2020 Mentor Biographies |
Team 1
Liz Chun Uyehara is best known as the first female Sports Director in the state of Hawai‘i. Liz began her career at KGMB9 as an associate producer and soon became Hawai‘i’s only female videographer at the time. Liz would join the sports team as a reporter before taking a leading role in local sports television that lasted a decade. In addition to working on the anchor desk for the newscasts, Liz hosted weekly University of Hawaii football shows with coaches June Jones and Greg McMackin. The Coach Mack Show also aired nationally on Fox College Sports. She was fortunate to be recognized for multiple awards during her television career becoming a three-time Emmy winner. After 15 years in journalism, Liz became the caregiver for her father who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The experience inspired her to take on a new role and work in health care. She currently is the Director of Foundation Communications for Hawai‘i Pacific Health. In her position, Liz reviews all communication content for HPH’s four foundations and created Inspire magazine. She also serves on the Public Schools of Hawai‘i Foundation Board and the Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame Committee. Liz earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Speech Communication from Colorado State University. |
Gloria Brooks has over three decades of experience is health care and has spent the last 17 years in Hawai‘i at Hawai‘i Pacific Health as the System Director for Health Information Services, Cancer Registry, Coding Compliance, and Clinical Documentation programs.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Information Management Association of Hawaii (HIMAH). Gloria is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and earned her Master of Business Administration, Health Care Administration from Loma Linda University. |
Team 2
Ann Botticelli is the Senior Vice President - Corporate Communications & Public Affairs of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., a position she has held since October 2011. As Senior Vice President - Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Botticelli oversees strategic external and internal communications, as well as government relations and community relations for Hawaii’s largest and longest serving airline.
Prior to joining Hawaiian Airlines, Botticelli served as Vice President for Community Relations and Communications at Kamehameha Schools from 2005 to 2011; Vice President of Communications at Child and Family Service from 2004 to 2005; and Vice President - Corporate Communications at Communications Pacific from 2002 to 2004. Prior to entering the communications field, Botticelli spent two decades as a news reporter in Honolulu, covering business, consumer affairs and state government for KITV-4, KHON-TV and The Honolulu Advertiser. |
Robin Kobayashi was appointed as Hawaiian Airlines' interim senior vice president of human resources in August 2019. Kobayashi leads Hawaiian's employment strategy, recruitment efforts, and the administration of benefits, recognition programs, talent management and labor relations for the airline’s workforce. Kobayashi, who brings two decades of legal experience to her new post, previously served as Hawaiian’s managing director and associate general counsel of labor and employment. Throughout her tenure, she successfully oversaw the company’s labor and employment efforts related to the Office of Federal Compliance Programs, equal employment opportunity, and privacy. Kobayashi has also served as the executive director of the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center and was a staff attorney on the National Labor Relations Board in Washington D.C. Born and raised on O‘ahu, Kobayashi earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Hawai‘i. |
Team 3
Cheryl Williams has served as a leader in the hospitality industry for more than three decades. She currently oversees the expanding portfolio of Highgate real estate and hospitality management properties in Hawaii. Williams has earned numerous recognitions in the hospitality industry. She was named by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International as one of the worlds “Top 23 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality & Travel Sales & Marketing.” She also helped launch the Aloha Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and has since been honored with the MPI Aloha Chapter Founders Award. Williams chairs the Hawaii Tourism Authority MCI Strategic Planning Committee and serves on the boards of the Oahu Visitors Bureau, Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, and the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. She is also an advisory trustee of ALS Golden West Chapter and is a board member of Susan G. Komen Hawaii. |
Kelly Sanders currently oversees the management of Highgate’s expanding portfolio of real estate investment properties in Hawaii including the newly-launched ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach. Sanders has over 25 years in real estate and hospitality management and was the Area General Manager for the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, the Moana Surfrider, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and the Sheraton Maui.
An accomplished industry expert, Sanders was recently appointed a board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority by Governor David Ige. Sanders is also active in numerous philanthropic endeavors as the chair of the Diamond Head Theater, and a board member for the Gregory House Charities, Euro Cinema, Boy Scouts of America and the American Red Cross. He is also the Creative Entertainment Director for the Heart Ball benefiting the American Heart Association of Hawaii. |
Team 4
Kat Lin-Hurtubise is a 3rd year GGG Mentor and the founder & president of Gourmet Events Hawai'i (GEH), an award-winning full-service production, catering and event management company, and Staffing by GEH, the first full-service staffing agency in Hawai'i exclusively dedicated to hospitality.
Starting with what was then ground-breaking intimate chef cooking events at local restaurants, Kat grew her business until she founded GEH in 2005 with the goal of providing memorable events and exquisite hospitality. Today, GEH does over 600 events per year for corporate and private clients, in addition to providing staffing for all events at the Hawai'i Convention Center. In response to GEH's success with events and hospitality staffing, in 2016, Staffing by GEH was born with a commitment to elevating the hospitality industry and delivering excellence within service, whether a small, intimate dinner for 20 or a large, corporate event for 2,000+. Lin-Hurtubise received her Bachelor of Arts in communications at Emerson College and her master’s in political science at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. |
With over 10 years in the broadcast industry, Katie Pickman currently leads the sales efforts for television stations KGMB/CBS, KHNL/NBC and HNN’s digital platforms, including HawaiiNewsNow.com and its mobile apps. Pickman received her Bachelor of Science from Elmhurst College in Illinois. She has been involved with the Gray Broadcasting Planning Committee, the Merrie Monarch Festival Media Production Committee and the Keiki Hula Media Planning Team. In addition to her professional career, she is a life coach for budding entrepreneurs and helps businesses build optimal plans for enhanced service.
A native of Hawai’i, Madeleine Noa, fell in love with non-profits when she was only a teenager. Inspired by a summer camp led by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, Madeleine quickly developed a deep passion for charitable work. This resolve stuck with her until today, leading her to donate time and support to various organizations, including the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, Camp Agape, and Pay it Forward. She is currently a sales and central reservations manager at Roberts Hawaii and part of the 2020 Board of Directors’ with Executive Women International and is happy spending her days keeping Hawai’i an amazing place to live.
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Team 5
Prior to heading Tetris worldwide, Ms. Rogers worked as a Director of Business Development at Tetris Online China and Sony Interactive Entertainment as Localization Producer. Rogers currently serves on the boards of Allied Esports (AESE), American Red Cross Hawaiʻi Chapter, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Women’s Fund of Hawaiʻi.
Rogers holds a BS in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and an Executive MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management. |
Chenoa Farnsworth has more than 15 years’ experience in business strategy and venture investing. She is the managing director of Blue Startups and the Hawaii Angels investment network. She is the founder of Hi Impact – an impact investment and social entrepreneurship organization launched in 2010. In 2006, she co-founded Kolohala Ventures, a Hawai‘i-based venture capital firm that invested $50 million into Hawai‘i-based technology start-ups. Prior to that she provided strategy development and business planning consultation for start-up companies and high-growth businesses through her company Farnsworth Consulting. She has held positions in health policy and legislative affairs in Hawai‘i and Washington D.C. Farnsworth has served as chair of the Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i, director of the Hawaii Women’s Business Center and judge and coach for the University of Hawai‘i business plan competition. Farnsworth earned a BA in political science from the U.C. Santa Cruz and an executive MBA from the University of Hawai‘i |