EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Jessica Munoz is the President and Founder.  She is also a practicing Nurse Practitioner in Hawaii. While working as a pediatric crisis nurse, Jessica encountered first-hand the brutality and traumatizing effects of sex trafficking on children and young women. She recognized the need for a comprehensive system of care specific to meeting the unique needs of girls who have been sexually exploited.  Rooted on the “justice gene in her DNA”, her passion for shining the light in the dark places and watching new life come forth shapes her vision and life’s mission.

She provides executive leadership, innovation, and development of a growing social service agency. She has 15 years of health care experience, entrepreneurship, and community advocacy, transformational systems change, and leadership. 

Over the past 12 years she has published articles, provided training and strategies on identification, intervention, and response for hundreds of health care professionals, service providers, law enforcement, and community leaders. She works closely with the judiciary, district attorneys, and state, federal, and local law enforcement to help shape a multi-disciplinary collaborative response to trafficked youth and young adults in Hawaii and beyond. 

Since 2009, Jessica and her team have been driving the anti-trafficking movement in the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific.  Her passion to serve exploited children and her pursuit of comprehensive understanding of their needs has fostered her role as a trainer and advisor in Cameroon, Africa with Vital Voices Global Partnership. She has also provided training on trauma informed survivor centered care and building MDT’s in Samoa, Cambodia, Africa, and Thailand. She has also provided services, training, and medical care in Guatemala and Mexico.

Through her work, Jessica has emphasized the continuum of care and the Response Framework needed for underage trafficking victims through collaborative, health centric, trauma-informed systems and victim-centered approaches and partnerships. One of her core initiatives has been to open Pearl Haven— Hawaii’s first residential treatment campus for sexually exploited teenage girls. 

Of note, she and her team worked with CBS and the executive producers of the TV show Hawaii Five-0 to bring awareness through their March 10th, 2017 episode Puka ‘Ana or “exodus” which highlights the issue of child sex trafficking in Hawaii and the work being done by the organization. This episode had over 8.9 million viewers and multiple PSA’s created by the cast to help spread awareness. 

Awards & Accolades:

• 2007 Kapiolani Medical Center Nurse of the Year for Women and Children 
• 2010 awarded the Faces of Nursing for the State of Hawaii  
• 2012 National Awardee of the Emergency Medicine Physician Inc. Nurse Practitioner of the Year
• 2013 TedX Honolulu Conference speaker, lecturer and workshop facilitator
• 2016 Cades and Shuttes Non-Profit Leadership Award for Ho`ōla Nā Pua 
• 2017 PBN’s 40 under 40 Leadership Awardee
• 2018 Pacific Century Fellow Alumni
• 2018 Commencement Speaker, UH School of Social Work 
• 2019 Hometown Hero, Hawaii New’s Now
• 2019 & 2020 Honolulu Magazine’s Woman of Distinction
• Omidyar Fellows Program, Cohort VII
• 2021 Honolulu Business Magazine “20 for the next 20”

Karen is a graduate of the College of William and Mary.  Her long career in the field of opera, began at Virginia Opera directly after graduating from college.  Two short years later, she became the Director of Production for Opera Memphis.  She was in Memphis for seven years, ending her tenure as the Executive Director. 

When she left Memphis, she became the General Director of Opera Festival of New Jersey, the youngest General Director in the opera field, followed by the role of Managing Director of Music Theatre Group in Manhattan.  During those years she served as both a frequent panelist and onsite evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts and a board member and board consultant for Opera America, the service organization for companies in the US and Canada.  

In 2004, Karen moved to Honolulu and became the Executive Director of Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT).  She served as executive director for over nine years.  During her tenure, she balanced the budget, re-organized the board, revitalized the development department, and achieved a 4-Star rating on Charity Navigator.  She created and executed the implementation of a new strategic plan, which included the sale of outdated property and the renovation of their new location on Beretania Street.  

Throughout her time at HOT, she directed several critically acclaimed HOT productions including:  Susannah, Jun Kaneko’s Madama Butterfly, The Pearl Fishers, and the 2013 production of Turandot.  Other notable productions in her career include; Sweeney Todd at HOT, The Turn of the Screw at Opera Memphis and Orpheo et Euridice at OFNJ.  She directed Three Decembers for HOT with Frederica von Stade, which led to two more opportunities to work with the grand dame of opera at both Livermoor Opera and San Diego Opera.  She continues to work as a stage director in Hawaii and beyond.

In April of 2018, HOT asked Karen to serve as the interim General Director while a search was on for a permanent replacement.  She served the organization with pro bono work for about a year, until the replacement was found.  Throughout her career, Karen has often worked with other non-profits as a volunteer and board member.  

In recent years she served on the national board of the Joyful Heart Foundation, the board of the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific and a volunteer to the event committees for the Hawaii Humane Society, Hanahau’oli School, and event chair of Kama’aina Christmas at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Currently, Karen serves as a trustee for the Kapiolani Hospital Foundation in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she also sits on the Pediatric Heart Center Capital Campaign.  She is also a member of the capital campaign committee for Ho’ola Na Pua’s Pearl Haven, a residential facility on the North Shore of Oahu for exploited girls.  She is in her final term as commissioner at large for the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.  

Karen is a proud mother to two wonderful children, Sophia and Eli.  

Chris Eldridge is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Koa Capital Partners, a Hawaii-based private investment firm focused on buying and running local businesses in Hawaii. Koa seeks to preserve, enhance and grow local businesses that can both compete and beat out mainland competitors, while providing a proving ground for the next generation of leaders.  Chris, having spent most of his professional life in Hawaii, brings to Koa a strong understanding of the local business community and a track record of revenue growth mixed with an emphasis on healthy business cultures.  Prior to Koa, Chris was a serial entrepreneur, starting highly successful local companies such as FileMinders/PortaBox Storage and America’s Mattress.  Presently he serves on the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Pacific Health Medical Group as well as on advisory boards for several local private companies. He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Eldridge attended Punahou School and earned a BA in Economics and Business from Boston University. Eldridge, his wife and two children reside in Honolulu.

Melissa Rueschhoff was born on Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas, in 1973 to a teacher and a B52 pilot who served in Vietnam. She was primarily raised in Plano, Texas, then received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Texas in Austin and a Jurisprudence Doctorate degree with a specialty in Criminal Law from South Texas College of Law in Houston. She is licensed to practice law in Texas, Arizona, Alabama and Hawaii and five federal courts. As such, she has practiced civil and criminal law, state and federal law. She has also been a law professor at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law, University of Hawaii’s Richardson School of Law and University of Arizona’s Rogers College of Law. The majority of her legal career has been focused on criminal prosecution in Special Victims Units and, most recently, in combating child sex trafficking at home and abroad.

In her spare time, she serves as the General Partner for an LLP established for real estate purposes in Texas, as well as the Lead Key Spouse Mentor for the 613 AOC on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam.
Melissa is the first military spouse to become a licensed Hawaii attorney under the military spouse reciprocity rule enacted on July 1, 2018. Her husband, Colonel Jason Rueschhoff and two children, ages nine and seven, accompanied her to the Hawaii Supreme Court swearing-in ceremony in November 2018.

Sondra Leiggi Brandon is the VP of Patient Care, Behavioral Health. Sondra is responsible for developing and implementing business and strategic plans for behavioral health services and programs across the continuum of care. Sondra is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She has Master’s degrees in Nursing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Johns Hopkins University. She also has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Loma Linda University. Sondra is an Omidyar fellow and was recently recognized as one of Hawaii Business Magazine’s “20 for the Next 20.” 

Win Schoneman is a retired small business owner and Navy veteran. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset and served as Hawaii District Governor for Rotary International in 2018-2019. As District Governor he brought the “conversation” of human trafficking to Hawaii Rotarians, educating the fifty three clubs and more than 1500 Rotarians on issues of forced labor, child labor, CSEC and human slavery. He is a proud Ho`ola Na Pua volunteer.

As a visionary leader, Nabb has had continued success in building healthcare companies with an outside-in approach by driving innovation, operational excellence and strategic partnerships.  He is best known for creating an organizational culture that thrives on authenticity, kindness, vulnerability and transparency.  He believes in prioritizing the care of each colleague in the organization, at all levels, so they can in turn be of best service to their patients and communities. 

Nabb most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer for Remita Health in Irvine, California for the past four years. There, he led all executive stakeholders, which included sales and operations for this multi-state, multi-site hospice and palliative care company. Additionally, he served as Board President for various joint-venture partnerships, with notable institutions such as CareMore/Anthem and Monarch/Optum.  Nabb’s healthcare experience spans over 13 years in various executive leadership roles across the entire healthcare continuum.  He brings experience leading care management, population-health models and care initiatives for both the payors and providers with companies such as HMSA – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaii, Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care and Health Essentials.  Nabb has in-depth knowledge of operations and growth experience particularly in the government and managed care areas.  Nabb has led several healthcare companies through successful M&A evolutions and continues to partner in the private equity space to identify and sponsor future growth platforms.   

Prior to his healthcare career, Nabb worked for 17 years as a banker in the wealth management and private banking sector for companies such as Wells Fargo, Union Bank and Bank of America.   

When he is not working, Nabb, who refers to himself as an “adventurist,” enjoys the outdoors, motorcycling, camping, hunting/fishing and gourmet cooking 

Nabb studied Business Administration at the University of Hawaii and holds both Administrator and Executive certificates for home health and hospice from CAHSAH. 

Keslie Hui is an entrepreneur and investor who focuses on Hawai`i based real estate and private equity opportunities.  His experiences in a diverse set of industries and investments in Hawai`i, the continental United States, and Asia continually inform and shape the way he analyzes opportunities, structures investments, and sources capital for growth in the Hawai`i market.

Both a founder and acquirer of businesses, Keslie is an active leader, developer, and broker in his real estate companies.  As a Principal and Co-Founder of HNL Development, Keslie works with a team of established professionals and leverages his experience working at national real estate development companies including Forest City Enterprises and National Housing Corporation to deliver residential developments that address Honolulu’s workforce housing crisis. Keslie is also President of Monarch Properties, Inc., Hawai`i’s leading leasehold-to-fee solutions provider.  Founded in 1986, Keslie acquired the company in 2015, leads its operations, and serves as its Principal Broker.

In addition to his daily operational efforts, Keslie oversees a portfolio of investments in hotels, retail, and other operating businesses.  Keslie brings a strong finance and business strategy skill set to this role, initially developed while working as a strategic consultant with Accenture, where he planned, negotiated, and initiated long-term corporate growth and restructuring strategies for several Fortune 500 companies.  Prior to his work with Accenture, Keslie picked-up valuable small business and international experience while running a small import, distribution, and retail business in Beijing, China.

Keslie Hui is a graduate Punahou School and the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. He has been recognized as one of Pacific Business News’ Forty Under 40 young business leaders, a Pacific Century Fellow, and has served as an appointed Board Member of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit.  He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Honolulu Rate Commission and a Young Leader Board Member for Make-A-Wish Hawaii.  Keslie loves Hawai`i and continually seeks out opportunities to contribute to its growth, sustainability, and stewardship.

Melissa Jackson is on the board of the Zilber Family Foundation, which supports nonprofit organizations that work to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and neighborhoods. The foundation’s work is close to her heart, and led her to be involved with several nonprofit organizations. She is on the governing board of Adventist Health Castle, where she helped establish the hospital’s best-in-class birthing center. She is a member of the development committee for Make-A-Wish Hawaii and the capital campaign committee for Ho`ola Na Pua’s Pearl Haven campus. She has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, is the mother of four young children, and an active school parent.

Kanakolu Noa is a native Hawaiian woman from Hāna, Maui-Nui-a-Kama where the moʻokūʻauhau of her father originates. At the age of thirteen Kanakolu and her ʻohana returned to the ʻāina of her mother in Kuliʻouʻou, Oʻahu-a-Lua to live. Kanakolu graduated from St. Francis School for Girls, Gonzaga University with a degree in Special Education, and the University of Otago with a Masterʻs in Indigenous Studies.

After many experiences that allowed her to study, travel, and live across the globe, Kanakolu returned to Hawaiʻi in 2007, worked in the non-profit sector, in both public and independent schools, and completed a second Master’s in Business Administration. In 2010 Kanakolu began her work at Kamehameha Schools Maui campus as a Curriculum Coordinator and has served the Kamehameha organization in various capacities for the past eight years.

Currently Kanakolu is the Manager of Strategy Development housed within the Community Engagement and Resources division at Kamehameha Schools.

Chris currently serves as an executive coach and consultant to leaders and organizations in the mental health
field. Chris has been serving and leading in the mental health space for 31 years in a variety of roles to include division
president, regional vice president, CEO of an acute hospital, and executive director of multiple programs across the
continuum of care. Chris is most passionate about leading and mentoring individuals and teams to improve
performance and outcomes via industry-leading human performance frameworks.