Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders receives $20,000 from Hawaiian Electric
Employee mentors add support to build stronger communities
Issued by The Center for Tomorrow's Leaders
Release Date: 5/28/2019
HONOLULU, May 28, 2019 – The Center for Tomorrow's Leaders (CTL) has received a $20,000 contribution from Hawaiian Electric Company to help support our mission of developing young leaders for Hawaii.
"We're so grateful to Hawaiian Electric Company for their commitment to grooming the young leaders of tomorrow," said CTL Executive Director Katie Chang. "Our goal is to engage, equip and empower Hawaii's future leaders so they will be prepared to take the lead, and it's through the support of organizations like Hawaiian Electric that we are able to fulfill this goal."
"CTL's mission aligns with Hawaiian Electric's goals of building strong, resilient and sustainable communities, and we're proud to partner with CTL as they prepare our state's future leaders for the challenges ahead," said Alan Oshima, president and CEO, Hawaiian Electric. "Our involvement with CTL also includes student mentorship, which has provided significant, positive impact on both the students and our employees."
About a dozen employees from across Hawaiian Electric have mentored a total of nearly 200 students since 2016 through CTL's Ambassadors and Fellows programs. Both initiatives offer public and private school students diverse and transformative leadership experiences weighted on their potential and capacity to lead.
At Kapolei High and McKinley High, Hawaiian Electric employees Nakoa Garcia, a customer service senior improvement manager, and Shannon Asato, treasurer, are mentoring Ambassador students on a multi-campus project to combat senior citizen loneliness. For the past two years, the Lokahi Senior Citizen Prom project has brought seniors from retirement communities together with the students for an evening of fun and companionship.
At Pearl City High, an initiative to paint murals around Pearl City to boost community pride has its roots in a CTL Ambassadors project supported by Hawaiian Electric employee Kurt Tsue, community relations manager, who also serves on the CTL Board of Directors. The students presented their concept and received approval to display their first community mural at the Pearl City Public Library.
At McKinley High, Grant Fukuda, a corporate analyst, serves as a mentor for both the Ambassadors and Fellows programs providing Money$ense by teaching financial literacy to the next generation through workshops. Marvin Galicha, a senior technical services engineer, has been supporting multiple Ambassadors groups with their projects.
At Roosevelt High, three Hawaiian Electric employees are mentoring students involved in a diverse set of projects:
- Ken Aramaki, an engineering senior supervisor project manager, is working on "Meetin the Middle" with high school students mentoring Stevenson and Kawananakoa Middle schoolers to make the transition into high school with confidence.
- Michelle Orian-Lau, a senior corporate communications consultant, is providing project management and mentorship to Ambassador students involved in an Athletic Cinema project. The short videos promote less popular school sports to generate awareness and interest. For the past two years, Orian-Lau also helped the students complete a mural project intended to improve school pride.
- Lydia Mertyris, emergency planner coordinator, is mentoring Ambassador students involved in raising awareness of modern slavery or sex trafficking.
About CTL
The Center for Tomorrow's Leaders is a local non-profit in the business of developing young leaders with integrity and courage for Hawaii. Through three signature high-school programs, CTL is creating an atmosphere for student leaders to be discovered and trained. In doing so, CTL is working to provide a leader feeder for Hawaii's businesses, government, and all sectors.
