University of Hawaiʻi employees and alumni have been honored on Hawaiʻi Business Magazine’s “20 for the Next 20” list.
The 20 people recognized on the “20 for the Next 20” list are believed to have an important impact on Hawaiʻi for the next two decades. Those selected have demonstrated intelligence, charisma, leadership and passion through their accomplishments and work.
UH honorees
Lisa Doo Ayabe
UH Mānoa – William S. Richardson School of Law alumna
Partner, Cades Schutte
After graduating from UH Mānoa’s law school, Lisa Doo Ayabe clerked with Mark Recktenwald in the Intermediate Court of Appeals and in the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court before joining Cades Schutte as an associate. She made partner after only six years with the firm and is one of 12 female partners. Read more on Ayabe.
Laurie Ann Chan
UH Mānoa – Shidler College of Business alumna
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Avalon Development Co.
Laurie Ann Chan has always been passionate about architecture, and after realizing she wanted to look at architect plans instead of drawing them, she pursued finance and marketing at UH Mānoa and interned with Avalon Development Co. during her senior year. She’s been with the company ever since. Read more on Chan.
Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima
UH Mānoa – Shidler College of Business and William S. Richardson School of Law alumna
Director of Renewable Acquisition, Hawaiian Electric Co.
Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima grew up in Indiana, coming to Hawaiʻi 15 years ago to earn both a law and a business degree at UH Mānoa. After working on renewable energy projects with HECO while at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, she joined HECO’s legal team in 2012 and was named to her current position in 2017. Read more on Matsushima.
Aimee Malia Grace
UH Mānoa – John A. Burns School of Medicine alumna
Director of Health Science Policy, University of Hawaiʻi
Aimee Malia Grace earned her medical degree from UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and a master’s in public health from Harvard. Currently, Grace is the director of health science policy at UH, where she directs the university’s strategic health initiatives and federal affairs. She also leads the UHealthy Hawaiʻi initiative, which aims to leverage UH’s health sciences programs to improve health care in the state and the Pacific. Read more on Grace.
Kaʻiu Kimura
UH Hilo – College of Hawaiian Language alumna
Executive Director, ʻImiloa Astronomy Center
At the core of her work as director of ʻImiloa in Hilo is bringing Maunakea to the forefront through educational opportunities that couple the mountain’s culture and history with astronomy, Kaʻiu Kimura says. She was asked to participate in planning for ʻImiloa while a Hawaiian language graduate student at UH Hilo. Read more on Kimura.
Lina Le
UH Mānoa – Shidler College of Business alumna
Enterprise Director of Human Resources, Y. Hata & Co. Ltd.
Lina Le earned her undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in human resource management at UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business. She has now been with Y. Hata for five years, before assuming her current role in July 2019. Y. Hata is a third-generation family business and her goal there has been to enhance the role of HR. Read more on Le.
Dana Takushi
UH Mānoa – Shidler College of Business alumna
Senior Executive Vice President and Manager of the Consumer Banking Group, Bank of Hawaii
Dana Takushi majored in finance at UH Mānoa and started her career at Business Consulting Resources as an associate consultant. She joined Bank of Hawaii in 1993 and has held leadership roles in many of the bank’s departments. Today, she oversees the Consumer Banking Group, which consists of branch banking and The Private Bank. Read more on Takushi.
Julie Yamamoto
UH Mānoa alumna
General Operations Manager, Hui Car Share
Julie Yamamoto and Servco saw Hui Car Share as an opportunity to add customers who wanted options that were more convenient, greener and more affordable to them than traditional car ownership. For Yamamoto, building Hui Car Share came with a unique set of challenges, such as assembling a team from scratch and leading that team to do something that had never been done before. Read more on Yamamoto.
