OWL Members support each other through personal and professional development.
New Member Profiles
Please join us in welcoming our newest members to the Organization of Women Leaders.
Teré Aceves is the Director of Institutional Advancement and Enrollment Services at La Pietra— Hawai'i School for Girls. Teré has over two decades of experience advancing independent education. With extensive experience in advancement, community building, communications, and enrollment, she brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is deeply passionate about her family and pets, boasting three beloved dogs. Additionally, she is dedicated to sustainability and is the proud founder of Before1907, a zero-waste company. In her spare time, she finds joy in reading and delving into the intricacies of human connections.
With a dynamic forty-year career in education management, Dana Vela has demonstrated exceptional leadership in organizations that provide high-quality early childhood education. Her focus on engaging teachers through recognition, compensation, team-building, and culture-building has been instrumental. As the President and CEO of Kama’aina Kids, a Hawaii nonprofit organization, Dana leads a team dedicated to the care and education of 6500 children and 700 staff. Dana is married to her husband of 33 years and has three adult children.
Laura Guinn-Hall is currently an AVP, Sr. TPA Specialist, Complex Claims with Zurich NA. She is an experienced insurance professional and leader with over 25 years of experience. In addition to this role, Laura is a Certified Career Coach.
Laura is an active member of Zurich Employee Resource Groups to include Latinos Unidos for Zurich where she serves the National Co-Lead, Emerging LeaderZ, and the Women’s Innovation Network. She served as the WIN West Region Co-Lead from 2022-2024.
Additionally, Laura currently serves as the Board of Directors - Fund Chair and Treasurer of Women United – Aloha United Way which focuses on education, poverty prevention and safety net, the building blocks for a better life for women and families within Hawaii. Laura has a strong passion for education and initiatives that involve the community, women and children.
Laura and her husband, Tim reside in Honolulu, HI with their dog Boris. They love to travel and learn about different cultures and food throughout the world.
Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Sam Houston State University.
Christina Tang brings over 15 years of event production experience to her role as the Director of Events at Gourmet Events Hawaii, a full service event planning company. Originally from NYC, she made the move to Oahu in 2021 and has since called Hawaii home. She has received awards throughout career, including the Top 30 B2B Marketers Running Events to Drive Revenue in 2023. During her free time, she enjoys outdoor adventures with her husband and 4-year-old son, while also giving back to the community as a Make-a-Wish Hawaii Ambassador.
Monique Wedderburn is the Program Manager for the Pacific and Virgin Islands Training Initiatives (PITI-VITI), collaborating with eleven insular governments on training and performance plans. She excels in program development, relationship building, and capacity building, enhancing PITI-VITI's visibility and fostering strong government ties. Previously, she worked at the University of Texas at Dallas, the East-West Center in Hawaii, and other institutions, focusing on the Asia Pacific region. Her formative years were spent in Mexico, Zaire (now the Democratic Republicof Congo), Pakistan, Thailand, and Zimbabwe.
Mary Despe helps professionals who feel unseen and undervalued in the workplace develop a strategy to succeed in their career pursuits. With nearly 20 years as a recruiter hiring technical talent for global companies, Mary offers insight as a hiring ‘insider’ to those looking to advance their careers. Mary has been recognized as a LinkedIn Top Community Voice for Interviewing and as a Talent MVP. She is passionate about helping others succeed professionally and in their authentic style. She has delivered workshops for the Society of Women Engineers, Project Management Institute, Women Leadership & Empowerment Conference, and has contributed career and personal branding articles.
Aries Jackson is Executive Director of Common Grace. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the youngest out of 6 children, Aries is the daughter of a diplomat who travelled to many countries throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. She now uses her experience, passion and education for counselling to create relationships between the community and lonely children. She believes personal youth mentoring and counselling creates a safer environment for Hawaii’s youth. Aries has overseen over 3000 volunteers since 2014 and continues to be proactive in the recruitment of new members as well as manage the mission statement for Common Grace and its programs, Malama Mentors and Mohala Mentors.
Dina Tsuda is the Senior Vice President of Business Strategy for Title Guaranty Hawaii, the oldest and largest title and escrow company in Hawaii. She was born and raised on Oahu. She attended Iolani High School, Loyola Marymount University and obtained a Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University. She has a passion for instructional design and organizational development. As part of her leadership role at TG, she oversees Sales & Marketing, Learning & Development, and Organizational Development. Prior to life at TG, Dina also worked for Kaiser Permanente and Business Solution Technologies (BST).
Sandra Benevides has worked with CVS Caremark as a Strategic Account Executive under their Pharmacy Benefit Management division since 2012. She manages two major clients in Hawaii for the organization and is responsible for sales, contract management and pharmacy services providing benefits to over 150K members in the state. Prior to joining CVS Caremark, Sandra worked at Kaiser Permanente and has more than 25 years of experience in health care sales, marketing and health benefit management.
Ka’ili Trask O’Connell –owner of Ka’ili Executive Leadership & Coaching was born and raised in Kailua and graduated from Punahou School. She earned her BSBA at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and invested the first 15 years of her leadership career with national companies in Los Angeles, Chicago, and St. Louis. She returned home to Hawai’i in 2004 and has worked at Mid-Pacific Institute, Title Guaranty, Locations, and has most recently started her own leadership company. Aside from time with her family, she also teaches hula at Puka’ikapuaokalani Hula Halau and offers leadership and coaching training at Egan’s Bootcamp in Kailua.
Shaylah Nichols, MSW, LSW is the Director of Social Work at A Family Tree. Originally from New York, Shaylah received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Science from Syracuse University and a Master of Social Work from Columbia University. She worked at a nonprofit in New York for 2 years delivering programs to pediatric patients in the tri-state area while also creating a foundation in Uganda that helps young women start small businesses using skills they receive through a vocational program. She has been working at A Family Tree since 2020 and helps clients throughout Hawaii grow their families through adoption.
Lorraine Nakasone is a Principal for Health & Benefits in the U.S. West for Mercer. She has 22 years of experience in employee benefits consulting assisting employers in Hawaii by developing strategic plans designs for employee benefit programs. Prior to Mercer, she worked with Brown & Brown Pacific Insurance, Servco Pacific Insurance and Aon Consulting. Lorraine is a graduate of the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business with a Bachelors Degree in Business & Marketing.
Theresa Hart, JD, is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and a graduate of Boston University School of Law. She practiced law for many years before transitioning into healthcare administration (Queen's Hospital, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, various Elder Care facilities). Currently, she serves as the Director of Culture and Operations at Oii, Inc., a software development company which uses Artificial Intelligence to help companies manage their supply chain. Theresa is also the Managing Director of Hart-Rogers Media, which publishes, promotes and provides speakers on the topics of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Supply Chain.
Patti Takayama is a Realtor and Partner of Locations Hawaii. She has been awarded Partner of the Year, Partner with Most Transactions, Partner with Most Closed and "The Legend Award”. While she has achieved many career milestones through work and service, she values the friendships gained along the way.