Michael Kramer,

Michael Kramer is Managing Partner and Director of Social Research at Natural Investments, Hawai‘i’s only financial adviser exclusively managing portfolios of sustainable and responsible investments. Michael founded the Kuleana Green Business Program and currently serves on the boards of the Sustainability Association of Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Alliance for a Local Economy.

Shanah Trevenna,

Named by Hawai‘i Business Magazine as one of five that will shape Hawai‘i for the next 50 years, Shanah Trevenna is a leading sustainability educator, author, and consultant. With degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario and Urban Planning from UH, as well as a decade of corporate experience at IBM and Philips, she specializes in organizational change and sustainability training. Her clients include Johnson Controls, Family Programs Hawai‘i, Punahou, Brigham Young University, and the Hawai‘i Department of Education. Shanah designed “Sustainability 101 for Small Business in Hawaii” for Kapiolani Community College and recently published a textbook, Surfing Tsunamis of Change, A Handbook for Change Agents, which received College Educator International’s 2011 Sustainability Champion Award for its innovative framework for implementing organizational change.

Scott Cooney,

Scott is a green business author, eco-entrepreneur and Adjunct Professor of Sustainability at the University of Hawai‘i. Most recently, Scott developed GBO Hawai‘i, a board game testing players’ skills in sustainable economic development in the state of Hawai‘i. McGraw-Hill published Scott’s first book, Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur. Scott served as project manager for Saatchi & Saatchi S, a sustainability consulting firm working with Fortune 500 companies to help them incorporate green principles into their operations. He continues to offer sustainability trainings to employees from the C-suite to the front line workers through workshops and online trainings. Scott is a Phi Beta Kappa who holds an MBA and an MS in Conservation Biology.

Tamara Armstrong,

Where others see complexity, Tamara sees patterns and pathways. She is laser-focused on bringing sustainability to every industry, community and agency. With a passion for zero waste, environmental stewardship, and social accountability, Tamara drives organizations forward to set goals with measurable results. After graduating summa cum laude from Kalaheo High School, Tamara received a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in Sustainability from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where she co-founded Sustainable UH. Tamara is a Leadership in Energy Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) green building rating system and a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Certified Sustainability Reporter. Her invaluable experience in community organizing and her overall zeal for the industry led Tamara to a full time position working in the sustainable business space at KYA Sustainability Studio, a local innovation firm with over 30 years of history in Honolulu. The Studio’s mission is to engage Hawai‘i in the broad vision of sustainability through collaborative programs, partnerships and services. She and her team are now working with the State Department of Transportation Airport’s Division to address Honolulu International Airport’s long-term vision for sustainability, among other exciting projects.

Tamara and the KYA Studio specializes in a wide variety of innovative business services such as: Waste Audits/Characterization Studies; Recycling Program Design; Sustainability Program Development; Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Reporting; and LEED EB O&M technical support and employee training.

Jenna Long grew up on Maui, Hawai‘i. After a year of international study in Japan, Ms. Long transferred to the University of Hawaii where she earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a certificate in Japanese language. In 2006, she started working in sales at Pacific Biodiesel and currently holds the position of Hawai‘i Fuel Sales Manager. Jenna also helped to start the company’s Restaurants for Renewables program, in which restaurants are recognized for their contributions to renewable energy. Currently residing in Hilo, Hawai‘i, Jenna is pursuing her masters degree while staying very active in the renewable energy community. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Sustainability Association of Hawai‘i, Honolulu Clean Cities, and Recycle Hawai‘i.

Jennifer Chirico,

Jennifer Chirico is the Executive Director of the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui (SLIM) at the University of Hawai‘i-Maui College. As the Executive Director, she develops and directs SLIM programs and projects, including non-credit certification training programs in various areas of sustainability. She is involved in a wide range of community outreach activities related to increasing understanding of sustainability and how it can be adopted and implemented at both organizational and individual levels. She works with individuals and organizations from the public, private, educational, and non-profit sectors and presents to a variety of audiences on a wide range of sustainability-related topics. She has a PhD in environmental policy and holds a master’s degree in public health with a major in environmental health.

Keone Kealoha,

Keone is the co-founder and Executive Director of Malama Kaua‘i, a Kaua‘i-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability primarliy through the lens of localized food systems. He is a skilled public speaker with a strong background in community organizing, conducting meetings and hosting large scale events. His leadership role at Malama is focused on building community through healthy relationships; those between the people and the ‘aina within a “native-to-place” context indicative of cultural responsibility.

Lance C. Boyd is an environmental educator with the East-West Center’s Environmental Leadership Institutes for Southeast Asian and Middle East students. Lance has received multiple awards including a Fulbright Fellowship in Japan, a Goethe Institute funded study of the environmental movement in Germany, and most recently a Fulbright Fellowship in Singapore. Lance’s education background includes a MA in Social Sciences and a MA in Education Foundations.

Christina Monroe coordinates the East-West Center’s Environmental Leadership Institutes and professional development for the Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program.

Previously, Christina was a lecturer for the Chancellor’s Leadership Program and Director of the Service Learning Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She received a master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam, where she conducted qualitative research on cultural and educational exchanges for her degree in ethnicity and nationalism.

Marguerite Harden,

Marguerite Harden is the Director of RISE (Rewarding Internships for Sustainable Employment), which provides paid green job opportunities to interns that are forwarding some of Hawai‘i’s most pressing sustainability matters. As the Director, Marguerite oversees a wide-range of sustainability-related projects that involve organizations and stakeholders from federal, state, county, and private sectors. She also manages the RISE Program at Kupu, a 501(c)(3) Hawai‘i-based non-profit dedicated to empower young adults through character building, service learning, and environmental stewardship. Marguerite’s priority is to create and support exciting and meaningful opportunities that move Hawai‘i toward a more sustainable future in every sector, while also impacting the lives and career directions of young adults.

Prior to RISE, Marguerite has four years of work experience as a clean energy consultant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She began her consulting career in Washington D.C. and within two years was moved to Hawai‘i to open a local office to support the goals of the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative– a partnership between the U.S. DOE and State of Hawai‘i.

As a principal at Green Building Services, Inc., Elaine brings a unique perspective to green building and sustainability initiatives. She represents, in her work and approach, the successful merger of the best of the interior design and architectural disciplines, materials specifications, and green building. Her multidisciplinary background and diverse project experience, which ranges from operations of existing buildings, commercial development to state of the art convention centers, distinguishes her in the green building industry.

Elaine is the manager of the Building Management Solutions Division for GBS. The focus is to lead teams through the successful greening of their buildings and facilities management practices and optimize work place performance through commercial interiors consulting.

Elaine’s professional record at GBS includes several important green building milestones including the certification of two volume projects which includes over 80 buildings, four LEED Platinum projects and over 30 LEED projects getting certified through LEED EB, LEED CI and LEED NC.

Rhonda Goyke,

Rhonda Goyke is a Sustainability Consultant and Co-Founder of Green Sand Inc. Architecture + Sustainability. Rhonda has spent over 23 years in the environmental management field, handling everything from incorporating sustainable strategies such as rainwater harvesting into projects, to sampling and analyzing hazardous materials, to conducting environmental assessments and producing environmental impact statements. Rhonda was on the Board of Directors for the New Hawaiian Home as well as former President and Vice President of the Hawaii Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Rhonda’s credentials include:

Rhonda now focuses on sustainable strategies related to the built environment and reducing those impacts on the natural environment. Her focus includes LEED consulting and general sustainable strategies to help businesses and homeowners adopt more sustainable practices at every level. Notable projects include: LEED Platinum New Hawaiian Home, LEED Gold Oceanic Time Warner Annex, LEED Gold Kumuhau, LEED Gold Lai Opua, D.R. Horton HomeSave Program. And two Living Building Challenge projects.

Eileen Peppard, M.S., Sustainability Specialist, Center for Smart Building and Community Design, Sea Grant College Program, University of Hawaii Manoa. After 20 years’ of experience in scientific research in the field of biology and 15 years’ experience in project management, Eileen has switched to focus her research skills on energy auditing, energy monitoring and data analysis for the UHM campus and for residential military housing for the past 3 years.

Stephen Meder is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Physical Environment and Long-Range Planning for the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He also holds a joint academic appointment there as he serves as the Director of the School of Architecture’s Environmental Research and Design Lab and as the Director of the Center for Smart Building and Community Design at the UH Sea Grant College Program. He is a member of the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative’s Energy Efficiency working group, the Chancellor’s Commission for Climate Change and the University of Hawai‘i Council for Sustainability. He holds a Arch.D. from the University of Hawai‘i and is a LEED AP.

Michael has served as Honolulu branch manager and service manager at Johnson Controls as well as commercial energy efficiency program manager and federal account executive at Hawaiian Electric Company.

Michael holds a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i. He serves as president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Hawai‘i Chapter.

At his previous position, Michael planned and implemented $20 million in energy efficiency projects for city, state and federal facilities; each project saved at least 30% in energy use.

Albert “Alapaki” Nahale-a’s family roots run deep in the Keaukaha-Pana‘ewa Hawaiian homestead communities.

In December, he was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to Chair the Hawaiian Homes Commission and to lead the team of 180 employees at the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. In February 2011, he was confirmed by the Hawai‘i State Senate.

Prior to his appointment as chairman, he was the Hawaiian Homes Commissioner representing East Hawai‘i Island. From 2008 to 2010, Chairman Nahale-a was board president and then executive director of the Hawai‘i Charter Schools Network. From 2003 to 2009, he was director of Ka Umeke Kaeo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School in Keaukaha.

His professional background also includes stints with Hawai‘i Community College, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, the County of Hawai‘i Legislative Auditor’s office and ‘Aha Pūnana Leo. Throughout his service to his community, Chairman Nahale-a sat as a member of the Hawai‘i County Charter Commission, a board member and volunteer mediator with the Kuikahi Mediation Center and a member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation board.

Last year, President Obama appointed Chairman Nahale-a as a member of The Commission on Presidential Scholars. Chairman Nahale-a received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools.

Jeffrey Au is a co-founder and Managing Director of PacifiCap, Hawai‘i’s largest locally based venture capital investment firm. Since 2000, PacifiCap’s affiliated venture funds have led or participated in investments in more than two dozen high tech, media and emerging growth companies that have raised more than US$500 million in investment capital. Industry sectors include dual use technologies, telecommunications, software, alternative energy, healthcare, digital media and film/TV production. Jeff brings more than twenty years of experience in structuring, documenting and implementing innovative, interdisciplinary, financial, tax and legal solutions to complex problems facing early stage and emerging growth companies. Jeff also has extensive experience in investment fund structuring, documentation, management and operations.

A fourth generation kama`aina born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Jeff is a graduate of Punahou School and Mun Lun Chinese Language School in Honolulu. He attended Stanford University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in International Policy Studies. Jeff received his Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law. He speaks Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese and French. He is licensed to practice law in California and Hawai‘i and is a Certified Windsurfing Instructor.

Click here to download a PDF of Jeffrey’s full bio.

Cameron grew up in Kailua, Oahu, and graduated from Punahou. He received his B.S. in Environmental Health and Safety from Oregon State and has 5 years experience in environmental consulting on the West Coast. In 2008, he received his J.D. with Environmental Law Certificate from the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law. After clerking for one year at the First Circuit Court in Honolulu, Cameron joined the Hawai‘i State Energy Office in 2009. Married and presently without children, he spends his free time in the ocean.

Maria Tome is a registered professional engineer with over twenty years of experience in renewable and transportation energy in Hawai‘i. Ms. Tome has been involved with numerous projects in the renewable and transportation energy areas, including energy strategies, resource assessments, policy analysis, and technical review of solar, wind, biomass, methane, hydropower, geothermal, ocean energy, fuel cells, and renewable portfolio standards; as well as ethanol, methanol, propane, biodiesel, electric vehicles, and transportation energy strategies. She’s committed to transform our energy systems within a generation.

“I’m still looking for the perfect analogy. This effort makes me think of a train. We’re changing the fuel and rebuilding the engine while the train is moving down the tracks. And the tracks ahead are being moved, too, by regulations, climate change, and global competition. We need to stay focused, communicate well, and move quickly.”

Margaret Larson is the Vehicles Specialist for the Hawaii State Energy Office and co-chairs the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative’s transportation working group- focused on establishing a sustainable alternative-fuel strategy to help reduce Hawai‘i’s dependence on imported oil within the transportation sector. Margaret is currently helping to manage the Transportation Energy Diversification Project- a program working to transform Hawai‘i’s transportation sector to become less dependent on liquid petroleum fuels by accelerating the adoption of electric drive vehicles and related charging equipment in Hawai‘i. Margaret also co-coordinators of the Honolulu Clean Cities Coalition- a local non-profit 501(C)(3)an voluntary government and industry partnership, alternative fuel/advanced technology deployment program administered by U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Program.

Margaret previously worked in San Francisco, California at the United Kingdom Government’s international business development agency, UK Trade and Investment, as a Business Development Associate, focusing on Renewable Energy and Clean Technology. She holds a bachelor’s in Journalism from Humboldt State University.

Todd Cullison has been the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, Hui o Koʻolaupoko (HOK) since August 2006. The organization’s mission is to: Protect ocean health by restoring the ʻāina: mauka to makai. Current duties and responsibilities include strategic organizational planning, partnership building and project prioritization, development and management.

Prior to Mr. Cullison’s tenure with (HOK), for six-years he was the Director of Watershed Programs for the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) in Astoria, OR. Mr. Cullison’s focus was community-based watershed restoration with an emphasis on salmon recovery on the North Oregon coast and Columbia River Estuary. Mr. Cullison worked with five watershed councils implementing projects that included design and implementation of large-scale estuarine and riverine habitat restoration, associated project effectiveness monitoring as well as education and outreach.

Mr. Cullison has an undergraduate degree from Washington State University in Technical Writing and focused his Masters-level work on Community-based Watershed Restoration, also at Washington State University.

Brenda is a Facility Planner with the DOE, utilizing her background in architecture and land planning along with four years of classroom teaching experience. Her architectural experience included work in Honolulu, Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Boston. Brenda is a 1983 graduate of Arizona State University with a B. Arch degree, and has her Post-Bacc. Teacher Certification in Secondary Mathematics from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the USGBC Hawaii Chapter, AIA Honolulu, and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International.

Vanessa Kealoha is the Student Activities coordinator at Ewa Makai Middle School where she mentors her leadership students on sustainability issues in addition to citizenship and leadership skills. Ms. Kealoha has been with the DOE for over 9 years, teaching and mentoring students at Aiea Elementary School. Her interests include golfing, traveling and spending time with her two chihuahuas, Opihi and Haupia. Ms. Kealoha was instrumental in Ewa Makai’s successful nomination as a state finalist in the first ever national Green Ribbon Schools program. With her today to speak on how they live in their LEED Gold certified middle school are Student Body President Mc Erl Dave Andres (Mick Erl), Justyn Golobic and Student Body Vice President, Daylin Kuboyama, 8th grade members of the leadership program at Ewa Makai Middle School.

Coincidently, Mc Erl Dave Andres submitted resolution, SCR 33, Green Hawaii Program to Senator Espero who presented it to the Senate. SCR33 was heard by the Senate Education Committee on March 16th. Mc Erl, Justyn and Daylin also testified along with other private and public school students in support of SCR 33 that promotes environmental stewardship in all public schools. This resolution proposes that all public schools implement at least five or more green initiatives including school wide recycling, organic gardening, composting, vermi-composting,and aquaponics by 2016.

Ryan Okahara is the Honolulu Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has over 20 years of management experience in the public sector, private sector and military. He most recently served as Deputy Comptroller for the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Accounting and General Services and also as acting Chief Information Officer while he established the Office of Information Management & Technology to revamp the state government’s technology processes and infrastructure. He previously worked as Vice President of Organizational Development at First Insurance Company of Hawai‘i and Pihana Pacific, a Hawai‘i based technology start-up. Mr. Okahara is also a Colonel in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard and currently serves as the Commander of the 154th Mission Support Group. He was born and raised in Honolulu, graduated from Moanalua High School, received his bachelor’s degree in Math and Physics from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and has master’s degrees in management and human resources development.

Asia Yeary works for the U.S. EPA Region 9 as the Hawaii Sustainability Coordinator and Grants Project Officer. In the last two years, she helped solicit and award over $3 million in EPA grant money to local Hawaii organizations to work on clean energy, climate change, and sustainability projects. Asia co-founded the RISE program (www.riseHI.org) and continues to lead, support, and grow the program. She is also working to promote alternative transportation options and healthy community planning. Asia is hopeful that through collaborative efforts and creative solutions, Hawaii will become more sustainable and less dependent on imports.

Liz Fischer is a Registered Landscape Architect who has worked in the area of community planning throughout her career on issues specific to rural areas, small communities, and tribal governments and in special topic areas for communities including place-making, livability, smart growth, active-living through design, context sensitive design, historic preservation, climate adaptation, and disaster recovery planning.

She heads transportation planning and emergency management and implementation for the USDOT-FHWA in the State of Hawaii, and the US Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (a geophysical area twice the size of the lower 48 States).

Aaron Britt is a Deputy Editor at Dwell, where he has worked for the past five years. He also serves as the Content Director for the company’s annual conference Dwell on Design. Since 2008 he has written the men’s style column “The Pocket Square” in the San Francisco Chronicle and his writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, National Geographic, Print Magazine, and on the History Channel.

Francis S. Oda is Chairman of Group 70 International, a design, sustainability and technology company with projects throughout the Pacific. He is CEO of GreenPlace and Global Green Homes, companies that provide high quality, low cost housing globally. He is also a board member and share holder in several technology companies including ThatsSolar and Strata Guam.

He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Doctor of Architecture from the University of Hawai‘i. He is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Hawaii, a Manoa Forum Fellow and a Distinguished Alumnus of the University.

Dr. Oda is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He was installed in the Hawai‘i Business Hall of Fame and has received the Humanitarian Award of the Hawaii Chapter of the AIA.

Dr. Oda is Senior Pastor of New Life Church, Honolulu, a non-denominational Christian church. He serves as global Chair of the International Transformation Network, which is involved with transformational efforts in Africa, Asia, North and South America. He also serves on boards of Christian organizations.

Francis is married to Caroline Ward Oda. They have two children, Nalani and Reid.

James Koshiba is co-founder and executive director of Kanu Hawai‘i, working to build a social movement more environmentally sustainable, compassionate, and self reliant communities rooted in personal commitments to change. Members of Kanu commit to “being the change” they seek – taking specific actions that preserve and protect Hawai‘i’s unique way of life. In 4 years, the organization has built a membership of 16,000 spread across the Hawaiian islands, 300 mainland communities and 12 countries using unique online tools, social media, and grassroots education. It has also mobilized thousands of these members in campaigns like the Eat Local Challenge, the Energy Challenge, and the Zero Waste Challenge. You can learn more about Kanu Hawai‘i at www.kanuhawaii.org.

Dana Bourland is Vice President of Green Initiatives for Enterprise Community Partners and leads environmental strategy for the national organization. Dana developed and oversees all aspects of Enterprise’s national award-winning Green Communities program including the next generation of the initiative focused on greening all affordable housing within this decade. Dana also created and oversees Enterprise’s multifamily retrofit program and serves as managing director of the Green Communities Offset Fund. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Dana is a graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and holds a Master of Planning Degree from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. She is a certified planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), a LEED Accredited Professional, a juror for the Smart and Sustainable Growth Recognition Program and was recently awarded a Residency at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagion Center.

Gwen S. Yamamoto Lau,

Gwen Yamamoto Lau is President of the Hawai‘i Community Reinvestment Corporation (HCRC), a 501(c)3 Hawai‘i non-profit corporation designated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Community Development Entity (CDE) by the United States Department of Treasury.

HCRC’s mission and purpose is to facilitate affordable housing, community development and economic development throughout the state of Hawai‘i. HCRC accomplishes this by providing consulting services, technical assistance and below market rate, long-term financing for small business owners and for profit and nonprofit affordable housing developers. Since being organized in 1990, HCRC has provided over $198.0 million in resources available to more than 63 affordable rental housing projects containing over 3,300 rental units.

As a Certified Development Company, HCRC has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration to source and process SBA 504 loans. Additionally, HCRC has been contracted by the state of Hawai‘i to administer its GreenSun Hawai‘i program for energy efficiency/renewable energy financing.

Gwen has over 25 years of banking and finance experience as well as a strong commitment of service to our community through her active involvement with nonprofit and charitable organizations. Prior to joining HCRC, Yamamoto Lau served as President of the Hawai‘i Central Credit Union and Senior Vice President/Regional Manager with Central Pacific Bank. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i, Yamamoto Lau resides on the island of Oahu with her husband and children.

John Bendon is a leader in Hawai‘i in the field of green building and energy efficiency. John was the LEED Accredited Professional who managed Maui’s first commercial LEED New Construction project, inspected and tested all of Maui’s certified LEED for Homes projects, and has worked on LEED EBOM and LEED ND projects in Hawai‘i. John has taught classes on most of the Hawaiian Islands on green building and energy efficiency including classes at the UH Maui College. Many of the classes that John has taught have never been taught in the State before.

John Bendon is a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialty in LEED Homes. He is also Certified Energy Rater under RESNET, a Building Performance Institute Analyst, holds masters in Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado. To learn more about John and his company Green Building LLC, please visit www.GreenBuildingHawaii.com

Shelley R. Poticha,

Ms. Poticha serves as Senior Advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A well respected expert in growth management and urban policy, Poticha will be responsible for advancing housing and communities that promote affordable, livable and sustainable living environments. She will also provide technical and policy support for energy, green building, and integrated housing and transportation programs at HUD and around the nation. Poticha will also lead HUD’s interagency effort with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

Poticha previously served as President and CEO of Reconnecting America, where she became a national leader for the reform of land use and transportation planning and policy with the goal of creating more sustainable and equitable development. Her work stimulated a national conversation about the role of transit in shaping communities and the importance of building diverse and inclusive neighborhoods.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Poticha was responsible for the first regional Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy that conditions the allocation of new transit funds on good land use planning. She also worked in Denver with the city and transit agency on a TOD Typology and Strategic Planning; in the Twin Cities to educate a broad coalition of community, business and government groups about the value of focusing the region’s growth in neighborhoods served by transit; and in Seattle where she helped define a funding program for construction of a new streetcar.

Prior to joining Reconnecting America, Poticha was the Executive Director of the Congress for the New Urbanism. In this role, she guided the organization’s growth into a national coalition with a prominent voice in national debates on urban revitalization, growth policy, and sprawl. She also launched a number of key initiatives addressing inter-city revitalization, mixed-income housing, infill development techniques, environmental preservation, alternative transportation policies, and real estate finance reform.

Poticha has co-authored The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-Oriented Development, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Capturing the Demand for Housing Near Transit,” the Charter of New Urbanism, and The Next American Metropolis with Peter Calthorpe.

Poticha holds a Master of City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Terrance Ware,

Terry was recently hired as the Manager for Transit-Oriented Development for the City & County of Honolulu. Terry has thirty plus years of experience in many facets of architecture, land development, planning and urban design – in academia, public and private sector practice. His specific areas of expertise are urban design, commercial and neighborhood redevelopment and transit. Prior to accepting the position in Honolulu, he worked for Mayor John Hickenlooper as the Director of Housing & Neighborhood Development, for the City & County of Denver.

Terry has been involved in several transit projects in cities across the United states including: Denver, CO.; Berkeley, Oakland, Sacramento and San Leandro, CA.; Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh, PA; Pinellas County & Hillsborough (Tampa Bay) County, FL; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix, AZ.; Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA., as a consultant for several national design firms.

• Ryan Okahara,
  US HUD Honolulu Field Office

• Elaine Aye,
  Green Building Services

• Michael Kramer, Natural Investments

• Asia Yeary,
  U.S. EPA Region IX

• Rhonda Goyke,
  Green Sand

• Elizabeth Fischer, U.S. DOT FHWA Hawai‘i

• Steve Meder &
  Eileen Peppard,
  UHM

• Aaron Britt,
  Dwell magazine

• Michael Chang,
  Hawai‘i Energy

• Shanah Trevenna, SAH

• Francis Oda,
  GreenPlace and
  Group 70

• Alapaki Nahele-a, DHHL

• Scott Cooney,
  GBO Group Sustainability Consulting

• James Koshiba, KANU Hawai‘i

• Jeffrey Au,
  PacifiCap

• Tamara Armstrong,
  The KYA Sustainability Studio

• Dana Bourland,
  Enterprise Community
  Partners, Inc.

• Cameron Black, DBEDT

• Jenna Long,
  Pacific Biodiesel

• Gwen Yamamoto-Lau, HCRC

• Maria Tome,
  DBEDT

• Linda Cox, UHM/HEA

• John Bendon,
  Green Building LLC

• Margaret Larson, DBEDT

• Jennifer Chirico, SLIM

Sustainability Networking
for Neighbor Islands

• Keone Kealoha,
  Malama Kauai

• Shelley Poticha,
  HUD Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities
• Dana Bourland,
  Enterprise Community
  Partners, Inc.
• Francis Oda,
  GreenPlace and
  Group 70
• Terrance Ware,
  City & County of Honolulu
  TOD Administrator

• Todd Cullison,
  Hui o Ko‘olaupoko

CHPS Hawai‘i Update

• Brenda Lowrey,
  DOEducation

• Vanessa Kealoha,
  Ewa Makai Middle School

• James Hardway and
  Peter Quigley,
  DLIR & UHCC

International Sustainability
Student Initiatives

• Lance Boyd and
  Christina Monroe,
  East-West Center