Several honorees of Hawaiʻi Business Magazine’s “20 for the Next 20” class of 2025 have ties to the University of Hawaiʻi, including UH Economic Organization (UHERO) Associate Professor Justin Tyndall and UH Mānoa College of Education alumnus Jon Pennington. The annual awards recognize accomplished professionals whose talents and potential set them apart as emerging leaders of Hawaiʻi.
Justin Tyndall
Tyndall’s research at UHERO focuses on understanding how cities function and identifying policies that can help create more affordable and livable communities. At UHERO, he leads research efforts on Hawaiʻi’s housing market, authoring reports and blogs, as well as managing and sharing policy relevant data resources. Additionally, Tyndall studies transportation systems, publishing research on public transit, road safety and mobility issues.
“I’m honored to be recognized as part of Hawaiʻi Business Magazine’s 20 for the Next 20 list,” Tyndall said. “It’s a privilege to contribute research that helps inform public policy and supports the well-being of our communities.”
UH News stories on some of Tyndall’s reports:
- Maui transient vacation rental phaseout—more housing, fewer jobs, March 31, 2025
- Construction defect litigation poses challenges for Hawaiʻi’s housing market, March 10, 2025
- Empty Homes Tax could increase available Honolulu housing by 14,000 units, November 25, 2024
Jon Pennington
Pennington, who earned his PhD from the UH Mānoa College of Education Department of Learning Design and Technology (LTEC), has been an educational technologist and AI advisory council member at Mid-Pacific Institute for the past five years. He was nominated for his work using AI to empower students as leaders to take charge of their learning and impact the local community. Under his mentorship, groups of students shared their work on AI in education at a series of conferences in 2024 and 2025.
“One of my favorite books, The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo, introduces the notion of a person’s ‘personal legend,’ or destiny in life,” Pennington said. “The story reveals that when one pursues their personal legend, the universe will conspire to help them achieve their goals. Coming to the UH Mānoa College of Education has been a major step towards discovering and fulfilling my personal legend.”
Read more about Pennington on the College of Education website.
More awardees with UH ties
- ʻOlu Campbell, Hawaiʻi Land Trust president and CEO
- Sterling Higa, Policy Compass founder and CEO
- Kisan Jo, Central Pacific Bank executive vice president of retail and wealth markets
- Ryan Kanakaʻole, Department of Land and Natural Resources deputy director
- Amanda Leonard, Missing Child Center—Hawaiʻi coordinator
- Liane Sugimoto, Prince Resorts Hawaiʻi chief financial officer and chief administrative officer
