Sam Dorios is experienced in approaches and practices of both systems thinking and emergent learning. Systems thinking is used to support efforts in creating sustained social change, and emergent learning helps those involved with the work improve their ability to have impact. Sam supports the Omidyar Fellows in their various projects and initiatives and helps shepherd Hawai‘i Leadership Forum’s internal learning and improvement. This includes utilizing various complexity tools, such as systems mapping and emergent learning tables.

Sam earned a master’s degree in Sustainable Peacebuilding from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also has bachelor’s degrees in both history and religious studies, having graduated summa cum laude. At UWM, Sam was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, co-founder and president of the Religious Studies Student Organization, and served as a student representative on both the history department's board and the university's religious studies board.

Prior to joining the Hawai‘i Leadership Forum, Sam helped manage his family’s restaurant and was a teacher for Milwaukee schools. Subjects Sam taught include Latin and the History of Vampires.

AJ Halagao serves as the president of the Hawai‘i Leadership Forum (HLF). As a member of Omidyar Fellows Cohort II, AJ brings a unique perspective and understanding of the program to his work advancing and shaping the future of HLF.

Prior to joining Hawai‘i Leadership Forum, AJ was vice president of corporate & community advancement at Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) and president of the HEI Charitable Foundation, where he led charitable giving efforts. During his time there he helped steer more than $25 million in scholarships, donations, and grants to local nonprofits.

AJ chairs the East-West Center Foundation board of directors and the Filipino Community Center board of governors. He serves as vice chair of the University of Hawai‘i Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE), and is a current board member of Hawai‘i Green Growth and Polynesian Voyaging Society. Formerly, AJ chaired the Honolulu Grants-in-Aid Advisory Commission and the HawaiiKidsCAN and After-School All-Stars boards of directors.

AJ earned an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business; a JD from UCLA School of Law; and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. He completed the Pacific Century Fellows program in 2007. He is currently enrolled in Stanford’s LEAD program.

Nani Hutchison is the office and administrative associate. She manages the Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum Office and meeting rooms and provides administrative support for HLF activities, including the Omidyar Fellows program.
 
Nani has previously held administrative roles at several other nonprofit organizations in Hawai‘i, and she most recently worked with kūpuna as a life enrichment assistant at Kāhala Nui senior living community. She truly believes that cultivating relationships and being of service to others within our community leads to a greater sense of purpose and true fulfillment.
 
Nani grew up on the island of Oʻahu and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Lisa Leong is experienced in the design and implementation of professional development programs and organizational management. With a background in education administration and adult learning, Lisa’s primary focus for the past 20 years has been building meaningful professional learning communities through events and ongoing initiatives.

Lisa oversees the business and ongoing operations of the Omidyar Fellows program and Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum, and leads special projects such as the Forum of Fellows Summit.

Previously, Lisa was director of programs for the Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools, leading professional development programs for the 100-member schools. Simultaneously, Lisa served as conference director of the Hawaiʻi Executive Conference, an annual three-day program for top-level executives and thought leaders across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Lisa grew up on the island of Kauaʻi, graduated from ʻIolani School, and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine. She received a master’s degree in higher education administration from New York University. Her community commitments include serving as a board member of Pacific Buddhist Academy.

Kerry Lezy brings diverse skills to her position as program associate, where she provides project management, communications, and administrative support to the Omidyar Fellows program and the Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum.

Previously, Kerry was a deputy attorney general with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General. Prior to that, she was a deputy prosecuting attorney with the City and County of Honolulu and in private practice. Additionally, she worked for the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education, teaching in Oʻahu’s public elementary schools.

Kerry earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, and her law degree from Stetson University College of Law. 

As a consultant, Cheryl Ka‘uhane Lupenui serves as lead for Cohort X of the Omidyar Fellows program. She was previously co-facilitator for Omidyar Fellows Cohort IX, and before that, she designed and facilitated various leadership sessions for the program’s first four cohorts.

In 2011, Cheryl founded The Leader Project as a place for learning about shared leadership from Hawai‘i for Hawai‘i. Her career path to this work includes serving on the Board of Education for Hawai‘i’s Department of Education; being CEO for the YWCA of O‘ahu; managing business development for Servco Pacific, Inc.; running her own restaurant promoting sustainable local agriculture; and consulting native-led entrepreneurs. Her custom leadership programs have supported Hawai‘i organizations such as Department of Transportation, the Hawai‘i Presidential Center, Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i, Department of Education, the Center for Asian Pacific American Women, Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, and Ho‘oulu ‘Āina.

Today, she is president and chief executive officer of The Kohala Center, an ‘āina-based non-profit working across the fields of conservation, education, agriculture, and leadership. Here she continues her leadership practice by returning ancestral knowledge and place-based research to the cultivation of healthier native food, forests, reefs, and communities.

She holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing, management, and finance from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in international business from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her leadership lineage includes studying with the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute, the Institute for Women’s Leadership, the Native Hawaiian Leadership Academy, Gallup Leadership Institute, Leadership Works, Harvard Business School, Pacific Century Fellows, and Hālau Mōhala ‘Ilima.

Though she enjoys traveling the world with her husband, Boots, she is happiest curled up on a big couch with their puppy, Kiko, in their tiny island home in the middle of the ocean.

Troy Siruno is a creative professional with more than 20 years of marketing and communications experience in Hawaiʻi. He serves as project associate, providing his communication and project management skills to the Omidyar Fellows program and Hawai‘i Leadership Forum.

Previously, Troy worked as a consultant for SM Hawai‘i, developing communication strategies and campaigns for government entities and nonprofit organizations. Prior to that, he was director of marketing for Hawai‘i News Now, the state’s largest­ broadcast media organization. Throughout his career, Troy has conceived and executed innovative marketing campaigns, bringing the stories of local businesses and other nonprofit organizations to life on broadcast, digital, and social media platforms.

Ben Treviño is an experienced executive, entrepreneur, and technologist. He currently serves as the network coordinator for the Omidyar Fellows program where he fosters connections across the network to lead to a more active and catalytic community of Fellows. Previously, he was the brigade program director for Code for America. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of the Hawaiʻi Institute for Public Affairs as well as Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's sustainability planner, the president and COO of Bikeshare Hawaiʻi and was a co-founder of Interisland Terminal, a Honolulu-based nonprofit organization with projects including community innovation spaces, the Kakaʻako Agora, and R&D Bookstore and Cafe. He has held previous positions with University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, and Google.

Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Stanford University and an MBA from the Shidler College of Business at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He serves on the board for the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities.