Meet Our Team
The Hale Kūʻike leadership team combines decades of experience and education, along with compassion and kindness to provide the highest level of care for its residents, and an excellent work environment for its team members. Get to know our leaders below.
In addition, Hale Kūʻike employs some of the most talented and dedicated staff in Hawaii. Our team consists of nursing assistants, activity leaders, chefs, and more. Each are instrumental in providing extraordinary care and support for our residents and their families.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Marcus has earned degrees in Japanese & Business from the University of Puget Sound, and in Culinary Arts from Kapiolani Community College. Marcus has been with Hale Kūʻike since 2009 and has since held various positions at the company, including Head Chef and Business Manager. He has been in his current role as Administrator since 2018 and is also a Certified Positive Approach® to Care Trainer.
Some thoughts about Hale Kūʻike from Marcus: "I've always been really impressed with Hale Kūʻike's commitment to setting the standard of care in our niche, while also striving to be a truly exemplary work environment. I'm proud to have spent the last 10+ years of my career at a company which such happy residents and staff."
In his free time Marcus enjoys hiking, playing soccer, and spending time with his family and dogs.
When Hale Kūʻike opened its doors in 2004, one of its first employees was Jessica, then a CNA Med Aide. Driven by her dream to become a nurse, Jessica went to school while working part-time, first getting a Liberal Arts degree from Windward Community College, and then her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Chaminade University. Throughout this time, she worked her way up from CNA to RN to her current role as Director of Nursing, all while raising two daughters.
Today, Jessica thrives on making a difference in the lives of Hale Kūʻike residents. “They're a vulnerable group: they’re elderly, they have dementia. To me it’s rewarding to be able to watch over them and be their advocate,” she says. Hale Kūʻike’s home-like setting fosters a closeness among its employees and its residents. Jessica appreciates that the staff gets to know each resident from the time they first walk in until their end of life. “This is their home and we really get to know them and their families,” Jessica states. “That's part of what makes me excited to go to work every day.” Jessica is one of Hale Kūʻike’s Positive Approach® to Care Champions.
Cristina joined Hale Kūʻike in 2006 and worked her way up to her present role as Nursing Coordinator for our Nuʻuanu location. She plays an active and important role in ensuring nurse aide shifts are staffed adequately and the Nursing department is running smoothly. But aside from providing operational support, Cristina serves as one of Hale Kūʻike’s Positive Approach® to Care Champions and daily employs its methods when working with our residents.
For Reeann, what began as a volunteer opportunity in high school developed into a growing career in Hale Kūʻike’s Activities department. In the beginning, Reeann found it hard to interact with the residents as she considered herself naturally shy. But as she entered college and thought about her career choices, she realized she loved working with the Hale Kūʻike residents and had a passion for creating activities for them. She felt even more affirmed when she discovered that Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach ® to Care justified many of the activities that she did with residents. Today she is one of Hale Kūʻike’s Positive Approach® to Care Champions and the Activities Director at our Nuʻuanu facility. She is inspired by the residents she works with and finds great joy in coming to work each day.
Wesley started his culinary journey in Waipahu High School’s Culinary Arts Program, where his love for working in the culinary industry grew. From there he attended Leeward Community College’s culinary program. He went on to work as a line cook at local restaurants such as Big City Diner, Magnolia Bakery, and Stage Restaurant. After working abroad as a cafeteria cook in a Salmon Cannery in Kenai, Alaska, Wesley eventually brought his love for homecooked meals and fine dining to Hale Ku’ike in 2020. He started as a Line Chef and was soon promoted to Kitchen Manager. Wesley loves the welcoming feel of Hale Ku’ike and enjoys making the residents happy with food.
In his free time, he loves traveling with his wife, making music, and BBQing with his family.
Raised on Oahu, Scott learned at an early age the importance of our kupuna. He moved to California where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Gerontology. He worked for several years in an adult day program and in various social service settings.
Scott returned home to Oahu and became a Certified Geriatric Case Manager. For 12 years he assisted seniors as a Case Manager before joining the Hale Kūʻike team in 2011 as the Director of Community Services. As the current Administrator of our Kaneohe location, Scott continues his passion in assisting our kupuna as a Positive Approach ® to Care Trainer.
Beth started her career as a licensed social worker in the Philippines, working with non-government organizations and across different community sectors. Personal circumstances later convinced her to return to school for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, relocate to the U.S., and pursue a career as an RN. Beth started at Hale Kūʻike in 2014 as a part-time RN after a friend urged her to apply to a “very cool” facility in need of a weekend nurse. She deems it a great opportunity to be part of the lives of residents and their families as they go through the different stages of dementia. Beth is a certified Positive Approach® to Care Trainer and appreciates Teepa Snow’s method of comparing these different stages to the characteristics of precious jewels – the GEMS ®. Says Beth, “Our day-to-day work at Hale Kūʻike makes these GEMS meaningful, beautiful and precious. We see that our residents, like gems, can still shine when given the right love and care.”
Beth assumed the role of Director of Nursing at Bayside in August 2015 and along with her commitment to providing the best care for our residents, enjoys mentoring young Nursing professionals in her department.
Ralph joined the Hale Kui’ke team in 2014 and it was here where he has gained most of his experience providing hands-on care to residents. In 2017, he was promoted to his current role as Nursing Coordinator. It exposed him to the administrative aspects of Nursing as he assisted the Director of Nursing with preparing for State Department of Health surveys, Office of Health Care Assurance monitoring, and managing the staff schedule for the Nursing Department.
As part of Hale Kui’ke’s leadership team, Ralph contributes to the creation of new policies, procedures, and training protocols to provide the best care to our residents based on the most up-to-date guidelines. Ralph is also one of Hale Ku’ike’s Positive Approach® to Care Champions. He says, “Working at Hake Ku’ike is like having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family that enjoys providing excellent care to our Kupuna.”
Rena came to Hale Kūʻike in 2014 after 10 years at One Kalakaua Senior Living. She was first drawn to Hale Kūʻike because of its small family setting. “It’s a nice ohana feeling when you’re here,” she explains.
Even from a young age Rena has always been quite at home with elders, and vividly remembers spending much of her childhood with Kupuna. “My great grandmother was at Ann Pearl (Nursing Facility) and I would often go with my grandparents to visit on weekends.” It was perhaps this time spent with Kupuna during her younger years that encouraged her to work with seniors as an adult. Today, Rena is one of our Activities Directors and is a Certified Positive Approach® to Care Engagement Leader and PAC Champion. She values that Hale Kūʻike promotes “meaningful engagement” with its residents. Whether it’s to encourage a resident who can still write to keep a journal or lead a group to assemble care packages for military soldiers, Rena is happy to bring people together and help find fulfillment in their days. For her, Hale Kūʻike has also become a family affair as she occasionally brings her grandchildren to visit the residents for some “intergenerational therapy.”
Rena’s favorite things about working at Hale Kūʻike? Hearing residents tell rich stories (sometimes repeatedly) and still learn something from them, and working with a group of people who value each other and what they do. “Hale Kūʻike is not just a workplace, it’s our residents’ home,” she says, which drives her to stay positive and do her best for the residents.
Christy’s original career choice was either going to be in nursing or computer engineering. But when those didn’t work out, she recalled her high school culinary classes (in which she graduated with honors) and decided to pursue her passion for cooking instead. She received her Associate degree in Culinary Arts from Kapiolani Community College in 2017. It was during her internship at Hale Kūʻike that she was offered a job as a Line Chef, leading to her eventual promotion to Kitchen Manager in 2018. For Christy, Hale Kūʻike is a place that meets the needs of residents in a loving and caring way. She finds it an honor to work here and make people happy through their tummies.
Christy’s other passions includes shoes, playing the guitar, going fishing, and doing church activities.
Raised in Guam, Imelda started out as a pre-med student, but her winding path led to an MBA from UC Davis instead. Her career has spanned the biotechnology, medical devices, and healthcare industries, which has provided a breadth of experience in many areas of business. However, she finds that one of her most rewarding experiences has been at Hale Kūʻike where she first started as the HR Director. “From the moment I first walked into Hale Kūʻike on my interview day, I knew it was a special place and that I wanted to work there. It struck me that the residents and staff all looked happy, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Imelda shares. As the Hale Ku’ike Pali Administrator, Imelda believes her ultimate role is to help her team of professional and loving staff continue to grow and provide the highest level of care for Hale Ku’ike residents.
Kristin began her career as an RN with Hale Kūʻike in 2017. Before becoming Director of Nursing, Kristin worked as the Quality Assurance (QA) Nurse for all three locations. One of her primary responsibilities in that position was to ensure that the Nursing staff at all Hale Kūʻike locations adhere to the same policies, procedures, and standards of care.
Kristin was first introduced to Hale Kūʻike while getting her BSN at Chaminade University. She completed a clinical rotation at Bayside during which she helped the nursing staff and assisted with the resident activities. Her rotation led to part-time shifts, and eventually a full-time position. Says Kristin, “It’s great being a part of the Hale Kūʻike family, providing quality care to all the residents at every facility. I enjoy seeing the residents participate in group activities and having fun together.”
For her own off-work activities, Kristin likes spending time with her friends and family, watching movies and drinking boba tea.
Joy was born and raised in the Philippines where she also graduated with an RN/BSN degree. Her initial drive for going into Nursing was to find a stable job, be financially secure, and provide for her daughter’s future. But when she joined Hale Kūʻike as a Nursing Assistant in 2006, her experience here began to transform her perspective about the nursing profession. Joy notes, “It no longer became just about the money but about how we help our elders.” She acknowledges that working with people with dementia can be challenging, but at the end of the day it’s rewarding to know that she makes a difference in their lives.
In 2019, Joy was promoted to Nursing Coordinator when the Pali facility opened. She now manages the schedule for Pali’s Nursing Assistants, maintains nursing supply inventory, and assists the Director of Nursing in all other department functions. Joy is one of Hale Kūʻike’s Positive Approach® to Care Champions.
Breanna’s experience with people living with dementia started in her youth, when her mom who was a CNA at a residential care home often brought her to work. She spent a lot of time after school with the residents and at age 16, she decided to pursue her own CNA training. Once she got a job as a CNA, she instantly fell in love with “her” residents! She took care of many patients with dementia who she says brought her so much joy every day.
By her early 20s, Breanna had tried many other career paths, but ultimately missed being a CNA and working with people with dementia. In 2019, when her husband got military orders to Hawaii, Breanna was hired at Hale Kūʻike as Activity Leader. In just a few short months in January 2020, Breanna was promoted to Activities Director.
“I love being the Activities Director at Hale Kūʻike because it gives me the opportunity to really get to know the residents. And being from such a different background they teach me so many new things every day,” Breanna expresses.
When she’s not running the Activities program at Hale Kūʻike Pali, Breanna can be found spending time with her dogs, traveling with her husband, snorkeling, and exploring the island.
Latai was born in Laie and grew up in Hau’ula on Oahu’s North Shore. She started with a few rough patches in early life but Latai’s time with Habilitat helped her find her passion for food! While at Habilitat, Latai had the opportunity to learn from and work alongside some very talented chefs and businessmen: Roy Yamaguchi (Chef and founder of Roy’s restaurants), Jerry Romano (President of Windward Auto Group), and Matthew Small (Corporate Executive Chef of Y. Hata.) to name a few. Latai joined the Hale Ku’ike ohana in 2021 where she started as a Line Chef at our Bayside location. With hard work and determination, Latai worked her way up to the role of Kitchen Manager at our Pali location, where she can be found serving up delicious dishes and, occasionally, talking story with our residents.
Latai loves making food taste good and her philosophy is simple. She says, “Happy people make good food; good food makes people happy!”
David grew up in South Louisiana. He spent much time with his grandparents and his close relationship with them inspired him to seek a career in caring for the elderly. Upon graduating from the University of Colorado, David followed his girlfriend (now Mrs. Fitzgerald) to Hawaii. After several years working at a large family-run business, he secured an administrator position at Pohai Nani.
David had always dreamed of opening his own care home, so he conducted research by personally visiting 20 of the most progressive care facilities in Europe. After a decade of growth at Pohai Nani, David left to fulfill his dream of creating Hale Kū‘ike and incorporating everything he had learned into a model dementia care home.
“It was because of the sacrifices and generosity of my grandparents that I was able to start Hale Kū‘ike,” says David. “By striving for excellence in the services that we provide, I hope to honor my grandparents and all kupuna.”
Outside of work, David spends his time with his wife Kelley, and their two daughters, Grace and Emily. He enjoys canoe paddling, bicycling, eating delicious food, and most recently, surfing.
Dorothy was born in Hawaii and raised in Hauula on the island of Oahu. She attended Bryn Mawr College where she completed her Master’s degree. Dorothy has a very personal connection to dementia care: her grandmother, with whom she grew up, had Alzheimer's disease, her father had stroke-related dementia, and her father-in-law had Parkinson's-related dementia.
Dorothy is a Positive Approach® to Care Trainer, Coach, and Mentor. She is a dementia care specialist with more than 20 years of professional and personal experience in caring for people with dementia. She has worked at Hale Kūʻike since 2005, helping residents and their families navigate through the course of the disease.
Dorothy's mission is to help families understand what is happening to the brain of their loved ones who have dementia. Through her work at Hale Kūʻike and her public education classes, Dorothy helps those who work with and care for people with dementia understand the process of brain failure. Dorothy’s philosophy is that by understanding that the brain is dying, we can empathize, adjust our approach and expectations, and connect and communicate with those who have dementia.
A native of Puerto Rico, Colombia and Miami, Juan is no stranger to diverse multicultural workplaces. After graduating from Penn State University with degrees in Labor Studies & Employment Relations and Hospitality Management, he completed Hilton Hotels’ Management Development Program at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. What was supposed to be just a six-month program in Oahu turned into a decade on island and a fruitful career that spanned multiple Waikiki hotels and various management roles. He finally returned to his HR roots and found a footing in the medical field before finally reaching his long-term calling as the Human Resources Director at Hale Ku’ike.
Juan is very proud to lead a team of amazing individuals who are the core of this very noble organization. His mission is to make Hale Ku’ike one of the best workplaces in Oahu, an inclusive place that provides a great working environment and helps staff build fulfilling careers. “I want team members to learn, grow, and develop with us and have some fun while they’re here. When we put our effort into people, programs, and practices, the outcome is a more engaged and happy staff, which then leads to a superior experience for all our kupuna residents,” Juan shares.
Outside of work, Juan enjoys playing tennis, boating, and pursuing a side passion in history and archaeology.
Chad was managing business accounts at Borders Books and Music for 15 years, but when the company closed its doors, Chad realized he wanted to try something different. He had always wanted to learn how to cook so he enrolled at KCC’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific. This interest led to a Culinary Arts degree and the Culinary Institutional Food Service Management degree.
He started as a Line Chef at Hale Kūʻike in 2016 and finds it a great place to work. “It’s really nice, and we have a great staff. I enjoy cooking for and spending time with the residents. And it’s not as hectic as cooking in a restaurant,” he says with a smile. In his current role as Head Chef, Chad oversees Hale Kūʻike’s Dietary staff and helps develop menus that are not only delicious, but also appropriate for the dietary needs of our residents.
Among his favorite things to cook are different kinds of fried chicken, like mochiko chicken, garlic chicken, and beef stews like boeuf bourguignon.
