021! 

Leahey was named to the annual list through a competitive nomination process based on demonstration of business excellence, contribution to the overall success of her organization and community involvement. 

Jerrin Ching, MBA ‘19, has been named corporate advanced analyst at HMSA. Ching is responsible for performing data analysis and presenting financial medical trends to senior management. He also develops and applies automated solutions to business reporting processes and functions.

Congratulations to Jadyne Yomono, MHRM ‘17 for being selected for the 6th cohort of the Patsy Mink Leadership Alliance in August 2021. The program is designed for emerging women leaders to develop management skills in order to advance their personal growth, professional impact and community change.

School of Accountancy instructor Manu Ka`iama, BA ’82, MAcc ’88, and Katrina-Ann Oliveira, EMBA ’19, have been working hard to preserve and promote resources for Native Hawaiian learning, while tapping into the Shidler alumni network.

Together, they have co-authored the Noʻeau Program grant, totaling $2.3 million, printing over 94,500 books in Hawaiian for immersion schools throughout Hawaiʻi, as well as creating 52 Hawaiian language audiobooks. Additionally, the grant provided opportunities for Hawaiians to work in graduate research and as teaching assistants across UH. The program also received support from Shidler alumnus Meh'ana Maka`iana`i, MBA ’07, along with help from Shidler Master in Human Resources candidate Morgan Plunkett.

Ka`iama and Oliveira were recently informed that they received the Mai ʻŌ A ʻŌ grant for five years, totaling $5.4 million. This grant specifically addresses technology as a means to education, assisting teachers to capitalize technological applications.

Lynn Miyahira, MBA ‘10 and Mark Gilbertson got married on Jan. 30 in Kaneohe. 

Rachel Odumu, BBA ’19, has been promoted to senior software engineer at Capital One in Virginia. In her role, Odumu is responsible for communication and collaboration on a multidisciplinary team of engineers, product designers and stakeholders. She also gathers feedback from customers to develop, maintain and support new features for the Capital One mobile app.