 Aloha, and welcome to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. This is a show that broadcasts every Thursday from 2 o'clock to 2.30 from the beautiful studios in downtown Hololulu. We go live at 2 o'clock. You can catch us on the livestream.com or just go to the Think Tech Hawaii website. And we're there. If you'd like to tweet us a message or a question, we can accept those. And if you wanted to call in, our call in hotline is 415-871-2474. Today we have another success story, a millennial that has been very successful for a long time now actually. I've known Jennifer for a few years and I've kind of followed her career and she's done very well. She's currently the Executive Director of Development for the Salvation Army and she's the Chairman or the President of the Young Professionals Group at the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. So Jennifer, welcome. It's good to have you on the show today. Thank you so much for having me. Now you've accomplished so much, but tell us a little bit about your background. Are you born in Hawaii or...? I was actually born in Kumamoto, Japan and I was adopted at 10 months and my parents brought me over to Hawaii and I was raised here. So you were basically raised in Hawaii then, whereabouts in Hawaii? We were living in Manoa. I grew up right up the street from the Salvation Army where I work now. And when my dad retired from the federal government, we moved out to Hawaii Kai. Very good. So in Manoa, I guess you lived there for a long time, beautiful place. I guess a lot of education influence in that neighborhood. Where did you go to school? I went to school at Hawaii Baptist Academy from second grade through 12th grade and I loved it. That's good. Now that's not just a girl's school. That's both, right? It's Koeh. Yes. And then when I graduated from Hawaii Baptist, I went on to the University of Hawaii. At Manoa. At Manoa. Very good. That's my alumni too. That's my former university. I'm alumni from UH as well. So you went to University of Hawaii and then from there, what did you do? After I graduated from UH Manoa, I needed a job of course and I was very lucky in the sense that I kept in touch with, I was doing work study at Hawaii Baptist and I was lucky enough where I still kept in touch with my supervisor at the time. So when I graduated from college, I called him and I said, I need a job. Do you have anything for me? And he said, actually, I'm looking to start an alumni relations program. Would you be interested in starting that? And he said, sure, absolutely. So that was my first job out of college. Very good. It's nice to have those connections. Yes, definitely. It's never burned any bridges. You don't know when you got to reconnect. No, Koeh is a very small community. They are indeed. And just out of here, what was your major at the university? I majored in Asian Pacific Literature and English. Wow. So you could actually teach English if you wanted to? I could. If you want to offer some pointers, feel free to do so. I'm still a student of English myself. And so then you worked there for a little while, and how long were you there? I was there for four years and I grew the alumni relations program, and it was just, it was a lot of fun being able to go around the country and meet our alumni that supported our campus. So you got to travel? Yes, I did. Yeah, it was fun. And after I finished that position, I really got a, I started to become really interested in what the world of fundraising was like, because I wanted to see what really drove people to want to make a significant impact for an organization that they were passionate about. So that led me to going back to the University of Hawaii Foundation, and I did fundraising at UH Manoa at the law school. It's a tough job, isn't it? It is a tough job, but it is very rewarding, and I absolutely love being able to meet all kinds of people. You do get to meet a lot of different people, and I've been involved in a lot of nonprofits in different capacities, and sometimes as the chair of the organization. And a big part of that job is to go out and try to raise funds, and it's awkward sometimes, at least for some people, and it's tough, but it is rewarding when you're able to pull it off. When you're able to align a donor's passion to the needs of an organization, nothing can be more rewarding than that, and that's what I really love about fundraising. Yeah, and I guess I have learned that it's always important to be able to ask the right person too. Yes. So usually I like asking people that have money. So you were at the University Foundation for a while, and I know you're the current chair of the YPs for the Chamber of Commerce. So when did that all happen? When did you get involved with the YP program? I was lucky enough to get started with the YP program back in 2011 when it first started, and I was still, I think I was with the Arthritis Foundation at the time. I had transferred to a new position, and I had a friend say, you know, I'm starting this program at the Chamber, and I'd love for you to get involved and have your insight on how we can get more young professionals involved with the Chamber of Commerce. So I said I would absolutely love to do that. Very good, and that was in 2011, and I remember at that time I was with HMAA, and I think we were one of the original sponsors for the YP program, and so we were also there with you and watched this grow over the years, and it started, I guess, with zero, and it has built up from there, and now you're the chair. What's the numbers now? We are over 200 members now, which we are very proud of, and that's really thanks in part to many of our sponsors like HMAA, but the program has just grown exponentially in the sense of the programs that we offer for our young professionals that I really don't think that you can find any other, with any other organization, and we have a new executive director who is leading the young professionals, so we're really grateful for Bianca. Oh, that's Bianca, she's an executive director, I've heard so many wonderful things about her. She's fantastic. Yeah, she is. What are you just, for the viewers who maybe not quite know what the young professional program is, can you just spend a minute and explain to, you know, the viewers out there what the Chamber's young professional program is all about? Well, the young professionals program really gives the young professional an opportunity to not only network with community leaders, senior and community leaders, but it provides opportunities for professional development and growth, and that's really one of the things that I've appreciated about the program. We have great networking events, of course, YPs love networking events, but we also have opportunities where we can sit down one-on-one with community leaders like yourself and business leaders and just have an opportunity to talk story with them and learn from them and learn how they do business in Hawaii. Well, and these are opportunities to interact and share ideas with some of these more experienced Chamber members that they would maybe never have had an opportunity to do anywhere else. Exactly, yes. You know, and so I've gone to some of these events and they've always been well attended. The enthusiasm and the energy is at very high levels. The energy is really high level, which I really, I love. One of the other things that I've appreciated about the young professionals program is that the friendships that I've been able to develop over the years with my peers is going to last many more years to come when we become those next generation of leaders in the community. So, building that relationship now has been truly meaningful. And people can never underestimate the value of those connections in that networking because, you know, if you flash forward 10 or 15 or even 20 years from now, some of the folks that you're dealing with right now and you've got these relationships, they're going to be in much different positions. Yes. And it's going to be valuable to have those connections when you need them. Right, exactly. They're going to be, you know, helping to create new laws. They're going to be the ones that are donating all of the money to the Salvation Army. Ah, fundraising. Here we go. Exactly. So, it is important to start building those foundational relationships. That's right. Well, plus, you know, in addition to that, there's also experiences that people are going to have that are going to be maybe different and unique in a lot of ways. And to maintain that relationship and be able to, you know, tap into that experience, you know, and having these special type of advisors that you can go to. I mean, that's all part of that group that you're working with as you grow up into the business community and take higher and higher responsibility. Absolutely. You know, it's, and then again, that's, you can never underestimate the value of that. You know, and I still tap in. I have friends now, of course, they're older, but they have valuable insight. And I'll bounce things off of them all the time and get their thoughts and their opinions. And maybe here's something that maybe I didn't quite think about before. Right. And so that peer group support is really important. That's exactly what is. It's a group of support that I know I can count on them for advice and to look for just running my ideas, you know, past them. And it's been, it's been a very meaningful experience for me. That's great. And we're a diverse group of people. So being able to hear different opinions and perspectives has been meaningful. Well, and, and what they're calling, I think the Exec Connect program is where you get this very dynamic group of people to interact with the different executives that you've already mentioned, but also getting their perspectives. And sometimes these more experienced people can actually end up being like a mentor and advisor to some of the folks within the program. As a matter of fact, don't they have a mentorship type of program available? We are going to be starting a mentorship program mentor Hawaii in the fall. And that is another, just another benefit, I think of the YP program, because you have this one on one time with senior level executives in the community that you wouldn't have access to normally. So that's, you know, being able to ask questions in a comfortable, confidential setting. I think truly has a huge impact. It could have clearly a huge impact, but also sometimes it's a more safe environment to ask some of these questions that, you know, you may be dealing with an issue that in the company that you're with. And you don't really want to ask the boss yet. You know, you want to kind of do a little bit of research first and reaching out to somebody who's maybe been in that position before and getting their thoughts could really help guide you in making a right decision. Absolutely. There's been many times where as a YP chair, I have the opportunity to sit on the board of directors for the chamber. And there's been many times when I've been able to, I feel comfortable enough to pick up the phone or send an email to one of the board of directors and say, you know, what do you think about this or do you have time for coffee because I have an issue that I want to run by you. And I think you provide great perspective. So that's been phenomenal for me. Right. And that's something that people need to be comfortable to do. Don't be shy about it because that's every time, and I've been to the exact connect a couple times and every time I go there, I expect that to happen. And I want to have those kind of connections. And so don't be shy. It's what they're hoping for. But, you know, we're going to be coming up on a short break. So we're going to take off for about one minute. But we're going to be right back. We're talking with Jennifer He, who is the chairman of the Young Professional Program at the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and also has a very active role in the Salvation Army as the Executive Director of Development. So we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. Thank you. Pumped Hydro, that's the word. We just had a great show on Hawaii, The State of Clean Energy, with George St. John and Ray Starling. And we're talking about how Pumped Hydro or Hydro in general could affect our Clean Energy initiative. So what do you guys have to go for you? George? I don't look like George. I think it's one of my favorites. You seem so excited about this. Well, I've been at it for a while. I was just going to say, he's been at it for a while and he knows more than we will ever know about clean energy. We really got him to tell us too. We got information out of him and we got his true thoughts and now he's going to tell us how he really thinks. Go for it. That's what you said before. Anyway, thank you, Ray. Thank you, George. You're welcome. We'll do this again. Aloha. Aloha and welcome back to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. I'm here with Jennifer He today. We're going to be talking. We've already talked about the Young Professional Program at the Chamber of Commerce, which is a very valuable program that they've got 200 members and I think they could probably accommodate up to another 200. So, sign up for this as soon as you can, as quick as you can. But we're also going to be talking a little bit about the Salvation Army, which is her day job where she actually gets a paycheck for it. But just to wrap up on our conversation with the Chamber and the YP program, you're the outgoing chair. You're going to be giving that position up, but you've had it for what, one year? I've had it for two years. Two-year term. Wow. So it must have been a very interesting. Anything you want to share about your term there? I mean, any exciting things happen or going to happen? It was a very exciting time of growth for the Young Professionals Program. And I think one of the things that I appreciated the most was getting the support from the Chamber of Commerce for our program. And, you know, the Millennials represent the largest group in the workforce now. They do. And they're going to be paying the bills for the older guys, too, as they get older. Yes. And they're an important group. Oh, yeah. It's time we paid our dues, right? But that's one of the things that I really appreciated from the Chamber was getting their support for our program. And what's interesting is that not only does it provide opportunity for the Young Professionals to get engaged, and I guess the Young Professionals is defined as anybody under 40? Anyone under 40, yes. 40, okay. 21 to 39. 21 to 39. Yes. But they also have an opportunity to get involved in the actual organization itself in a different, you know, management or leadership role. Because you've got different committees. You've got committee chairs. You've got an organizational structure that a lot of the members of the Young Professionals can actually get engaged and get some good experience from, don't they? Absolutely. You know, I think one of the great experiences also, for me, has been being able to chair certain committees, like our events committee, and we have an events committee, membership committee, sponsorship. So being able to lead a group through a meeting has been a great experience for me. And being able to take everyone's opinions and thoughts and kind of guide the program has been an awesome experience for me. It's not always as easy as it looks. No, it's not. No, that's good. And I remember that, and I'm sure you know Jacob. Jacob, no. Yes. He was HMAA and he was one of the people that I really wanted to get involved with the YP program. And so I've been watching this, you know, through Jacob and watching you. And it's really, both of you have developed very well over years. Thank you. And you're certainly positioned now to really do some exciting things for the rest of your career. And I think a lot of that experience is because of the YP program. Absolutely. And I think Jacob really represents the type of young professional that we're looking for in our program. We want someone that is passionate about wanting to raise up the next generation of leaders and provide professional opportunities but also have fun, you know. We're here to have fun and we're here to learn from other people. That's good. That's why I like the group so much because whenever I'm there I always have fun. You're an honorary young professional member. Based on age, I can be a member twice, right? All right. Well, thank you. Let's switch gears a little bit. And you're now in your day job, you know, that you're focusing a lot of your daytime hours at is with the Salvation Army. And so tell us a little bit about, first of all, what is the Salvation Army and what are you doing in that organization? Well, the Salvation Army is one of the largest social service nonprofit organizations, not only here in Hawaii, but across the world. We're in 127 different countries. And here in Hawaii, we serve over 121,000 people just in the state of Hawaii. That's a huge part of the population. It is. It's one out of 10. Yes. Yes. So 121,000 adults and 23,000 children that we serve every year. Wow. And when you say serve, what does that mean? Well, how do you serve them? We have a number of programs. I think a lot of people don't realize what exactly the Salvation Army does. Once they put the money into the red kettle, they don't know where the money goes. But we actually provide a drug and alcohol. I thought I was giving that money to Santa Claus. Sorry. You're doing good by putting money into the kettle. So when they put the money into the kettle or when they make a donation to the Salvation Army, it goes to support our programs and services. So you're providing food and rental assistance for those in need. You're providing drug and alcohol. Wow. Rental assistance, too. Yes. So people that have gone through our programs, one of the things that we find is most important is connecting people to a new job, a house, and a connection to a new community. And when they go through our program, those are the three questions that they ask themselves is who's going to hire me? How am I going to get a place to live? And who are going to be my new friends? And so that's what really the Salvation Army is for. Really. And so this is an ongoing support that you provide all year long, not just storing the holiday season. I mean, this is something that's going on all the time. Yes. What we say at the Salvation Army is that need knows no season. Exactly. No, that's true. As a matter of fact, sometimes when you're out of the season, when you need it the most, there's not that much support out there. Yes. Exactly. During the summertime really is when a lot of the children in Hawaii go hungry because they're not getting the food, their breakfast and lunch at school. So that's where the Salvation Army comes in. We provide camp opportunities for these kids and we also provide hot meals for the Keiki and their families. That's excellent. Now, if there was somebody out there that needed to find out more about the organization and how to take advantage of some of these services, where could they go? We have a number of different, what we call, cores across the island, but they can go to our website, hawaii.salvationarmy.org, or they can call us at 988-2136. 2136. 808-988-2136. Very good. I might have to ask you that question again later, but so that you can call in or go to the website, there'll be information in there about where to go and how to sign up and what some of these support programs are. Exactly. And do you have people to actually go out into the community and educate and create awareness? We do. Well, that's part of the responsibility of my department. And I work for the, I'm in charge of the development department, so we really are the ones to educate the public about what the Salvation Army does. And we have programs and services across all islands and in Micronesia and throughout the Pacific Islands. Really? Is that based here? Yes, it's based here. Well, we have our officers, Salvation Army officers there, but the headquarters is based on O'ahu. Cool. So this is really almost a Pacific region type of position for you? It is, yes. Yes, it's a huge, it's a huge step for me in the sense of I'm really learning more about management and administration and being able to manage a huge budget. Very good. Well, and to find huge, how big of a budget? Are you allowed to talk about that? Well, I can say that the Salvation Army raises over $36 million a year. Very good. But that all goes towards our programs and services. Sure. But you're one of the key players in creating the awareness and doing that fundraising, right? Mm-hmm. So that's kind of like your budget. Good for you. All right. Very good. And so what, how has, and I'm trying to provide some linkage here, but how has the Chamber of Y.P. Program helped you do your current job at the Salvation Army? Well, like I, I think I mentioned before that with the Y.P. Program, I've really been able to kind of learn what my strengths and my weaknesses are. Managing meetings was not one of my strengths and that's what I was able to practice through the Y.P. Program. But with the Y.P. Program, I have, because of the relationships that I've been able to build over the years, the Y.Ps have really supported me in the positions that I've been in my professional career. And so we've had a lot of Y.Ps come out to events that I've run and provide volunteerism opportunities. And I think that's really where I have seen the most benefit. That's great. And so there's, there's a nice, I'll use the word maturing of your experience and your knowledge of how to do things by blending these two together and being able to, to kind of pull from the two different areas to make the professional that you become. Yes, definitely. And I would imagine that, you know, there would be other types of opportunities at the Salvation Army to further sharpen and polish your skills. And I would imagine they have some sort of a training program that you're, you can tap into. Through the Salvation Army? Yes. Yes, we do have a professional development program at the Salvation Army. And one of the things that we recently started was a group called echelon. And it's really to mobilize the next generation of leaders to get involved with the work that the Salvation Army does. So we also have a young professional group with the Salvation Army that is super passionate about doing things for the community. Very good. And these are the ones that might do some of the heavy lifting to actually get out into the community and work with people? Yes. And they help out with, right now, they're running a back to school drive and we're supporting Title I schools and the DOE. And they're, we've collected over 60 backpacks and we're going to be able to stuff them and pass them out to students. So it's been a lot of fun. Are there particular areas in Hawaii that you focus most of your efforts? I mean, you know, we just had a discussion earlier this week about different parts of Hawaii being underserved as far as medical services are concerned and the needs that they have out there. But has the Salvation Army identified certain areas in Hawaii that a little extra attention has to be paid to? That's a great question. I would say no because we serve every zip code in the state. So no matter where you are, there's going to be a salvation. There's help available. Yeah, there's help available. The Salvation Army is going to be there on the ground and our doors are open to everyone. That's a great organization. Now part of your role is, you know, development and so your background is on the funding side. So what type of funding opportunities are there at the Salvation Army? I mean, what kind of fundraisers do you do? We have one large fundraiser a year which is called our Partners in Community Service, GALA. And that's an opportunity for the Salvation Army to recognize community leaders and community organizations that have really supported us throughout the year. And the work that we do would not be possible without companies that step up and want to make a difference for the community. So that's our annual GALA where we honor community leaders and we have one big event that's coming up soon in September. It's the first time that I think anyone has done this in the state and it's called our CEO Sleep Out. A CEO Sleep Out? Yes. And it's open to CEOs but also community leaders and it's an opportunity for these business leaders to experience homelessness from one night. So we invite our community leaders to Sleep Out for one night in the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda and they'll learn about the programs and services that we have across the state. But we'll also have a time for them to share with us how they want to make a difference. What do they see needs to be done to fight homelessness here in Hawaii? Well, it's a big job. And there seems to be a lot of effort in trying to address the issue but there seem to be fragmentation. A lot of different people trying to do different things. This sounds like an opportunity to maybe bring everybody together and try to start coordinating it a little bit more. Yes, definitely. We have a lot, there's been a lot of symposiums going out there in the community from trying to get nonprofits together, trying to get the city to work with nonprofits. But this is, I don't think there's been anything like this where the high level policymakers and decision makers and businesses can come together and tell a nonprofit, the leading nonprofit, how they want to see change. So it sounds like an excellent opportunity. Now, we are running out of time, we're going to have to close here but what date is this scheduled for? So our CEO sleepout is happening Friday, September 16th through the 17th. 16th through the 17th. So I'm going to have to talk to my wife and make sure I get a pass for that night. I usually don't but I'm going to ask her anyways. Very good. Well, Jennifer, it was a pleasure to have you on the show today. Thank you. Looking forward to doing this again sometime soon and maybe after the CEO's sleepout or overnighter and we'll be able to get together and see how well it went. Take some pictures, we can put it on the show. Okay, great. All right, thank you. This is Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We air every Thursday from 2 to 2.30. We talk about success stories in Hawaii and there are many of them. Jennifer, he was just one example. Hope to see you next week. Aloha.