SHCX26 IS PRESENTED BY
Breakout Sessions:
Alice Inoue
Founder, Happiness U
Alice Inoue is the founder of Happiness U, a Honolulu-based company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations thrive from the inside out. An internationally recognized author, speaker, and executive coach, she is the author of 12 books and the creator of Master Your Superpowers, a personality assessment and training system used by government agencies, nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and national brands including Walmart, Gap, and McDonald's global headquarters.
Drawing on a lifetime of diverse personal and professional experiences, Alice brings a unique perspective to leadership, resilience, and human behavior. She personally coaches more than 90 individuals and leaders each month, giving her real-time insight into the challenges people face in life, leadership, relationships, and the workplace. Known for translating complex concepts into practical strategies, Alice empowers leaders and organizations to build stronger cultures, navigate change with confidence, and create lasting, meaningful growth.
Breakout Session:
Antifragility: The "Next Level" of Resilience
In today's environment of constant change, HR must go beyond burnout prevention and build practices and systems that improve under stress. This session introduces the concept of antifragility and demonstrates how to embrace it personally, then embed it into your culture, leadership, and talent practices to create stronger, more adaptable organizations.
You'll walk away with practical strategies to:
Move beyond resilience to antifragility.
Build leaders and teams that grow through change.
Create organizational practices that become stronger under pressure.
Diana Brown is Chief People Officer for Servco Pacific Inc., where she leads enterprise-wide people strategy and advises executive leadership on building people-centered organizations. With executive HR leadership experience in the U.S. and internationally, she brings valuable insight into creating workplaces where employees and businesses thrive.
Patrick Dauphin is Vice President/General Manager of Enterprise Mobility's Hawaii Group, with more than 22 years of leadership experience. He is passionate about developing high-performing teams and creating exceptional employee and customer experiences.
Valerie Wang is Senior Director/Area Vice President at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, where she oversees New Sales and Account Management. With more than 18 years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, marketing, and business development, she is passionate about building and developing high-performing teams that drive growth and challenge the status quo.
Raquel Hicks is Chief Human Resources Officer at Punahou School, where she leads organizational culture, employee engagement, and leadership development initiatives. She is recognized for creating innovative programs that help employees and organizations thrive.
Na Ali'i Grantham, SHRM-CP | Moderator is Director of Human Resources at Tony Group and serves as SHRM Hawaii's State Director of Membership. He is passionate about building positive workplace cultures and will lead this engaging conversation on elevating the employee experience.
Breakout Session:
Elevating the Employee Experience: Insights from HR & Business Leaders
What does it really take to elevate the employee experience—and why does it matter more than ever? In this dynamic, panel-style breakout, senior HR leaders and business executives come together to share real-world strategies, lessons learned, and forward-thinking perspectives on creating workplaces where people thrive.
Through a candid, facilitated discussion, panelists will explore how leading organizations are rethinking employee experience across the entire lifecycle—from onboarding to development to retention—and aligning these efforts with business outcomes. Attendees will hear firsthand how companies are addressing evolving workforce expectations around flexibility, well-being, purpose, and growth, while leveraging data and leadership alignment to drive measurable impact.
Designed to be highly interactive, this session invites participants into the conversation with live audience engagement and practical insights they can apply immediately.
You'll walk away with practical strategies to:
Clarify what “employee experience” means today and why it is critical to organizational success
Explore real-world strategies used by HR and business leaders to enhance engagement, retention, and performance
Connect employee experience initiatives to business outcomes through data, metrics, and leadership alignment
Identify high-impact moments that matter across the employee lifecycle
Equip attendees with actionable ideas to influence leaders and elevate their organization’s employee experience strategy
Benjamin Ancheta, Jr., President, Inkinen Executive Search brings more than 20 years of executive leadership and management consulting experience spanning strategy, operations, and people leadership. As President of Inkinen Executive Search, he works with organizations across industries to identify and develop the leadership talent needed to meet evolving business needs.
Edwina Minglana Pine, SHRM-SCP, Vice President of Human Resources, FINN Partners provides HR leadership across FINN Partners’ U.S. operations, bringing experience in employee relations, performance management, compliance, benefits, and organizational initiatives. A longtime SHRM Hawaii volunteer leader and current State Council Director, she is passionate about developing leaders and helping organizations navigate complex people and workplace challenges.
Liuone A. Faagai, MHRM, PHR, Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, Central Pacific Bank brings more than 25 years of executive and HR leadership experience across banking, utilities, and education. At Central Pacific Bank, he leads organizational design, talent and workforce strategy, succession planning, executive compensation, and organizational effectiveness, and also helps develop future HR leaders as adjunct faculty in the University of Hawai'i’s MHRM program.
Breakout Session:
Building the Future-Ready Workforce: Perspectives on Talent, Technology, and Evolving Role of HR
The future of work is already reshaping how organizations think about talent, leadership, roles, and readiness - and HR professionals are at the center of that transformation.
Join us for an engaging conversation featuring three leaders’ perspectives on building a future-ready workforce. Each will share practical insights from their own organization and experience, exploring how HR can help people, roles, and leaders evolve as business needs change.
Hear real-world perspectives on workforce planning, succession and knowledge transfer, role design, leadership development, AI-enabled work, and the changing expectations of HR and People leaders - and how organizations are developing talent from within while preparing for what’s next.
For HR professionals looking to grow their impact, this session is an opportunity to hear what leaders are seeing across talent, technology, work design, and executive expectations - and consider how HR can continue to expand its influence in shaping the workforce of the future.
In this session, you will learn how to:
Build future-ready skills and capabilities from within your organization
Strengthen succession planning and knowledge transfer
Rethink roles, career pathways, and internal mobility as work evolves
Prepare employees and managers for AI-enabled work while strengthening judgment and critical thinking
Understand what’s changing for strategic HR and People leaders - and how to grow toward those expectations
Min Kirk, Acting District Director, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Honolulu District Office brings experience from both the private sector and federal service to her leadership with the Wage and Hour Division. Prior to federal service, she served as a Human Resources Director in Saipan and later worked with the Department of the Interior’s Federal Ombudsman Office, supporting investigations involving wage and hour issues in the garment industry.
Herbert Lee, Community Outreach and Regional Planning Specialist, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, Honolulu District Office has served with the U.S. Department of Labor since 2009, beginning as a Wage and Hour Investigator enforcing federal workplace laws including the FLSA, FMLA, Davis-Bacon Act, and Service Contract Act. Today, he works with employers, community organizations, and government agencies throughout Hawai'i to provide education and compliance assistance on federal wage and hour requirements.
Kenneth Nakasone, Partner, Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, LLP represents and advises employers on employment and labor matters, including litigation, investigations, audits, and proceedings before state and federal agencies. He also helps organizations navigate Hawai'i employment laws and strengthen their policies, procedures, and workplace compliance practices.
Breakout Session:
5 Costly Mistakes Hawai’i Employers Make - and How to Stay Compliant
What are the most common wage and hour violations affecting Hawai'i employers?
Join the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for an informative look at the top 5 violations identified in Hawai'i workplaces and the common mistakes that can lead to costly compliance issues.
The session will cover key requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including wages, overtime, employee classification, and other areas where employers frequently run into challenges. Attendees will gain practical insights into recognizing potential violations, understanding employer responsibilities, and taking proactive steps to strengthen workplace compliance.
Whether you’re new to HR or a seasoned professional, you’ll find timely reminders, practical insights, and useful takeaways to help you stay ahead of changing requirements and keep your organization stay informed and prepared.
In this session, you will learn:
The top 5 wage and hour violations identified in Hawai'i workplaces
Common FLSA mistakes involving wages, overtime, and employee classification
Practical steps for strengthening workplace compliance
Recent updates and important reminders for employers