Hawaii nonprofit people in the news

> Patricia Mau Shimizu will become the new executive director of the Hawaii State Bar Association on Dec. 1. Mau Shimizu, chief clerk for the state House of Representatives since 1993, will succeed Lyn Flanigan, who will retire after eight years as head of the bar association. Mau Shimizu began her career at the State Capitol in 1982 as a legislative analyst and staff attorney.

> Joe Perez, communications specialist at the Hawaii Department of Human Services, has been named executive director of the Hawaii Meth Project. Perez succeeds Cindy Adams, who served as ED at the project since its launch in June 2009. The Hawaii Meth Project is a nonprofit that implements a range of advertising and community action programs to reduce methamphetamine use in the state. Hawaii Public Radio’s News Director Kayla Rosenfeld has joined DHS to replace Perez. Rosenfeld was with HPR for more than 10 years as a reporter, news director and producer of the station’s daily news and public affairs program called “The Conversation.”

> Kenton Eldridge, co-founder and partner of Hawaii biofuels startup Aina Koa Pono, has been elected chairman of the board of trustees for The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. Eldridge, who is also a co-founder and managing director of Sennet Capital, has been on the Conservancy’s Hawaii board since 2000. He succeeds Duncan MacNaughton, chairman of The MacNaughton Group, who has served as the Conservancy’s board chairman for three years. The board’s new vice chair is Scott Rolles, president of R&R Restaurants and former president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The new chairman of the conservation committee is Chris Benjamin, president of A&B Land, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc.

> Lance Wilhelm was named a Kamehameha Schools trustee by the Hawaii Probate Court on Oct. 21. Wilhelm, senior vice president and Hawaii area manager for Kiewit Building Group Inc., will replace Diane Plotts on the trust’s board, effective Jan. 1. He joins Chairman J. Douglas Ing, Micah Kane, Janeen-Ann Ahulani Olds and Corbett Kalama on the board of the $7.8 billion private nonprofit trust. Wilhelm, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, is in charge Kiewit’s Hawaii operations, which will build the first segment of Honolulu’s rail transit system. Wilhelm recently served as chairman for the 2011 March of Dimes’ March for Babies campaign and is a board member of the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the YMCA of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Foundation.

> Steve Pavao, executive director of Brantley Center on Hawaii Island, has become board president of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii. Pavao is a former smoker who credits CTFH’s work for saving his life. He is an avid runner having participated in more than 30 marathons including the Boston Marathon after kicking the addiction. Born and raised in Hilo, Pavao leads the Brantley Center in providing services to the disabled community in North Hawaii through empowerment and rehabilitation.

> Kirk Belsby will step down from his post as vice president for endowment at Kamehameha Schools on Dec. 15. Elizabeth Hokada, the trust’s financial assets division director, will serve as interim vice president of endowment, and investment manager Burt Yuen will take over as interim director of financial assets. Belsby said he is moving to California to join his family, who relocated there several months ago for health reasons.

> Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has promoted Donald Stevens to executive director of national facilities services from director of capital projects. He joined Kaiser in 2009 as manager of facilities services. He has more than 25 years of construction and facilities management experience.

> Joyful Heart Foundation has hired Kata Issari as its first Hawaii regional director. She will strive to fulfill the organization's mission to heal, educate and empower survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Issari was previously program director at Parents and Children Together's Family Peace Center for 12 years.

> Scott Nishi has been hired by the University of Hawaii Foundation as e-communications and multimedia specialist to connect with alumni and donors as well as show the impact of private gifts on UH students through photos and videos. Nishi was the online content producer for the Honolulu Advertiser.

> Alan Oshima, a member of the board of directors of Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawaii, has been named executive vice president for Corporate and Community Advancement at Hawaiian Electric Industries. 

> Hale Kipa has announced new members of its board of directors: Sherri-Ann Iha, who has served as a district and family court judge in the state Judiciary and is a former deputy prosecuting attorney; and Michael Magaoay, who has served as an electrical consultant for MYM Services and has more than 35 years of experience in various engineering disciplines including management. In addition, board member Scott W.H. Seu will now serve as secretary to the board.

> The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii has appointed the following members to its board of directors: Dawn Matsuyama Dunbar, Dennis Esaki, Diane Murakami and Lynne Hanzawa O'Neill.

> The National Association of Professional Women has named Arielle Faith Michael one of its "VIP Women of the Year" for 2011. She is a director of Holistic Care Services at North Hawaii Community Hospital. Michael was one of 207 recipients among 150,000 association members, and the only health care recipient in Hawaii.

> Dr. Niall Scully of the North Hawaii Community Hospital has announced that he has retired from his medical practice after a career spanning more than 56 years in Hawaii. He will take on a new role as director of quality improvement at North Hawaii Medical Group located in North Hawaii Community Hospital.

> Honolulu Academy of Arts has appointed Weijiun Robertson as its chief financial officer. Her previous positions include director of finance for Girls of Metro Denver and accounting manager at Colorado-based Land Title Guarantee Co.

> The Battleship Missouri has named Dean A. Kelley as the memorial's visitor experience manager. He has more than 10 years of management experience in Hawaii.

> Eric N. Milstead has joined the East-West Center as a visiting research fellow and diplomat-in-residence for one year. He is an IT manager at the U.S. State Department and was previously a management officer at the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

> Chef Roy Yamaguchi, honorary board member of Imua Family Services, was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association for his support of the nonprofit agency that provides early childhood development services for those with disabilities. Yamaguchi, the chef behind Roy's restaurants, was honored at the association's Pau Hana Celebration at the King Kamehameha Golf Course earlier this month.

> State Senator Rosalyn Baker of Lahaina was recently awarded the National Distinguished Advocacy Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in recognition of her years of commitment to strong public health and tobacco control policies. The annual award is given by the network, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, to select lawmakers who demonstrate solid, consistent leadership in the area of cancer-related public policy advocacy.