Our Team
FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Miki Tomita
Born and raised on Maui, Miki graduated from HP Baldwin High School, then completed a BSE in Biosystems Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a Ph.D. in education at Stanford University. She has worked in education for 20 years as a teacher, administrator, curriculum developer, and researcher, working to create opportunities for positive change for our planet and people, through her time at UH Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture, Pacific American Foundation, Hawaiʻi School Peace Gardens, Hawaiʻi Public Charter School Network, Janus Group, Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association, most recently as the Education Director at Polynesian Voyaging Society for the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, and for a decade as a mother to her daughter Mayumi.
Her work is anchored at the intersections of education and innovation, with a sharp focus on placing youth at the center of transforming society’s greatest challenges into opportunities for learning, innovation and reinvention of a healthy, abundant world.
CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER
Hye Jung Kim Tano
Hye Jung was born in Busan, South Korea, raised in Mount Dora, Florida, and now lives in Maunawili, Hawaiʻi. Before switching over to her current position, she worked with youth in public, charter, and independent K-12 schools including Akaʻula School, ‘Iolani School, and University Laboratory School. She also worked at the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu and Kapiʻolani Community College.
Hye Jung is a volunteer crew member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and has advised Nā Kelamoku youth group. Upon graduating from the University of Central Florida, she attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for her masters degree in mathematics. She served as a fellow at the National Science Foundation’s GK-12 program.
PROGRAM SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Logan Narikawa
With his family tracing their ancestral roots to the Japanese archipelago, Logan Narikawa is honored to be able to call Hawai’i his current Oceanic home. Logan holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a Ph. D. candidate in the American Studies department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His current research considers the relationships that have historically existed and might be obtained between settlers and Hawaiians in Hawaiʻi.
This sort of new father and husband is convinced that we must act with audacious courage in order to deliver a more hopeful, compassionate and healthy world to our children.
Our Board
PRESIDENT
Herb Lee, Jr.
Herb Lee, Jr. , has been the Executive Director of the Pacific American Foundation since 2005 and President and Chief Executive Officer since 2018. Herb has led multiple highly-successful programs in youth leadership, career planning and development, STEM education and culture-based curriculum. At their place-based hub, Waikalua Loko, Herb and PAF have trained over 5,000 teachers statewide in over 150 schools and benefited over 100,000+ students and families to-date. PAF is recognized as a leading non-profit in the development and training of rigorous culture-based education programs for both Native Hawaiians and non-Hawaiian students.
Herb also has 30 years of experience as a community involvement specialist and has been a recording artist, Hawaiian musician, and a cultural practitioner for 40 years. He is one of the founders of the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society a Kāneʻohe, O’ahu non-profit whose mission is education through the protection, preservation, restoration and perpetual stewardship of an ancient (400 year old) cultural resource. He serves on numerous Boards and community groups and in 2011 was selected to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee Indigenous People Working Group and received the Historic Hawaii Foundation’s highest Preservation Award for the work at the Waikalua Loko Fishpond. In 2014 he was designated a Cesar Chavez Champion of Change, 1 of 10 recognized by President Obama, and was 1 of 3 to receive the Hawaii Maoli and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Ka Mana o ke Kanaka, the Spirit of the Hawaiian award. He has also been recognized with the O’o award from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Honolulu’s Jerry C. L. Chang Peacemaker Award.
TREASURER
Keoni Lee
Born and raised on the island of Oʻahu, Keoni is a Native Hawaiian entrepreneur and community change agent. He co-founded ʻŌiwi TV – a media production company that leverages the power of media to reshape the narratives of the modern Hawaiian experience. He also co-founded Waiwai Collective, a contemporary Hawaiian gathering space that is growing a community and movement grounded in collective values and shared responsibilities to mobilize systemic change in Hawaiʻi. In his current role as CEO of Hawaiʻi Investment Ready, he is working to accelerate social enterprise impact and increase investment into Hawaiʻiʻs innovative impact sector.
Keoni is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, went on to Oregon State University, and also earned a MBA from the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His leadership accomplishments also garnered his selection in the Omidyar Fellows program and the First Nations Futures Program.
In addition to serving on the EI board of directors, Keoni also serves on the boards of Sustʻāinable Molokaʻi, Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School, and MAʻO Organic Farms.
SECRETARY
Christine Matsuda
Christine Matsuda is a communications strategist, working alongside Hawaii’s leading organizations to tell stories and shape ideas that make our community stronger. Born and raised on O‘ahu, Christine and her two young sons live in Makiki.
Christine is Bennet Group Strategic Communications’ senior vice president. A leader in the company since returning to the islands in 2011, Christine’s experience in complex issues management, strategic media relations, nonprofit communications and stakeholder engagement make her a valued colleague and collaborator. Her extensive background includes in-depth media coordination work as well as donor relations and fundraising cultivation expertise on behalf of her clients in a wide range of Hawai‘i’s business and nonprofit sectors. Previously with the Hawai‘i Foodbank managing donor events and fundraising campaigns, Christine worked with Washington D.C.-based Share our Strength and at Bon Appétit Magazine in Los Angeles.
Christine is a Punahou School and University of Southern California alumna; in addition to serving on the board of directors for Education Incubator, she also dedicates pro-bono time to several local nonprofits including Kanu Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Songwriting Festival and more.
DIRECTOR
Brian Dote
Brian Dote is the founder of Tapiki, LLC, a Hawaii-based app-design and development company. Brian has experience as a designer, software engineer, and has been a co-founder, CTO, and trusted advisor for multiple early-stage technology startups. Brian worked at Apple, Inc. during which time he was awarded five patents for the iPhone and mobile web technologies. Brian has over 20 years of experience building and designing desktop and web applications and over 9 years of experience building mobile (iPhone, iPad, Android) games and applications.
Formerly, Brian was the Senior Vice President and Director of Mobile and Digital Commerce at Bank of Hawaii, and the first Chief Innovation Officer at Mid-Pacific where he was responsible for articulating a vision for educational and administrative use of technology throughout the school. Brian created the schools Technology Vision Statement and led initiatives in VR, AR, and other immersive technologies as well as in AI/data science, and entrepreneurship.
In addition to serving on the EI Board of Directors, Brian is a board member of the Advisory Board for the Academy of Industrial & Engineering Technology at Waipahu High School, the HOME Project, and Tinker & Do Academy. Brian was a 2017 honoree in Hawaii Business Magazine’s 20 for the next 20 and a Webby Honoree for his web development work on Springfield Town Center in 2009.
