 Community Banders, today with Reg Baker, I'll be your host. Normally, I'm the host of Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker that broadcasts every Thursday from 2 to 2.30, but this is a special broadcast that I'm hosting to announce the 40 Under 40 event that the Pacific Business News does every year for this Friday. We've got two of the award winners or class members, as I think they like to be called. I love that 40 Under 40 event here today, and they're going to talk a little bit about the event itself, how they got into it, and then also about themselves and their businesses that was the platform that got them the award. So I'd like to welcome Saban and Jessica to the show today. Welcome to Community Matters. This is actually a pretty neat event that comes up. They do it every year. The Pacific Business News has really branded this, and it's become a very strong brand over the years. And you're the most recent class for 2017 as class members of 40 Under 40. So Jessica, maybe you can explain a little bit to us what 40 Under 40 is and how you got connected with them. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you for having me today. I'm Jessica Munoz. I'm the president and founder of Ho'olana Pua, which means new life for our children. I'm also a full-time practicing nurse practitioner at Polymomy Medical Center in the Emergency room. And so I was introduced to PVN's 40 Under 40 because someone, Amanda Ellis from the East West Center, actually nominated me for consideration to be one of the more... So it requires a nomination. Somebody has to nominate you. Yes. So I think the focus is on finding young individuals who are taking leadership roles within the community, whether it's in the non-profit or for-profit sector and who are having impact around issues and business needs. So these are the potential movers and shakers of the future. Absolutely. All right. Steve. Sabin, how has your experience been with the 40 Under 40? The experience has been really good. I was introduced to the 40 Under 40 platform by a friend of mine, Chuck Harris, who actually wrote up the nomination for myself. And it was interesting because him and I went back and forth. I was like, I don't think I fit the bill, but he was nice enough to submit the nomination. And it's great to be a part of some pretty esteemed books that were part of this class. It is a pretty good group of people. It was. It was. It's a competitive process too. I mean, it's not like you just get nominated and you get it. There's actually a grading and judging process you have to go through. And I don't remember the exact number of applications this year, but I think it was somewhere around 200. Wow. So out of 240 were selected. You know, that's a pretty good accomplishment to get that bet on the bag. Absolutely. All right. Now, you know, this event is going to happen on Friday. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? I mean, what's what the timing of it is and how people can sign up? I guess the PBN has a website so that you can go there and register, but I've also heard that it's sold out. Yes, I heard the same thing. I know it starts at three o'clock out at Colina at the Four Seasons. Oh, nice. Yeah. So I think the event itself is from three to eight. And so I'm not sure if there are seats available. Yeah. Well, if it's sold out, I'm guessing it would be kind of tough to get in. You'd have to be sneaky. See, but have you been to one of these before? I mean, how does it work? I was at the event last year, a friend of mine was nominated. It was a great event. It was a different location, but, you know, you've got a lot of family members, you've got a lot of friends there to support the nominees. And I thought it was very well run. PBM was very well organized for the event. You know, you get to meet a lot of different folks from different business sectors, whether it's a private business nonprofit. And then you broaden your horizon, you know, pretty substantially being around folks like that. And it's very impressive. It's a pretty enthusiastic group, too. I've been to some of them in the past that were at night at the convention center. And you know, they can party pretty hardy, and they really enjoy themselves. But this is a little different. This is going to be in the afternoon hours. So was that the way it was last year? It was. It was probably started about five, six o'clock, I think, this year being on the western side with the traffic. I think it made sense to start a little earlier, so I think it'll be a great event. It's a great location. Well, there should be a few hundred people there, I would imagine, if it's a sold-out event. But that's going to be good. And I guess the 40, are they all recognized as a group? I guess they're a class of 40. But each one gets to go up on stage and get a little recognition, right? Yes. I just, I don't think there's any speaking. Let's hope there isn't. Didn't you know you were giving the speech? Well, maybe instead of Friday, you can do it today. But let's shift gears for a second. You know, Jessica, we talked a little bit about your organization, but we didn't go into a lot of details. They did throw up a flash of your website, you know, which I didn't refer to, because we kind of moved kind of quickly. But there is a website that you have that people can find out more information. Yeah. So our website is www.Hoʻolunapua.org. You can also Google search us, and you will find us. But our focus is working with underage girls who've been sexually trafficked or sexually exploited, which most people don't realize is happening in our community, and it's not an easy issue to talk about. But it's, it's happening, and it's local kids. It's not kids from Thailand and Cambodia and India, like we want to think about. But it's actual local Hawaii children from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. And you know, it doesn't just affect one individual group. It can be anyone being young, being female, being vulnerable. And so I got into this work, like I said, my day job. My paid day job is, I'm a nurse practitioner, and years ago I started seeing girls coming into our emergency rooms, being brought in for care, and we weren't screening and identifying the fact that they were being sex trafficked or sexually exploited. And so that kind of ignited in me this passion for justice and this passion to start an organization that focuses on the health, education, advocacy, and reintegration of girls between the ages of 11 and 18 who've been sex trafficked. Is it a facility that they can go to and get these services or, you know, a safe area? Right, absolutely. So we have several programs underway. We have a mentoring program where we work with girls who've been identified, whether it's by family court or social service or law enforcement. So we have a mentoring program that works with them now. We have a family support group and family support services. But one of the big programs that we're working on getting developed is we actually have a piece of property with an existing structure. And we're starting Hawaii's first long-term residential treatment campus, called Pearl Haven, specific for this population of underage girls. And it's a year-long residential program. One of the biggest needs for kids who've been trafficked is intensive therapy, and a lot of times this needs to take place in a residential program. And in Hawaii right now, we don't have anything like this specific to sexually exploited girls. So we are starting this campus. Now, and I'll beg for your forgiveness on this, but there was a show on Hawaii 5.0 that highlighted this issue. Is this the organization that they're referring to, or was that something different? It is the organization they were referring to. We had the opportunity of meeting with the executive producers at the end of last year, and just shared with them the issue and the need to expose what it looks like in Hawaii. And they loved the idea of not just doing PSAs, the actors were gracious enough to do PSAs, but they actually wanted to do a whole episode and then subsequently wanted to do a finale episode that highlighted the issue. Which they did. Yeah, which is amazing because, I mean, that show had about 8.9 million viewers. So it's really getting the word out. It's gas, which is the most important thing, is shining the light in the darkness. Because we can't do something as a community about this issue unless people are aware that it's even happening. Absolutely. And aware of how serious it is. And that it can be anyone's child, that it's not just kids from low income families, but it can be kids that go to private school. Is it fair to say that this is a crime of opportunity? I mean, it doesn't matter who you are or what you're doing. If they see an opportunity to snatch you, if you will, they will. Oh, absolutely. It's big money. I mean, the only reason why trafficking exists in Hawaii is because people are making money off of it. Those who buy and those who sell, and you have the child in the middle. And what's sad is that because of that, the demand, unless we start attacking the demand, then this will continue. And girls have shared that their customers can come from a variety of backgrounds. And these pimps, it's not just snatch and grab and kidnapping, but more often it's a friend request on Facebook or a social media platform in the slow-requisite. They're getting pretty smooth on how they go out and trip people. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, let's come back and revisit this topic a little bit. I'm sorry to say it's a little depressing, but at least we're doing something about it. It's positive. Say, even tell us something real positive. What's going on on your side? What are you doing? So, I mean, it's a large contrast to what Jessica does. We're obviously a private business. We're a contract furniture dealer. Just a little bit of tidbit and background. I didn't grow up to want to be in this industry. I was actually in the Navy from the time that I was 17 years old. And I spent the majority of my time on submarines when I was in the Navy, so a lot of time underwater. And so, when I left the service, I got into this industry of furniture, interior design, space planning. And it really grew on me and I grew a passion for it along the way I ended up starting my own business. Actually, I guess space planning is particularly important in a submarine environment, isn't it? It is. So, you got some early experience at making the most out of the space that you have to work with. Right. Very good. And you are predominantly a Hawaii-based business? We are a Hawaii-based business. We, you know, we're looking at implementing an expansion strategy by the end of this year throughout a few bigger submarkets throughout the mainland. So, we're pretty excited about that. And we're doing some different things here locally as far as residential and working with developers on micro units and trying to be, essentially, we want to help with some of the housing issues. The homeless? The homeless issue. And also, you know, with the amount of affordable housing that's required, you know, we started working with developers on a different model of our business, which is very exciting for us right now. So. Very good. And this is something that I would expect would be needing a lot of different cities all across the country. Yeah. You know, the industry as a whole, interiors, you know, it's rapidly changing with technology implementation, with, you know, real estate compression. It's a huge need, not just here, but in a lot of different places. Are you taking advantage of the fact that you're a veteran and working with the SBA and veteran-owned business opportunities? I wouldn't say taking advantage. You know, we've had some opportunities where there may be some set-aside contracts or something that would favor us. We haven't really done that much federal government work. We've done a fair amount of state work. Mainly, it's been a lot of private businesses. We've done a lot with nonprofits, which has been really exciting to be able to work directly with nonprofits. Yeah. Well, and that might be something that we follow up on later, is it, you know, one of my hats that I wear is working with the SBA and I'm on our National Board of Directors. And there are opportunities, if you're talking about expansion. There are ways that the SBA can help you with that. You know, it doesn't have to necessarily just be federal contracts. But we've reached a point where we need to take a short break. But this is Reg Baker. I'm hosting Community Matters today. We're talking a little bit about the Pacific Business News, a 40-in or 40-event that's coming up and we've got two of the members of that class here today. We'll be right back in about 60 seconds. And welcome back to Community Matters. Today we're talking with the Pacific Business News, 40-in or 40-event class of 2017. We've got two of the members here. It's an event that's going to be taking place this Friday, out at the Four Seasons in Coalina. I believe it starts at about three o'clock, but if you haven't signed up for it, it's too late. It's sold out. This is one of the more popular events that the PBN does every year. And we're very fortunate to have two of those class members here today. Jessica and Sammon, welcome back. Glad to have you here today. So you're both going to be at this event. I guess we're going to have a sold out. There's going to be a lot of activity over there. How do you see this impacting what you're currently doing? I mean, how does this benefit you? Why would somebody want to be named as a 40-in or 40-member? Jessica? I think it gives you a platform to be able to share your message, no matter what that message is. Be a powerful platform. Absolutely. You get a lot of visibility from this. Absolutely. And because being in the nonprofit sector, as my non-paid other full-time job, it is really important from a community standpoint for those to understand our message, the work that we do, and also, you know, for, we're always saying we're recruiting three things, time, talent, and treasure. And so for us, it's really important to get the message out there that this is happening. But I also think that it also gives an opportunity to share that, you know, nonprofit work needs to be looked at in the same light of running a business. Well, it is. It is running a business. It is. But oftentimes it gets, oh, this is nonprofit work. This is, you know, for-profit work when we're providing a service, a much-needed service. And so I think shifting that mindset. And so I love that PBNs 40 under 40 includes both of the, you know, nonprofit and for-profit services. Well, it's good to have that balance. Yeah. And, Sam, how do you see it? Now, you're in a slightly different perspective, more from a commercial standpoint. But how do you see the benefits of this? Yeah, it's certainly a huge platform. You know, I like to think a bit less about myself and more about our business and more about our industry. It also gives you access to people, again, that you wouldn't normally get a chance to meet people that have done very well in business, you know, whether it is a nonprofit or it's a private business, you know, what I like about being around people like that that are very talented is that it'll expand your horizon. It's going to make you think a little harder. It's going to make you, you know, work a little harder. And so that's kind of the true benefits that I see. I think from the outside, somebody looking from the outside in, you know, I'm hoping that it helps motivate them a little more as well to be a part of something like this. Well, you know, from what I've heard, I've had conversations with Emily Klein over at the PBN, who's the director of events. And she's told me that once these classes come together, the Class of 2017 this year, but the previous classes tend to stick around and do projects and work together and do things as a group. So the benefits can actually extend for years. I mean, there's a good group to stay affiliated with. And I guess there's a good network to develop because there's a lot of people in there that have, I guess, thoughts and advice and perspectives to share. Absolutely. Yeah. So I was hoping actually to have one of those previous award winners here to give us a little bit of a historical perspective on things, you know, and I'm sure some of them will be showing up at the event on Friday. So are you planning on having any family participation? Are you going to bring in the family and the group out to this event with you? Yes. My husband will be there. But also we have several of our team members from Hulah, Nifua. So how many team members do you have with your organization? So we have a ton of volunteers and what I call core volunteers who work at this daily. But we have four full-time staff members now, which is new. So just in the last two years, we finally started hiring staff. Everything has just been 100% pro bono up until this point. And so we have four full-time. I think we have about six or seven in contracted part-time positions. And I applaud the individuals, the volunteers, and the paid staff because to me, this is a tough job because it's heartbreaking to see some of the things that are going on and to have to work. I know it's rewarding because you're helping, but it's also, I guess, challenging because there's such a history. It's challenging both because the topic is traumatizing, the kids are traumatized, but also the system as a whole has so many flaws. And so when you're working within a social service sector, and I'm not a social worker, so this has been a trial by fire, you really have to learn a whole new language. And sometimes when things have been done a certain way for years, bringing in a new perspective can be difficult and challenging and shifting that. But the response to this population of children historically has not worked. And so we need to adjust and fine-tune so that we're permanently removing these kids from these situations and setting them up on successful life paths. Because these are the future, PBNs 40 under 40. These are the future doctors, lawyers, politicians, but they need to be given a voice. And everything we do is about empowerment of those who have survived and giving them that ability to have the life that they dreamed of as a little girl, because those dreams were stolen and that innocence was robbed. And so restoring that and bringing that back is challenging. And it's challenging to get a community to gather around its most vulnerable. This is by far the most marginalized, vulnerable population in our community. It's not one individual. It's not whole in a pool. It's not one state entity that's going to solve the problem. But it truly is the collective whole, because you have to have the community behind the work and behind the need for the services and the prevention of it. Exactly, to identify the problem, take some action and correct it and help repair the damage it was done. I mean, it takes a community to work together on that. Savin, I know this is hard to follow sometimes, but you've had some challenges in your business as well. I mean, it's funding and finding good staff are always challenges. What are some of the challenges that you've experienced? How much time do we have? I mean, it's business is challenging. It's just the reality. If you decide to go into business yourself, you have to really understand that. When I first started the business, there was a couple of thoughts in my mind. The first one was, you always have to know why you're doing something. The second part was, when you make a decision, you have to stick with it. For good or bad, you got to deal with the outcome. And I think the third and probably the more important one from a direct business side is you've got to have a path to market with whatever it is that you're going to be doing. And along the way, you're going to stumble. You're going to take 10 steps forward and all of a sudden it's 100 steps back for one reason or another. But I think as long as you have the wit about you and you continue to fight through some of the issues and you try to learn from it, that's the most that you can ask for yourself. And I think the other part is, surround yourself with good people. That think they're fully than you, that are smarter than you, that challenge you to the point where they're annoying you, which is a good thing. And those are the people that I try to be around. We kind of joke a little bit about it, but if you have or hire people that are always agreeing with you, the yes types, then one of you are redundant. Right. You don't need two of you. So you need to be challenged and you need to be able to step back and rethink. But what I'm hearing is that some of the challenges are similar for both of you, although you may not have, Jessica, you may not have the same challenge of trying to find the customers or the people that need your services. As a matter of fact, your goal is to eliminate them and have no more need for that. But still, you need to find those that need to help and you need to reach out. And you got to figure out where your customers are. And you need to find the funding to help deliver the services. And you need the staff, qualified staff to both work with you to achieve your objective. So there's a lot of similarities, a lot of overlap, at least in the infrastructure of delivering the product or the service, whether it be commercial or nonprofit. And it's, I guess, refreshing to see that the PBN recognizes that and recognizes both groups as successful 40 under 40 members. So any other bits of advice or thoughts that you'd like to share with the audience before we wrap up today? I think one thing I would like to encourage the audience today is to just look around and see how you can get involved in the community. You know, if you don't have something that's close to your heart, find it. Because the needs are great and there are several young leaders within the nonprofit world that are looking to be mentored and are looking for those even in the private sector to come alongside of them and mentor them. Because, you know, I never intended to start a nonprofit. I knew nothing about nonprofits, to be honest. And so I've learned a lot, but I always appreciate those with words of advice and wisdom coming alongside of me, especially in growing something from literally starting with one other person in my living room to a full organization has been, it's been a journey. Well, and it's because of that energy and that vision and that desire to do something is why you're one of the 40 under 40. And save it. How about you? Any final words or thoughts? Yeah, you know, what I've learned probably just in the last year, working with actually a lot of nonprofits like Jessica's is, you know, you've got to be in business aside from just making money. You've got to figure out what is important to you as an organization. For me personally, whoever the owner is, and you've got to focus on it and you've got to get back to the community. You know, working with the nonprofits that we did the last year, it was amazing because we, you know, the relationships that we built and the work that we continue to do together, you know, us supporting them and vice versa, it's just been phenomenal. You know, a great example was last last week, Aloha United Way had a dunk booth set up next to our office, you know, guess what? You know, we, you know, the employees had a great time. A friend of mine had a great time, you know, throwing the balls and I got dunked a few times. I think it was seven total. But, you know, it's impactful for the community when you get involved. And I think you have, it should definitely not be just about making money. Well, I guess what I'm hearing is that we're all encouraging people to get engaged, you know, find something that you're passionate about, get engaged to help yourself and the community. Well, that's a nice theme to close on. We're going to wrap up. Thank you very much for being here today. Thank you. And congratulations on your acceptance into the class of 2017 for 40 under 40. And thank you to the PBN for hosting and sponsoring this event every year. So this is Community Matters. I'm Reg Baker. I'm hosting today. And we had a good conversation highlighting the PBN event. It's going to be on Friday, 40 under 40. So I'll be seeing you soon, if not Thursday at 2 o'clock from 2 to 2.30, Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. I'll see you soon. Aloha.