Margie Jacinto, Publisher
Oahu Publications
Our January 2023 lunch speaker, Margie Jacinto, has been connecting the dots between words and people from the time her Communications/English Lit major in college turned into a decades-long career in magazines. She has risen to the top of the publishing world and is considered a true regional publishing expert in Hawaii. As the former Senior Editorial Director and now Publisher for Oahu Publications’ magazine division, she is at the helm of 14 print titles including goKailua; goKapolei; Kahala Life; Vert Kaka‘ako; One Six: Kaimuki to Kahala; and of course, their flagship HILuxury magazine.
Pulling on OWL’s 2023 theme of engagement, Margie spoke about the way she engages through her work with the community as a true regional ambassador of the people, strongly advocating for important topics and subjects that should be covered in print. As Margie steadily ascended the career ladder, her continued goal was to always connect in a ‘deeper way.’ She believes the key is in how stories are crafted, and over the years she’s created a personal style of storytelling: “I used my writing and stories as the conduit between subject and audience, so that each reader could form that connection. I wanted to use the stories in a way to engage readers so they would eat at that restaurant, or go visit a store, or learn more about an artist’s work.”
The strategy has been successful; she has seen countless times how an article has changed the course of a small business owner’s trajectory and gotten complimentary feedback from readers and subjects alike. As a leader, she focuses on this style of engagement even more as she encourages her inspiring staff of artists, writers, and production designers to keep digging for a unique angle, to make deeper connections and to support the community through the stories that they collectively publish.
While she claims to be more on the ‘quiet side’, she pushes herself to learn more through others and was so grateful for the opportunity to speak at the OWL luncheon and meet ‘so many amazing women’. Overall, Margie emphasized that engagement could mean so many things, but for her, it was where it offered her growth and a chance to expand in new ways. She ended her talk with a reminder of how the members of OWL can continue to be mentors to other women, and that she learns so much from the incredible female role models who surround her and teach her new things on a daily basis.
ANNUAL MEETING FEATURED SPEAKER
Dr. Rachel Wong, Founder and Strategic Partner, One Shared Space
NOVEMBER 15, 2022
Dr. Rachel Wong, Founder and Strategic Partner, One Shared Space
Annual Meeting Featured Speaker November 15, 2022
These last three years have been challenging for some, especially for those who care for so many in their personal and professional lives. Dr. Rachel Wong, Founder and Strategic Partner, One Shared Space shared ways to thrive amidst uncertainty and change by telling her story of learning to live more authentically and with intentional care for self, others, and our shared communities.
Rachael Wong, DrPH, has dedicated her career to improving quality of life for others: in non-profit leadership roles at the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i, Kōkua Mau (the state hospice & palliative care organization), and the Hawaiʻi Consortium for Integrative Care; and as the director of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Services, where she led the creation of the state’s ʻOhana Nui multigenerational framework. She now leads One Shared Future, which creates nurturing space for professional development programs and transformative experiences, and co-leads the Safe Spaces and Workplaces initiative that addresses workplace sexual harassment. She is grateful and excited to be working with a strengths-based team and public, private, and non-profit sector partners to catalyze positive change through collaboration and innovation.
