Breakout Session Speakers

Read more about our morning breakout session speakers.

E Malama Ola: Preventing Suicide Throuh Connection and Community on Hawai`i Island

Panelists

Jo Anne "JoB" Balberde-Kamali'i

Dr. Stephanie Campbell

Dr. Sulma Gandhi

Dr. Yolisa Duley

Wendy Schwartz

  • 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.

  • Dr. Stephanie Campbell (she/her) is a half-Filipina/half-white, small-fat, able-bodied, queer, cisgender daughter of an immigrant who grew up in rural Arkansas. She is a licensed psychologist in Hawaiʻi & Nationally Certified School Psychologist who works as full-time psychology faculty at Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo. Dr. Campbell specializes in trauma & is especially passionate about cultivating access to practical psychoeducation about complex trauma while incorporating intersectional implications of culture, race, gender, socioeconomic status, & power/privilege. She is also co-founder & co-owner of Cinder & Sage Psychology. Outside of work, Dr. Campbell plays an absurd amount of pickleball, listens to YouTube commentary/comedy channels, ocean paddles, crafts, & cooks without recipes.

  • Dr. Sulma Gandhi is a philanthropic leader and executive leadership coach at the Stupski Foundation, where she works at the intersection of health, equity, and systems change across Hawaiʻi. She has produced over twenty education media curriculum films, including E Mālama Ola, Hawaiʻi Island’s first locally made suicide prevention training curriculum. She has worked across county government, the University of Hawaiʻi system, Kamehameha Schools, and community nonprofits, and serves as a former member of Hawaiʻi’s Judicial Selection Commission and current Early Learning Board member. She is an Omidyar Fellow and a recipient of the Association for Fundraising Professionals’ Community Leadership award, and holds a doctorate in Health Care Management and Leadership. She has called Hawaiʻi Island home for nearly 30 years.

  • Dr. Yolisa Duley (she /her) was born in England and raised in England and Zambia, Southern Africa. She considers herself a global citizen and has had the honor of calling the Puna District of Hawaiʻi Island home since 1993. With more than 40 years of experience as an educator, she has been engaged in suicide prevention since 2013 and is the co-creator of the new Hawaiʻi-based suicide prevention curriculum E Mālama Ola. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Hawaiʻi Island Prevent Suicide Task Force. Yolisa’s work and passion centers on Indigenous health and wellness, suicide prevention, and the intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, and well-being. Yolisa loves to hike, dance, and preserve food from her backyard orchard and garden.

  • Wendy Schwartz, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System, where she serves as a Community Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator within the Suicide Prevention Program. She is also co-owner of a private practice providing trauma-focused mental health services.  Wendy has more than 20 years of experience in the mental health and social services field, with a focus on suicide prevention, trauma-informed care, community-based services, and supporting individuals experiencing serious mental illness and homelessness. Her previous experience includes crisis stabilization and correctional social work with both adults and youth. Wendy is passionate about building meaningful community partnerships and developing culturally responsive approaches to suicide prevention across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands. Wendy lives on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi with her husband and daughter and enjoys music, the ocean, and time with family.

The Structure of Luck

Panelist

Jack Lewin, MD.

  • Jack Lewin was appointed Administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency by Governor Josh Green MD in 2023, and is charged with helping him design and implement his “Hawaiʻi the Health State” vision for the future of healthcare here. Lewin is a physician, former Hawaiʻi Director of Health, and in recent years he was CEO of the California Medical Association, CEO of the American College of Cardiology (DC), President/CEO of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (NYC), and advisor to two US Presidents.  

Maternal Health Matters: From Community Voice to Collective Action

Panelists

Jennifer Elia, DrPH

Bliss Kaneshiro, MDl

Sonya Niess, MPH

Summer Mochida-Meek, MPH

  • Jennifer Elia, DrPH, is Co-Founder and Director of Systems Engagement at the Hawaiʻi Perinatal Research, Equity, and Systems Collaborative (HIPRES). She leads statewide, cross-sector efforts to strengthen maternal and infant health systems, advance health equity, and improve access to culturally responsive care. Raised in rural Puna on Hawaiʻi Island, Jennifer is committed to Indigenous and community-centered approaches that improve outcomes for Hawaiʻi’s families.

  • Bliss Kaneshiro, MD, is Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Queen’s University Medical Group and a faculty member at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests include family planning, contraceptive care, and improving access to reproductive and maternal healthcare. She is also involved with the Kapalili Perinatal Resource Hub, a collaborative initiative connecting perinatal providers and families with community-based services across Hawaiʻi.

  • Sonya Niess, MPH, serves as the Director of Policy & Partnerships for Pacific Birth
    Collective, where she is also a co-founder and has served as Board President for many years. A practicing birth doula and childbirth educator since 2006, Sonya has dedicated her career to improving maternal and infant health through advocacy, education, and systems change for Hawaiʻi. Born and raised on Maui, Sonya is the proud mother of four beautiful children. 

  • Summer Mochida-Meek, MPH, is the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi State Rural Health Association. She works to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s rural healthcare system by bringing together providers, community organizations, and partners to advance health equity, workforce development, and access to care across the state.

Navigating Work Requirements and Other Changes in Medicaid/Quest

Panelists

Mike Nguyen

Meredith Nichols

Dr. Lee-Ann Noelani Heely, MEd, DMgt

Helen Kekalia

  • D. Michiko Fried is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner with a focus on adult and older-adult health. My healthcare experience includes Critical Care/ICU nursing, comprehensive chronic disease management, healthcare quality improvement, primary care clinic administration, and nursing education. As Director of Health Services for HOPE Services Hawaii, I supervise programs that provide holistic, patient-centered services to individuals experiencing homelessness with medical and mental health management needs. These programs include Medical Respite, Street Medicine, and Emergency Shelter first aid. Our Health Services department also collaborates with community partners to coordinate services, including vision exams, vaccination clinics, primary care mobile health services, wound care at health outreach events, and education about the services we provide.

  • Nicola Pinson, JD, is a health law and policy leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing health system transformation, Medicaid policy, behavioral health, value-based care, and health equity initiatives. As a Principal at Health Management Associates, she supports states, counties, payers, providers, and community organizations through regulatory and policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, facilitation, and implementation support. Her work has included leading complex initiatives related to hospital discharge for individuals with complex needs, behavioral health crisis system redesign, social determinants of health strategy, integrated care networks, and palliative care planning. Nicola is recognized for translating complex legal, policy, financing, and operational issues into practical recommendations, reports, and implementation tools. She holds a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and a BA from Middlebury College.  

Cross-System Solutions to Support Transitions of Care for Individuals with Complex Needs

Panelists

D. Michiko Fried, DNP, APRN-Rx, FNP-BC

Nicola Pinson

  • Mike Nguyen serves as Senior Director of External Affairs at AlohaCare, where he leads government, public, and community relations and oversees marketing and communications. He works with healthcare stakeholders, policymakers, and community organizations to advance health outcomes, strengthen Hawaiʻi’s healthcare safety net, and improve access to care, with a particular focus on Medicaid, workforce, and community-based solutions.

  • Meredith Nichols serves as the Med-QUEST Administrator/Medicaid Director for the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services. Meredith previously served as the Deputy Medicaid Director/Assistant Administrator for Med-QUEST from 2017-2026. Meredith’s commitment to community access to quality healthcare is grounded in a deep love for the wellbeing of the people of Hawaii. Growing up as a fourth generation Wahiawā resident, she understands first-hand the importance of ensuring equitable access to resources for all of Hawaii’s people across the pae ‘āina. She firmly believes that the shared wisdom of healthcare providers and the people they seek to serve is a necessary foundation to co-creating an excellent healthcare delivery system.

  • Dr. Lee-Ann Noelani Heely serves as Vice President of Enrollment and Community Engagement at Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center (HICHC), where she leads strategy to ensure equitable access to care, continuity of coverage, and deep community trust across Hawai‘i Island. With extensive executive leadership experience in community health and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) settings, she oversees insurance enrollment, retention, and outreach initiatives grounded in the values of aloha, kuleana, and mālama. Lee-Ann partners closely with community leaders, schools, and government agencies to advance culturally responsive engagement strategies, while ensuring HICHC’s compliance with HRSA, UDS, and CMS requirements. She holds a Doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership  and is dedicated to building high-performing, mission-driven organizations.

  • Helen Kekalia is the founder of Mano + Naiʻa, LLC and a healthcare executive with more than 17 years of leadership across nonprofit social services, behavioral health, Medicaid, and healthcare systems in Hawaiʻi. Born and raised on Molokaʻi, she spent more than a decade in community health center executive leadership, including seven years as CEO of Molokaʻi Community Health Center, where she led the rural FQHC through the COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience spans multiple sides of Hawaiʻi’s healthcare system. Helen served seven years on the AlohaCare Board of Directors, including as Vice President, and has worked extensively at the intersection of Medicaid, accountable care, rural healthcare delivery, government partnerships, and public-private funding for vulnerable communities. Now residing in Kealakekua, Helen also serves as Regional Director of Development for West Hawaiʻi Region Hospitals, following her work with regional leadership to establish the West Hawaiʻi Region Hospital Foundation as the philanthropic arm of the region’s hospitals in 2025. Her leadership has been recognized through Hawaiʻi’s 40 Under 40 and multiple year-over-year HRSA Quality Awards for clinical outcomes, COVID-19 vaccine outreach, and health information technology innovation. She brings to today’s conversation a perspective shaped by health policy as it moves from government and health plans into provider systems and ultimately into the lived realities of Hawaiʻi’s rural communities.

Expanding the Mental Health Care Workforce: The “Bottleneck Problem” and Possible Solution

Panelists

Bryan S. K. Kim, PhD

Natasha Ariyoshi, LCSW, CSAC

Nicole Wright, PsyD, CSAC, ICADC

Sheena Galutira, LMHC, NCC, CSAC

  • Bryan returned to the director position of the MA Program in 2026 after serving as the Chairperson of the Department of Psychology from 2025 to 2026 and Chairperson of the Division of Social Sciences from 2020 to 2025. He last served in the director position from 2008 to 2020. Bryan received the PhD in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (Emphasis: Counseling Psychology) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has over 100 publications (including 9 psychological instruments) and over 110 presentations in the areas of multicultural counseling process and outcome, measurement of cultural constructs, counselor education and supervision, and immigrant experiences. Bryan is a past editor of The Counseling Psychologist journal and the Asian American Journal of Psychology and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Asian American Psychological Association, and International Academy of Intercultural Research.

  • Tasha Ariyoshi, LCSW, CSAC brings experience across behavioral health, higher education, private practice, and community-based social services in Hawaiʻi. Her work centers on supporting emerging social workers, strengthening the behavioral health workforce, and creating more culturally responsive and accessible systems of care. Currently pursuing her doctorate in social work, Tasha is especially interested in bridging clinical practice, education, and systems-level change while honoring the unique strengths and needs of Hawaiʻi’s communities. Born and raised on Oʻahu, she brings a strong sense of community and cultural humility to her work. Outside of social work, Tasha enjoys traveling, creating art, and all things K-pop.

  • Niki is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified substance abuse counselor in the State of Hawaiʻi. She currently serves as Chief Behavioral Health Officer at Wahiawā Center for Community Health, Director of Mālama Recovery Services and Ho‘okuola Hale at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of IMUA Health Group. Throughout her career, Niki has focused on expanding access to behavioral health services, reducing health disparities, and strengthening systems of care for underserved communities across Hawaiʻi. As Practicum Development Specialist for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Counseling Psychology Program, Niki works to cultivate community partnerships, expand practicum training opportunities, and support the

    development of Hawaiʻi’s future behavioral health workforce.

  • Sheena works at Chaminade University in the College of Education and Human Development. Sheena served as the Internship Director for the Master of Science in Counseling Psychology mental health counseling program for six years. She recently transitioned to a faculty position as an Instructor of Psychology. She was born and raised on Oahu and enjoys spending time with family and friends, eating, martial arts, Pokémon, and comic and anime conventions.