Commentary: It’s Hard to Say Goodbye to Teammates But Fun to Meet New Ones
We’ve gone through changes in recent years, so let me reintroduce our staff.
Hawaii Business was founded in July 1955, which means we will celebrate our 70th anniversary next year. The founders, Ethel and Joe Murphy, had an exceptionally long tenure running the magazine – Ethel remained publisher into the 1990s – but change happens to us all and even she eventually stepped down.
Change continues to happen at Hawaii Business, including a lot recently. We are sad to say goodbye to beloved colleagues who are making new career moves but it’s fun to welcome fresh team members with bright ideas and energy.
You may remember that Publisher Cheryl Oncea said aloha in this column when she retired at the end of 2022 and that I stepped in as interim publisher at the start of 2023. Well, the role of publisher requires a rare combination of skills and experience, so we eventually decided that the job requires two people.
I became executive publisher and Associate Publisher Kent Coules stepped in as co-publisher. We work well together and our different experiences provide a yin and yang for the magazine.
Kent joined us in August 2021, bringing 30-plus years of experience in print and digital media, and 16 years in event production, which has proven essential as we add events to our calendar. He and his family have been Hawai‘i residents since 2013.
I’ve been in the news business since college – all of it as a reporter and editor until I added publisher duties last year. I arrived in Hawai‘i to stay in 1986 and spent 18 years at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and five at The Honolulu Advertiser. My 15th anniversary as editor of Hawaii Business was Jan. 20, 2024 – an easy date for me to remember because my last duty at The Advertiser was overseeing coverage of President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
Our Sales Team
One new team member is YongChae “Yong” Song, an account executive who joined Hawaii Business in December. He has 23 years of promotion, product wholesale, print, digital media and radio sales experience, and is a graduate of Kaiser High School and UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business. He enjoys being part of community organizations, watching his kids play sports and spending time with his family.
Pam Saito is our other account executive. Like Yong, she works in the sales department and helps our clients with their business needs and goals through our print and digital products and events. Pam’s experience includes working at the Star-Advertiser as a senior account executive and at Coca-Cola as a key account manager.
She was born in Hawai‘i, grew up in Kāne‘ohe and now lives with her husband in ‘Aiea. They have two grown children. “What I enjoy about working for Hawaii Business Magazine are the people and clients I work with,” she says. “Everyone is great at what they do.”
Rebecca Brooking has been our senior account coordinator since January 2023, coordinating advertising campaigns and special projects among account executives and business clients. She moved to Hawai‘i in 2016 and lived first in Lahaina before landing in Honolulu after the pandemic. “I am thankful to be here among friends in a place I love,” she says.
The Editorial Team
Managing Editor Cynthia Wessendorf joined us in late 2020, at the height of the pandemic; among her other duties, she produces Hawaii Business’ Top 250, Most Charitable Companies, Black Book and other major projects, and writes feature stories, often with a focus on climate change and education. Her award-winning November 2022 report on the risks of wildfires in Hawai‘i was published nine months before the deadly Lahaina fire.
“Long-form stories take you deep into issues facing the state and efforts to improve life here. I love talking with people in Hawai‘i for these articles and learning about their important work,” she says.
Staff writer Noelle Fujii-Oride has written about affordable housing, tourism, working families, education and much more. She also leads the editorial department’s audience engagement efforts. Before joining Hawaii Business as a staff writer in 2017, she held internships at the magazine, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Honolulu Civil Beat. She now lives on Kaua‘i.
Staff Writer Chavonnie Ramos has been with us full-time since September 2021 after serving two internships with us. Both Chavonnie and Noelle are UH Mānoa journalism graduates, and each served as editor in chief of Ka Leo, the university’s student newspaper. In addition to writing stories, Chavonnie creates videos for our website and social media.
She was born and raised in Waipahu and graduated from Waipahu High School. “In my free time you can find me exploring new hiking or food spots around O‘ahu. I’m a transit enthusiast, so you will probably see me riding or posting about TheBus or Skyline rail frequently,” she says.
Design, Digital and Events
Art director Mallory Adams-Nakamura is a Mililani resident and received her degree in graphic design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. After moving back to Hawai‘i in 2018, she worked at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and at MidWeek. She says she’s excited to be a part of the Hawaii Business ‘ohana, where she maintains the magazine’s design standards and works collaboratively with the whole team.
Digital media specialist Michelle Tan was born and raised in Honolulu and recently graduated from the Shidler College of Business with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, management, and international business. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and hiking.
Magdalena Hershey, who coordinates and orchestrates our conferences and events, has been our events manager since November 2022. She was born in Poland and spent the past eight years living in New Jersey, New York and Hawai‘i. In her free time, she has made exploring local culture, hikes and beaches a cherished part of her life.
Our newest colleague is events coordinator Olivia De Sena, who grew up in Mystic, Connecticut. She’s lived in Hawai‘i for over six years and before joining the magazine, she was the retail manager for Mana Up, where she gained experience in leadership, business development and events. In her free time, you can find her at the Queen’s surf break, watching films or trying new restaurants.
The saddest part of our job is saying aloha to longtime colleagues who move on to jobs elsewhere. As I write this, we are preparing for the departure of Creative Director Kelsey Ige, who has been with Hawaii Business for seven years, and Digital Marketing Director Joelle Cabasa, who joined us six years ago.
They will be greatly missed, but we are grateful for what they’ve contributed to the magazine and how it served our readers, our clients and the local business community. It’s a legacy of service we can trace to our founders 69 years ago. We’d like to continue that service for at least another 69 years.
