Elliot Kawaiho‘olana Mills

Chair

Elliot Kawaiho‘olana Mills is the CEO and managing partner of the newly formed Hawai‘i Hospitality Group. The Hawai‘i-based hospitality asset management firm focuses on optimizing hotel and resort properties across the islands.

Mills was born in Hilo on Hawai‘i Island and is a graduate of Saint Joseph High School. He holds a degree in travel industry management from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and completed the Cornell Hospitality Management General Managers Program.

He has worked in Hawai‘i’s travel industry for more than 25 years, holding executive and resort management positions on various islands with brands such as Disney, Hyatt, Marriott and Outrigger.

Mills gives back to the local community through service as a board member for multiple organizations including Hawai‘i Pacific Health, HMSA, Kapiolani Women and Children’s Hospital and the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau. He spends the majority of his spare time with his wife and their two children.

Dr. Jennifer Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua KSK’92

Vice Chair

Dr. Jennifer Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua’s professional career includes over two decades in academia. She currently serves as the assistant vice provost for Faculty Excellence at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to her transition into executive management at UH Mānoa, she served as a political science professor from 2007 to 2021, helping to build the university’s Indigenous politics program, and was named chair of the department in 2017.

In addition to her time as an educator and administrator, Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua has over 20 years of research experience in Hawaiian and Indigenous schooling. An internationally recognized scholar, her work has addressed critical issues on Indigenous food practices and energy.

Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua serves the community as a board member for Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy and co-organizer for Lā Ho‘iho‘i Ea — Honolulu. She previously served as secretary and executive board member for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, co-founder and board president of Mana Maoli, board member for Hui o Kuapā and Hawaiʻi’s People Fund, and co-founder and board member of Hālau Kū Māna New Century Public Charter School.

A 1992 graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua earned a Ph.D. in history of consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and political science from UH Mānoa.

Michelle Ka‘uhane KSK’86

Secretary/Treasurer

Michelle Ka‘uhane’s professional career includes over 15 years of executive leadership experience in public and non-profit administration.

She currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Impact Officer for Hawai‘i Community Foundation, overseeing the foundation’s external facing departments, including community grants and initiatives, development and donor relations, and strategic communications and public policy. Ka‘uhane joined the foundation in 2018 as Senior Vice President and Community Grants and Investments, managing an annual discretionary grant budget of $40 million.

A leader in the Native Hawaiian community, Ka‘uhane served as President and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement from 2013 to 2018, helping to advance the national member-based organization’s policy priorities in education, housing, and economic development. She also served as Deputy Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands from 2011 to 2012 and as executive director of Hawaiian Community Assets from 2004 to 2011.

In 2021, Ka‘uhane was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders as a commissioner to help advance equity, justice and opportunity for Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities. In addition, she currently serves as a community advisory council member to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C.

Locally, Ka‘uhane continues to serve the community as chair for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, President of the Kapolei Community Development Corporation, and member of ‘Ahahui Siwila Hawai‘i O Kapolei.

A 1986 graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Ka‘uhane earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Gonzaga University. She currently resides with her ‘ohana in the Hawaiian Homestead of Kaupe‘a.

Crystal Kauilani Rose KSK’75

Director

Crystal Kauilani Rose is a founding partner of the law firm Lung Rose Voss Wagnild, and has practiced real estate, trust, business and construction litigation for more than 35 years.

Rose is an expert in corporate governance and has served on the corporate boards of Central Pacific Bank, Hawaiian Airlines, Gentry Homes Ltd. and Hawaiian Electric Company.

She has also given back to the community in countless ways, including serving as a trustee of The Nature Conservancy; a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of Hawai‘i, Blue Planet Foundation and Child and Family Services; and a member of the advisory boards of Kamehameha Schools and Catholic Charities Hawai‘i.

Born and raised in Hilo, the Kamehameha Schools alumna holds a juris doctorate degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, and a bachelor of science degree in psychology and sociology from Willamette University.