Our Board of Directors

  • Toby has served as President and Chairperson of Community First’s board since [YEAR]. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of KTA Super Stores, the largest network of retail grocery stores on Hawaiʻi Island. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Hawaiian Electric Company, Employers’ Protective Insurance Company, Public Schools of Hawaiʻi Foundation, the Lyman House Museum, and the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust. Toby holds a Certificate in Executive Food Industry Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science Communications Management from the University of Portland.

  • Richard serves as Vice President of Community First’s board. He is the CEO of West Hawaiʻi Community Health Center, a role he’s held since 2005. He also serves on the Board of Directors of HMSA Foundation. He is a graduate of Allegheny College and the University of New Mexico.


  • ames serves as Treasurer of Community First’s board. He is the President & CEO of CU Hawaii Federal Credit Union in Hilo, Hawai`i. He has almost 30 years of experience in the financial industry, and has held positions at American Savings Bank in Hilo, M&T Bank in Buffalo, NY and at the New York Stock Exchange. James is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. His graduate studies include a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. Currently he serves as a Director on the Hawai’i Island Economic Development Board, The Kohala Center, Community First Hawaii and the Boys and the Girls Club of the Big Island.

  • Martha Yamada serves as the Secretary on the Board of Community First Hawai’i.

    Before volunteering for Community First, she served as the Public Health Nursing Supervisor for Hawai’i Island focusing her efforts on Emergency Preparedness Response, Communicable Disease Prevention, Health and Wellness activities for the Hawai’i District Health Office. Prior to serving the Department of Health for 3 decades, she worked as a Registered Nurse for Hilo Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital on Oahu after receiving her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

    A strong believer in the late Barry Taniguchi’s Principal of “Only Together”, she is most proud of two accomplishments. First, she collaborated with the military’s Innovative Readiness Training Program which brought medical, dental and vision services to underserved communities on Hawai’i Island. Second, she loved working with the many talented people of Hawai’i County that made Hawai’i County the first county in the nation to be certified as a Blue Zone approved community!

    Martha served in leadership positions of Hilo Association for Family and Community Education (FCE). This is an organization that is dear to heart as she loves to learn within a caring community to strengthen family life. She lives in Hilo with her husband and feels very fortunate to have her son and his family living nearby. Since her retirement, she spends most of her time in Kona caring for her elderly parents. In her caregiving role, she is reminded each day of the importance of the vision of Community First: A Hawaiʻi Island where we embrace our kuleana for our own health and the well-being of others.

  • Brandee is the Chief Executive Officer of HOPE Services Hawaiʻi. She also serves on the Board of Directors for The Food Basket, Bay Clinic, Hawaiʻi Catholic Conference, Hawaiʻi Island United Way’s Advisory Council for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Hawaiʻi Electric Light’s Advisory Board for Low and Moderate Income Families, and as director on the HMSA Foundation Board. Brandee earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and her master's degree in Professional Counseling with emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Argosy University.

  • Brenda is the Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiʻi Care Choices, a nonprofit healthcare organization serving Hawaiʻi Island. With more than 37 years of healthcare leadership experience, she has dedicated her career to advancing compassionate, community-based care, strengthening healthcare systems, and improving access to services for individuals and families throughout Hawaiʻi.

     A graduate of William Jewell College with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a Master of Science in Nursing Administration.

  • Clayton is the West Hawaiʻi Regional Chief Executive Officer of Kona Community Hospital. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aliʻi Health Center. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce. Clayton earned a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration and master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and Management from Grand Canyon University.

  • Charlene is a community advocate and retired attorney. She served as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, First Deputy, and Prosecuting Attorney for Hawaiʻi County over the course of her career. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi and University of Puget Sound Law School.

  • Dr. Kealoha-Beaudet is the clinical psychologist and Chief Executive Officer of Kipuka o ke Ola Native Hawaiian Rural Health Clinic (KOKO). She is a graduate of Argosy University.

  • Dan is the East Hawaiʻi Regional Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation, overseeing Hilo Medical Center, Hale Hoʻola Hamakua, Kaʻu Hospital, the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home, and the East Hawaiʻi Health Clinics. He earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Colorado, an Associate Degree in Nursing and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Augusta State University.

  • Coming soon.

  • Kahea Wakinekona is a local healthcare executive recognized for advancing value-based care, operational excellence, and clinical transformation across Hawaiʻi.

    She serves as Executive Director of East Hawaii Independent Physicians Association (Big Island Docs) and Director of Growth and Operations for Altais Care Network Hawaiʻi. In these roles, she provides strategic leadership to advance independent physician practices, strengthen primary care delivery, and improve population health outcomes throughout the region.

     Kahea's expertise spans practice transformation, quality improvement, payer performance strategy, clinic operations, and team-based care model implementation. She has successfully guided organizations through Patient-Centered Medical Home certification, led electronic medical record implementations across multispecialty clinics, launched and managed primary and specialty care practices, and developed care management programs that improve both clinical outcomes and financial sustainability under value-based contracts.

     With a foundation in nursing and advanced training in quality improvement and data analytics, Kahea brings a practical, results-driven approach to healthcare innovation. She is passionate about building sustainable systems that empower independent providers, improve access to high-quality care, and strengthen the health of Hawaiʻi's communities.