The about us page

OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024

OFFICERS

Laurie Adamshick, President
Kathy Wyatt, Past-President
Cynthia Arnold, Secretary/Treasurer

Directors

Courtney-Paige DiMaggio
Kendi Ho
Leslie Milligan
Christy Nishita
Kristina Wong
Sharalyn Ku’unani DeMonte
Travis Motosue
Tadahiro Meya

GOALS

The goal of the Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society is to enhance the general well-being of older individuals in Hawaii by:

  • Fostering public understanding and continuing education in the field of gerontology;
  • Bringing together all people concerned and interested in the challenges, issues and problems of older adults as realized in a changing society;
  • Advocating on behalf of older people in Hawaii;
  • Stimulating interest in gerontological research and services;
  • Encouraging professional preparation for gerontological research and services; and
  • Promoting volunteerism in the field of gerontology.

MISSION

The mission of HPGS is to increase awareness of and interest in the field of gerontology by providing networking and educational opportunities, as well as scholarships, to Hawaii’s workforce or other interested parties, and otherwise to support the creation of needed policies and programs that will enhance the quality and number of age-friendly services to our Kūpuna in Hawaii.

HPGS 2024 COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND MEMBERS

Workforce Development – Christy Nishita, Chair

Cullen Hayashida, Kendi Ho, Whitney Katsutani


Publicity/Newsletter/Website – Laurie Adamshick, Chair

Courtney DiMaggio


Programs/Webinars – Hope Levy, Chair


Membership/Nominations – Cynthia Arnold, Chair

Kendi Ho


Fundraising – Kathy Wyatt, Chair

Kristina Wong, Cynthia Arnold, Courtney DiMaggio


2025 HPGS Conference Committee – Co-Chair: Laurie Adamshick

Mae Fujii


Bylaws

Kathy Wyatt


Note: the HPGS President and Executive Director are members of all committees

OFFICER BIOS

Laurie T.S. Adamshick, Esq., President

Laurie is an elder law attorney and partner in the specialized Life Care Planning law firm of Rulon & Adamshick located in Honolulu. She discovered her passion for elder law as the result of her experience over several years as the primary caregiver and advocate for her late parents. Her law practice focuses on comprehensive Life Care Planning to help older adults navigate the long-term care maze, and address the legal and myriad other issues that families are often faced with as a loved one declines. Laurie is a Veterans Administration accredited attorney and a member of Elder Counsel, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Hawaii Estate Planning Council and the Elder Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association. She is a past Director of Hawaii Women Lawyers.

Kathy Wyatt, Past-President

Kathy Wyatt is the KIA Conference Co-Chair and Founder/President of Hale Hau’oli Hawaiʻi, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote positive aging through community education programs, adult day care options, and caregiver support groups. She is a registered nurse with Master’s degrees in Nursing and Business Administration. She is on the Board of Directors of the Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs, Treasurer of the Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition, Secretary of the Board of the Caregiver Foundation, on the Board of the National Adult Day Services Association and Kokua Council, as well as active in the Kupuna Caucus. In addition, she operates Hale Hau’oli Hawaiʻi, adult day care center in Aiea in two locations, as well as the Hoaloha Nurse Aide Training program.

Cynthia Arnold, Secretary/Treasurer

Cynthia Arnold is the owner and publisher of Generations Magazine, a resource magazine for Hawaii’s kupuna.  Along with Generations Magazine, she owns a consulting company that helps clients with the many aspects of moving, downsizing, aging in place, and organizing, while working with Let’s Move, LLC.  For twelve years, she helped create and manage Senior Move Managers and De-Clutter Hawaii.  Prior to that, Cynthia was the Marketing & Fundraising Manager with the American Diabetes Association, Hawaii Chapter, and was the Catering Manager at the Ala Moana Hotel.  In 2019, she retired after 20 years of coaching tennis for St. Andrew’s Priory and Sacred Hearts Academy.  Cynthia lives in Aiea with her husband Trey and daughter Alexis.  As a family, they enjoy watching UH baseball, playing softball, pickleball and tennis, while enjoying time with her big Ihara ohana.  She is also very involved with her daughter’s school programs, Nishihara Chojin Kai Okinawan Club and softball team, while being on her townhouse association’s AOAO and on the Kakaako Improvement Association’s Invitational Golf Tournament committee.

Sherry Goya, Executive Director

A graduate of Honolulu Business College, Sherry worked in the corporate office of the largest real estate company in Hawaii from 1973 to 1990, then was Vice President of the ERA real estate franchise in Hawaii for three years.  She created Sherry A. Goya, LLC in 1993 as a business consulting company.  Utilizing her experience in administration, organization, human resources, marketing, purchasing, event coordination, and writing to start her company, she currently has over fifty clients requiring her marketing skills from newsletters, post cards, flyers, personal brochures, bulk mailing, websites, fundraising, etc.  Sherry is also the Executive Director of two other associations and owns Real Estate Referral Center, Inc.  For fun and exercise, Sherry enjoyed coaching tennis for St. Andrew’s Priory and Sacred Hearts Academy with her two daughters for twenty years and currently teaches beginning tennis at the Priory.  Married since December 1976, they have three married children, a granddaughter and grandson.

Courtney-Paige DiMaggio, Director

Courtney-Paige DiMaggio was born and raised on the beautiful island of Moloka’i, She graduated in 1997 from Moloka’i High & Intermediate School. After graduating from high school, Courtney earned her Associates Degree in Nursing from Maui Community College in 2003 and obtained her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from University of Phoenix in 2012.  She is a Native Hawaiian Registered Nurse at the Moloka’i Department of Health Public Health Nursing and a clinical lab instructor for the CNA class at University of Hawaii Maui College-Molokai Campus. Courtney has over 20 years of nursing experience helping those in need and is currently focused on finding options in providing care for the kupuna on Moloka’i and helping to find ways to “grow” a Moloka’i healthcare workforce.  When not at work, Courtney enjoys traveling with her husband and three children. She also enjoys and cherishes spending time with her parents and extended family.

Kendi Ho, Director

Kendi Ho recently completed her doctoral research at the University of Hawai‘i in Second Language Studies in the Spring of 2023. Her mixed methods research focused on perceptions of (un)successful cross-cultural interpersonal communication in home care with older adults from stakeholders’ perspectives. She continues to advocate to develop the geriatric workforce through language use in home care for older adults in the continuum of care.  In addition, Kendi collaborated with the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to submit a federal grant to use the Kupuna Education Center and McKinley Community School for Adults to build a career ladder in nursing. Most recently, she worked with the University of Hawai‘i’s Curriculum Research Development Group on the statewide Comprehensive Needs Assessment for Career Technical Education programs (i.e., high school and community college level).  Kendi currently uses her applied linguistics and cross-cultural experience with multilingual adults in the workplace for program evaluation with a local firm, Sara Bolduc Planning and Evaluation.

Christy Nishita, Director

Dr. Christy Nishita is a gerontologist and Interim Director at the UH Center on Aging with leadership roles on more than 20 federal grants and contracts over the course of her career at UH. She is focused on addressing the rapid aging of Hawai’i’s population and critical gaps in the systems of care that support older adults. She has collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative programs and systems-level interventions to develop a more coordinated long-term care system. Most recently, she is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Kūpuna Collective, a collaborative network of more than 150 partners in the aging network who elevate critical issues, mobilize community assets, and drive innovative solutions that support and empower kūpuna in Hawai‘i. Dr. Nishita is also the Principal Investigator of the federally-funded Hawai’i’s Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative which strives to strengthen the dementia-capability of Hawai’i’s communities by expanding person-
centered practices that enable people with dementia and their families greater access to a continuum of long-term services and supports (LTSS) into the future. She is the Coordinator for Age-Friendly Honolulu, an initiative promoting city and community engagement to support active aging, inclusion, and engagement of older adults.

Kristina Wong, President-Elect

Kristina Wong has worked in the medical field since 2005. As the Care Manager at ALTRES Home Care, she manages all aspects of home care service and develops tailored care plans based on the individual needs of each client and their family. She continually strives for excellence and takes pride in knowing that the level of coordinated care provided to her clients is second to none. Having worked as a Certified Nurse Aide early in her career, Kristina is also passionate about advocating for caregivers and the increased demands and difficulties they face. As a Personnel Manager for ALTRES Medical, Kristina is also experienced in working closely with hospital administration, facilities, and infectious disease offices. She credits her strong connection with kūpuna to her unique upbringing, as she had the good fortune of being raised by her parents, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. 

Sharalyn Ku`unani DeMonte, Director

Ku`u is the founder and owner of Caregiver’s Heart Hawaii, specializing in long-term placement  in care homes, foster homes, assisted living communities and private skilled nursing for kupuna.  She is also the founder and owner of Home Sweet Home Care Hawaii, which specializes in at-home care for kupuna. Ku’u is a Certified Life Coach for overwhelmed caregivers of kupuna or parents of growing children.  For three years, she was the chair for “The Longest Day” for the Alzheimer’s Association – Aloha Chapter.  Ku`u has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is a Certified Nurse Aide.  Inspired by her grandparents who raised her and her older sister, Ku`u now has the privilege of working with kupuna and families for the past ten years. She is passionate abut learning new ways to support our kupuna and their families so they can live a quality life. Ku`u is married and has three children.

Travis Motosue, Director

Travis was born in 1981, the third child and only son of Ed and Darlee-Ruth Motosue.  Raised in Kailua, Oahu, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout and graduated from Iolani High School in 1999. While attending Iolani and UH, Travis lived in Kaimuki with his grandparents, forging a close bond and relationship. As the “circle of life” happens with all of us, Travis was being taken care of when he was younger and then found himself taking care of his grandparents as they got older. He attended Oregon State University, then graduated from the University of Hawaii with a B.S. major in Biology in 2003. Travis found his passion in helping seniors with their insurance needs in 2004, and has 20 years of experience in the insurance business. His agency, Financial Benefits Insurance, Inc. has been in business since 2010. Travis is a husband and father of two young boys.

Tadahiro Meya, Director

As a former teacher, Tada challenged his students with the motto: “It’s not about being the best in the world, it’s about being the best for the world.” He wanted them to dig deeper to find their passion to find their “why.” He is now a financial advisor who wants to educate families through his passion to help achieve their long-term goals. Tada focuses on serving retirees, veterans, divorcees, widows/widowers and those who have received an inheritance, while partnering with their CPA, estate attorney and other professionals. When not in the office, he looks forward to spending time with his wife and children, along with their Jack Russell Terrier. They love to cook together, spend time outdoors and travel the world.