Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society : About Us : Board of Directors

Board of Directors

HPGS OFFICERS FOR 2012

Suzie Schulberg, President

Suzie Schulberg is the Chief Operating Officer at 15 Craigside. She has been with Arcadia Community Services (parent company of 15 Craigside) for 10 years. She has been a member of HPGS for the last 4 years.

Dawn Urabe Meaney, Past-President

Dawn Urabe Meaney, Past-President Dawn Meaney is the Administrator of The Plaza at Mililani, an Assisted Living Community for seniors. She has been with The Plaza Assisted Living team since 2003. Her schooling included obtaining a BS in Business Administration and Health Care Administration at Oregon State University followed by a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a focus on Gerontology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dawn has been an active member of HPGS since 2007.

Felicia Marquez-Wong, President-Elect

Felicia Marquez-Wong is currently the Bereavement Services Manager at St. Francis Hospice and has been with the organization since 1994. She is a Qualified Clinical Social Worker and is Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying & Bereavement. Ms. Wong is affiliated with many organizations including the National Association of Social Workers, the Association for Death Education & Counseling, and she was a Co-Founder of the Bereavement Network of Hawaii. In 2011 Ms. Wong was the recipient of the Professional with Heart Award by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

Shannon Miyazaki, Secretary

Shannon Miyazaki is the Administrator-in-Training for The Plaza Assisted Living. She joined The Plaza at Punchbowl team in 2008 as the Activity Director. Shannon graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelor of Science in Family Resources, Minor in Biology, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Aging. She has been a member of HPGS since 2004.

Kyle Yanabu, Treasurer

Kyle is an Investment Advisor at John Hancock Financial. He has been a member of HPGS for three years and helps to educate members about long term care insurance.

AT LARGE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Earl Bradbury

Earl Bradbury is Public Health Prevention Service Fellow with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is currently assigned to the Chronic Disease Management and Control Branch at the Hawaii State Department of Health where he works in the areas of chronic disease integration and health equity. His current research interests include global chronic disease burden and population aging.

Merlita Compton

Merlita Compton is an Elderly Services Program Coordinator for Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV) Comprehensive Family Services. She earned her MPH in Health Services Administration and Planning and an Advance Certificate in Gerontology at UH Manoa. She has been a member of HPGS since 1998.

Tony Lenzer

Tony Lenzer is Professor Emeritus of Public Health and former Director of the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii. Since retiring from UH, Tony has served as aging issues advisor for Senator Les Ihara, Jr., and has been an active advocate for Hawaii’s older people and their families.

Dane Marcouiller, Member at Large

Dane Marcouiller has been with Arcadia Retirement Residence for the past 5 years. He is currently the Administrator in Training in the Health Care Center. He graduated from Abilene Christian University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science. Dane had been the Assistant Director of Programs and Wellness in the Arcadia Wellness Center.

Christy Nishita, Ph.D., Member at

Dr. Christy Nishita received her Ph.D. in Gerontology from the University of Southern California’s School of Gerontology in 2004. As a postdoctoral research associate at USC, she worked on projects related to exercise and fall prevention, nursing home transition, and the evaluation of a social HMO in Long Beach, California. She is passionate about improving the organization and delivery of community-based long-term care to maximize independence and quality of life. Currently, she is a researcher at the University of Hawaii Center on Aging. She is the evaluator for the Hawai’i Money Follows the Person project, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grant which transitions long-stay residents of hospitals and nursing facilities to community settings.

Michiyo Tomioka

Michiyo is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Social Welfare at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. She has been involved with Hawai'i Healthy Aging Partnership, a consortium of individuals from the Executive Office on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, and service providers dedicated to increasing health promotion programming for older adults, and serve as an evaluator. She has been serving as a secretary for HPGS for one year.