Candidate Bios:

Oahu

Jason C. Chang joined The Queen’s Health Systems (QHS) in 2015.  QHS is Hawaii’s oldest and preeminent family of health care-related companies that includes four hospitals on three islands, including The Queen’s Medical Center.  Prior to joining QHS, Mr. Chang was the Chief Executive Officer of the McAllen Heart Hospital and South Texas Health System and Universal Health Services which is an $800 million regional health system comprised of five hospitals.

An accomplished healthcare executive, Mr. Chang has over fifteen years of executive leadership experience in both for-profit and non- profit healthcare sectors. His background includes hospital and health system management; ambulatory service and clinical program development; quality and service improvement; managing tertiary/quaternary services in a teaching hospital environment; clinical integration and physician network development.  Mr. Chang received his Bachelor of Science from Northern Arizona University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Blood Bank of Hawaii, St. Francis Healthcare System, Vizient West Coast Network Board, American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 9, and is the current chair of the Oahu Workforce Development Board.

Katy Chen serves as the President and CEO of Goodwill Hawaii, one of the largest nonprofits in the State of Hawaii with an annual budget of $35M and 500+ employees statewide. She has a Bachelors of Political Science, graduating cum laude with distinction, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington.  Prior to working in the not-for-profit sector, Katy practiced corporate law in Honolulu.  During her legal practice, she assisted many non-profits in establishing their tax-exempt status and advised them in complying with the relevant charity acts.  Subsequently, she worked in London as the Chief Executive of CIAC, a legal-aid and social welfare charity for ethnic minorities, and then as the Executive Director of Hawaii Literacy and PATCH.

Katy’s community service includes service on the State Law Enforcement Officer Independent Review Board, the City & County of Honolulu Ethics Commission, and on the Board of local and national non-profits, including the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Hawaii Book and Music Festival.  Katy continues to be an active member of the Hawaii State Bar.

Therese Dickerson is a Senior Vice President and Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Bank of Hawaii. She is responsible for building organizational capability and strategic agility for the workplace of tomorrow, operates as a trusted advisor and provide thought leadership/consultation focused on increasing effectiveness at the organization, group and individual level. Therese’s focus areas are Employee Engagement, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Career Agility, Strategic Workforce Planning and consultation to the business. She also runs a bi-monthly Manager Excellence Forum for the organizations leaders/managers.

Therese earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Master’s degree in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. She was also the first in the state of Hawaii to earn the Certified Professional in Talent Development™ (CPTD) credential from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Certification Institute. Therese is also Benchmarks 360 Assessment Suite Certified by the Center for Creative Leadership and is a Certified Change Management Professional from Prosci, has her Japanese Proficiency level 2 certification and was the former President of the Association for Training Development Hawaii Chapter.

 Peter Dooher is the Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy at Servco Pacific Inc. He is responsible for Servco’s Digital Retailing initiatives as well as its product management, data visualization and analytics,
CRM strategy, IT Security and Application development functions. Peter joined Servco in 2019, after working at J.Crew, the New York-based multi-channel specialty retailer, where he oversaw all customer facing technology in stores and online in an organization that drove the jcrew.com omnichannel business to more than double its revenue, along with the successful launch and growth of madewell.com and jcrewfactory.com while supporting over 500 retail locations globally. During his 12-year tenure, he served in various roles, most recently as Vice President of eCommerce and Retail Application Development responsible for directing and managing enterprise-wide customer technology applications designated for eCommerce and store operations. Before J.Crew, he worked at Accenture LLC for over 9 years, implementing technology architecture and enterprise digital solutions throughout various industries from startups to Fortune 50 enterprises across the globe.

Richard Rand, Partner, Marr Jones & Wang. Richard has practiced labor and employment law in Hawaii for more than 38 years. He has counseled employers on a wide range of federal and state legal issues including employment claims, wage and hour law, traditional labor law issues, complex labor negotiations and Davis Bacon Act compliance. Known as an experienced trial lawyer, he has served as lead counsel in jury trials in both federal and state court, in state and federal administrative proceedings, and has argued numerous cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Hawaii Appellate Courts. Richard also represents employers in arbitration and mediation proceedings. He has represented both buyers and sellers in the labor and employment aspects of many major real estate transactions. He negotiates collective bargaining agreements for employers and counsels them on the administration of those agreements. Richard has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America as one of Hawaii’s premier employment lawyers. He is also listed in the Chambers USA directory, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center.

Kauai

Bob Gunter joined Kōloa Rum Company in 2008 as Chief Operations Officer and was promoted to President & CEO in May 2010. Currently, he is responsible for all aspects of the Company’s daily operations. Bob previously served as Operations Manager with Sandwich Islands Distilling Corporation and Vice President of Operations with Hawaiian Islands Spirits, Inc. in Maui. His prior employment in Hawaii includes serving as Employee Relations Supervisor, AMFAC Sugar (Lihue Plantation) and Director of Human Resources, Citizens Utilities Company (Kauai Electric Division). Bob attended the University of South Carolina, Palmer College of Business, and Kennedy-Western University. He has a BS in Business Administration and holds a certification as Professional in Human Resources from the National Society of Human Resource Management. He is also a member of the Kauai Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on its Board of Directors.

Maui

Gregg Nelson, General Manager, Chief Executive Officer and President, Napili Kai Beach Resort. Gregg has served as the General Manager, CEO and President of Napili Kai for the past 16 years. He has worked over 40 years in a variety of positions in the hospitality industry, most of which have been in Hawaii. In addition to his current position at Napili Kai, Gregg has also served on many boards and commissions, including over fifteen years on the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association Board of Directors, five of those years as the chairman. Additionally, he has spent many years on the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Board of Directors, serving as chairman in 2017-2018 and is also currently on boards for the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau and Maui Visitor Bureau.