Main Session Speakers

Read more about our main session speakers.

Emcee

  • T. Ilihia Gionson has built his career at the crossroads of Hawai‘i’s most complex community challenges, focused on bringing people together and honoring diverse voices and perspectives in important conversations. Known for his approachable style and thoughtful way with words, Ilihia helps navigate intricate issues with clarity, empathy, and respect.

     Through roles leading communications and engagement for Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi, U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, and private sector clients through his firm Hiehie Communications, Ilihia’s work has spanned affordable housing and renewable energy development, emergency response and disaster recovery, regenerative tourism, and government affairs on the local, state, and national levels.

     He currently serves as Chief Public Affairs Officer at the W. M. Keck Observatory, leading efforts to strengthen the mutual stewardship of the explorers advancing humanity’s understanding of the universe and the community that hosts the world’s premiere site for astronomy, Maunakea.

     Inspired by the journey caring for his dad, an U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, Ilihia was selected as an Elizabeth Dole Foundation fellow, advocating nationally for military veteran caregivers like himself. He was also recognized in 2025 as one of Pacific Business News’ 40 Under 40, a group of exceptional young professionals making their mark across Hawai‘i.

     A proud product of the Hawai‘i Island community and his alma maters Ke Kula ‘o Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Ilihia now lives in Kona with his ‘ohana: daughter Kawaipōmaika‘i, partner State Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa, and father Tony a.k.a. Pops.

  • Mayor Kimo Alameda is a proud father of seven children who has dedicated his professional career to serving the people of Hawaiʻi Island.

    Prior to being elected as Mayor, he led Bay Clinic as CEO, the Hawaiʻi Island Fentanyl Task Force, and was the Executive of the County of Hawaiʻi’s Office of Aging.

    A licensed psychologist and former coach, Mayor Alameda leads the County to build healthy communities, support geographic equity, and create a stronger island for all. 

  • Jill Tokuda represents Hawai‘i’s Second Congressional District which includes suburban and rural parts of O‘ahu, the islands of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, Ni‘ihau, Kaho‘olawe, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Elected in November 2022 to serve in the 118th Congress, Tokuda serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

    She is a Founding Member and Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Rural Health Care Caucus. She has also been selected by her peers to serve as Vice Chair for Communications for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Freshman Representative for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Region 2 Whip (includes Hawai`i, Alaska, Northern California, Guam, American Samoa, and The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). 

    Jill’s family has called Hawai‘i home for four generations since emigrating from Okinawa, living on Hawai‘i Island, Maui, Kaua‘i and on the Windward side of O‘ahu. A proud product of Hawai‘i’s public schools, she was the first in her family to go to college and attended the George Washington University where she earned a BA in international relations with a minor in Japanese studies.

    From 2006-2018, she represented Kaneohe and Kailua in the Hawai‘i State Senate. During her tenure she chaired the Ways and Means, Education and Higher Education, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, and Labor committees. As Ways and Means Chair, Jill balanced the state’s $14 billion budget and approved all fiscal and tax measures at the Hawai‘i State Legislature. She also championed legislation that established the state’s first Executive Office on Early Learning and funded the Hawai‘i Keiki Program to provide access to health services in public schools.

    During the pandemic, Jill was appointed to the Hawai‘i House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness where she worked with the state, counties and nonprofit entities to track the progress of over $21 billion in federal relief that came into Hawai‘i and provide information and analysis to aid in the distribution and management of these resources.

    Jill is married to Kyle Michibata. They have two sons, Aden and Matt, who attend the same public schools their parents graduated from – King Intermediate and James B. Castle High School.

    U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda is driven by the goal of making sure Hawai‘i is a place where her sons and all of our children can see a future for themselves in this place we call home.

  • Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is a tech executive, physician leader, and author of The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone. An Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, she focuses on the intersections of tech and AI, sustainability, and health, seeking a stronger, healthier future for all.

     Dr. Lee served as the founding President of Health Platforms at Verily (Google), where she built several successful health-tech businesses, including digital health, precision risk insurance, and a COVID-19 testing and management program for employers and universities. Previously, Lee was Dean and CEO of the University of Utah Health, which was ranked #1 in quality among university health systems (Vizient), and before that, Chief Scientific Officer at NYU. Lee was an NIH-funded investigator for over two decades and received the Gold Medal of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the highest honor in her field. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Fund, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Joint Commission, Association of American Rhodes Scholars, and Zions Bancorporation.  A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, Lee received a D.Phil in medical engineering from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earned her M.D. with honors from Harvard, and her MBA from NYU.

  • The roots of my ohana are planted in the Hamakua coast in the village of Honomu, nurtured by the waters of majestic Akaka Falls and extend to Waiakea Uka and Kea’au. Throughout my journey of learning, I have been blessed to have earned the trust of those who have poured their knowledge, their mana’o into me , something I do not take lightly. My career includes experiences working in the Child Welfare Service system, the Department of Education’s Behavioral Health Services, private nonprofits programs providing services in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault and abuse, foster care, crisis response services, suicide prevention, awareness and education as well as culturally based agencies that help our opio and their ohana reconnect to their cultural identity and ways of healing, sustainability and wellbeing. Included in my journey is working with Restorative Justice on various aspects, the judicial system and community affiliates.

  • Richard serves as Vice President of Community First’s board. He is the CEO of Hawai`i Island 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.

  • 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.

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