UH Hilo Community Advisory Board

Douglass S. Adams has served in a number of public and non-profit sector positions, recently as the director of the Hawaiʻi County Department of Research and Development Management. He has also served as board chair of the Hawaiʻi County Board of Ethics, the Hawaiʻi County Charter Commission, the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island, and Kuikahi Mediation Center. An attorney, he is vice-chair and director of the kamaʻaina company WH Shipman, Ltd. A West Point graduate, he is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army who served twenty years as an intelligence officer.

Kealiʻi Beck lives in Hilo and specializes in architecture, land planning, design, construction, real estate development, and real estate sales on Hawaiʻi Island. He is a member of the UH Hilo Booster Club, UH Hilo Relationships Doing Committee, Hilo Downtown Improvements Association, and the Hilo Palace Theater. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Maryland at College Park and earned his graduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the proud parent of UH Hilo Chancellor’s Scholar Bree Foster.

Chad Cabral is from Hawaiʻi Island and serves as chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island. He graduated from Hilo High School and holds a bachelor of arts in sociology from UH Hilo and a master of science in higher education administration from Colorado State University. As an undergraduate at UH Hilo, he was a founder of the University Canoe Club, and beginning in 1999, he worked in the division of student affairs at UH Hilo for 16 years. In 2019, he was recognized by the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations as the 2018-2019 Nonprofit Emerging Leader.

Malu Debus, born and raised in Hilo, serves as Hawaiʻi Island’s philanthropy advisor at Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. She is a member the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center Advisory Committee, secretary of the Hawaiʻi Island Disaster Assistance Response and Recovery Team, and is in her fifth term as ʻUo Mamo at Ke Kula o Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. Raised in Hawaiian-medium education, she attended Pūnana Leo o Hilo, Ke Kula Kaiāpuni o Keaukaha, Ke Kula o Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, and Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language at UH Hilo. She holds a bachelor of arts in communication from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jason Fujimoto is president and chief executive officer at HPM Building Supply. He is the fifth generation of his family to lead the Hawaiʻi Island-based company in its 100-year history. Previously, he worked in JPMorgan’s investment banking division in New York City. He currently serves on the board of directors of the ‘Iole Stewardship Center and Hawaiʻi Planing Mill, and is a member of the Hawaiʻi Asia Pacific Association Leaders, the U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa Training Area Commander’s Advisory Council, the Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative, and the Hawaiʻi Business Roundtable. He holds a bachelor of science in economics with a concentration in corporate finance and strategic management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jacqui Hoover, born and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, is president of the Hawaiʻi Leeward Planning Conference, and executive director and chief operating officer of the Hawaiʻi Island Economic Development Board. Previously, she served as executive director at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority. She serves on numerous boards and councils including the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaiʻi, the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Planning and Permitting, Hawaiian Electric Integrated Grid Plan Stakeholder Council, Pōhakuloa Training Area Community Advisory Committee, among others. She holds degrees in business and economics, public administration, engineering, Middle East history, and legal studies.

Randy Kurohara is a longtime small business owner on Hawaiʻi Island now serving as executive director of Community First Hawaiʻi, a nonprofit to improve health and lower medical costs on the island based on the community good. Previously, he served as director of the Department of Research and Development, deputy managing director, and managing director for the County of Hawaiʻi. He has served as an officer and/or member of the Rotary Club of South Hilo, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaiʻi, Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce, Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce, Hawaiʻi Health System Corporation’s East Hawaiʻi Regional Board, and others. He holds a bachelor of business administration with a focus on marketing from UH Mānoa.

Wendy Laros, a Hawaiʻi Island resident for over 30 years, is president and chief executive officer of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit member organization that exists to provide leadership and advocacy for a successful business environment in West Hawaiʻi. She serves on the Hawaiʻi Community College Advisory Council, Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi Board of Directors, Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Hawaiʻi Island Destination Management Action Plan Steering Committee, and the U.S. Army Garrison Pōhakuloa Training Area Advisory Council. She holds a bachelor degree in psychology from UH Hilo and a master of education from UH Mānoa.

Kellie Miyazu, a freelance artist in graphics and design, is youth education director and a graphic designer at the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center. She is an alumna of UH Hilo, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in art in 2015. She teaches art at several local elementary schools including Waiākeawaena Elementary School, where she is currently the art resource teacher. She joined East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center in 2016 as graphic designer, and went on to create the Youth Arts Series, which provides art opportunities for youth while promoting the importance of arts and creative thinking.

Janette Snelling is the West Hawaiʻi Complex Area superintendent covering Hamakua, Kealakehe, Kohala, and Konawaena for the Hawaiʻi Department of Education. She has worked for the DOE for over 35 years covering all levels within the K-12 continuum, including serving as principal at both Kohala High School and Kohala Middle School. Previously, she served as a school renewal specialist for the West Hawaiʻi Complex Area. She is a graduate of Kohala High School and has a master’s degree in counseling from Purdue University, Indiana.

Audrey Takamine is cofounder and vice-president of Takamine Construction, a family business on Hawaiʻi Island. Her community work includes being a board member and/or officer at Junior Achievement Hawaiʻi Island, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Care Choices, and the Hawaii Community Foundation—East Hawaiʻi Fund. She serves on the advisory board of the UH Hilo College of Business and Economics. She also serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for Hawaiʻi Community College, and as a trustee for the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi. She holds a bachelor of business administration degree from UH Hilo.