Leadership Conference 2019

MORNING GENERAL SESSION
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Climate Change is Real and Hawaiʻi Needs to Act

Dr. Charles “Chip” Fletcher, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Vice-Chair, Honolulu Climate Change Commission

Dr. Chip Fletcher is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Earth Sciences at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

He is also Vice-Chair of the Honolulu Climate Change Commission. Dr. Fletcherʻs research focuses on understanding the impacts of sea level rise on Pacific island shorelines. Climate Change: What the Science Tells Us, 2nd Edition is a textbook he has published with J. Wiley (Hoboken) that provides a readable, lay-person description of the latest science on climate change.

Chip teaches graduate and undergraduate courses emphasizing Earth Science, Climate Change, Coastal Community Resiliency, Paleoclimatology, and Sedimentology. He has been principle advisor in awarding 30 graduate degrees.

For his work in service to government agencies and public groups, he was the 2006 recipient of the Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation Award for Faculty Service to the Community given by the University of Hawaiʻi, Board of Regents. He has also received (2001) the Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Community Service.

In 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized his professional work with an Environmental Achievement Award in Climate Change Science and in 2018 he was given the Leadership Award by the Pacific Risk Management Ohana (PRiMO), a coalition of organizations with a role in hazard risk management in the Pacific region. Chip has been chosen by the Hawai‘i Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation for their 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award.

John Leong, Chief Executive Officer, Pono Pacific & KUPU Hawaii

John Leong’s passion for creating a more resilient Hawai‘i is the inspiration and foundation for his ground-breaking work and accomplishments. As an environmental entrepreneur, Leong has helped to develop Hawai‘i’s green jobs industry, increasing conservation awareness and creating career opportunities in natural resource management and sustainability.

After graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, Leong founded Pono Pacific Land Management, LLC, a conservation and land management services company. Pono Pacific is the only comprehensive, private natural resource management company in Hawai‘i, which today impacts nearly 40,000 acres annually throughout the state. Striving to continually innovate the company and its services, Leong has bridged Pono Pacific’s long-term conservation management goals with revenue-generating sustainability projects in renewable energy, reforestation and food production.

In 2007, Leong co-founded non-profit organization Kupu, to cultivate positive environmental impact by focusing on developing Hawai‘i’s next generation of environmental stewards and community leaders. Kupu’s youth conservation and sustainability programs provide environmental and cultural education and experiences, as well as personal and professional development opportunities. Over the past decade, Kupu has helped to engage nearly 3,500 program participants statewide, many who have since established successful education and career pathways in conservation and sustainability. Through its programs and partnerships, Kupu has generated a total of more than $80 million in economic impact for the state, with a 1 to 3.4 cost-to-benefit ratio.

Justin Gruenstein, Deputy Chief Resilience Officer & Deputy Director, City & County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency

Since 2017, Justin has served as the Deputy Director of Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. In this capacity, he also serves as the City’s Deputy Chief Resilience Officer. Previously, he was the Executive Assistant to Mayor Kirk Caldwell responsible for policy matters relating to the environment, sustainability, and emergency management. Before joining the City, Justin served in public policy roles with the County of Maui Mayor’s Office and the Washington State Legislature.

Bettina Mehnert, President & Chief Executive Officer, AHL

A respected visionary and leader, AHL’s president and chief executive officer, Bettina Mehnert, FAIA, LEED AP is an indomitable force in the evolution and innovation in Hawaiʻi’s architectural sector. Her novel philosophy of practice blends IT solutions, firm culture, client cultivation, and community service as inseparable filaments of professional leadership, keeping her 72-year-old firm firmly faced towards the future.

In recognition of her unique management style and leadership, Mehnert has been honored with numerous awards and in 2016 was named a Fellow in the American Institute of Architecture (AIA), a prestigious honor held only by 53 architects in Hawaiʻi since 1948.

In 2018, Bettina was appointed by the mayor as one of five commission members of the new Honolulu Climate Change Commission. As the only commissioned member with an architecture and engineering background, Bettina utilizes her expertise in the built environment to advocate for a new era of resiliency. 

Brian Kealoha, Executive Director, Hawaii Energy

Brian has been involved in energy and sustainability for over 20 years. Brian began his career developing and implementing energy programs with various utilities including Pacific Gas & Electric in California, Avista Utilities in Washington, and Maui Electric Company. He has managed a number of innovative projects in Hawai‘i, including the first net energy metered solar photovoltaic system in Hawai‘i, the first utility owned distributed combined heat and power system in the country, as well as the largest solar parking canopy at the time. Upon the establishment of the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative in 2008, Brian launched the Hawai‘i division of Chevron Energy Solutions. Under his leadership, Hawai‘i became the highest producing region in the United States. In 2016, Brian joined Hawai‘i Energy as its Executive Director to lead the program’s evolution to help Hawai‘i’s families and businesses to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

Brian earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Gonzaga University, majoring in both Economics and Marketing. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Gonzaga University and holds a certificate in negotiation from the University of Oxford. Brian was named to the third cohort of the Omidyar Fellows program in 2014. Brian is a Certified Sustainability Design Professional and Certified Energy Manager from the Association of Energy Engineers. Brian serves on the Board of the Friends of ‘Iolani Palace, ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue, the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and the Diamond Head Classic.

Danya Hakeem, Director, Agriculture & Circular Economy Innovation, Elemental Excelerator

Danya works directly with Elemental Excelerator’s agriculture and circular economy startups to help them design and implement successful projects, identify follow-on funders and customers, and scale their products and services. With an eye for both community change and for our companies’ exponential growth, Danya works alongside startups and industry to change the world one community at a time. 

Moderator: LiAnne Yu, Freelance Writer, Hawaii Business Magazine

LiAnne Yu is an anthropologist and writer, who has done global research on artificial intelligence, social media, underserved communities, health+wellness, and entrepreneurialism. She is also the co-founder of Studio Resilience, and just launched Sea Level Check, a free app dedicated to helping people understand how climate change impacts them personally. Having lived in Asia for several years, she is the author of Consumption in China: How China’s New Consumer Ideology is Shaping the Nation. She splits her time between San Francisco and Kona.