Board of Directors

Julie has served as the founder and president of ClimbHI since 2011. She previously had more than a decade of experience in the hospitality and technology sectors, working with OTAs, eCommerce companies, hotel direct technology providers, hotels, restaurants, and mobile apps worldwide. This includes Expedia Inc., Aston Hotels & Resorts, Bellagio, Trump International Hotels & Resorts, Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort, Remark Media, and Traveltripper.

Julie’s passion for the hospitality industry started at the age of 7 years old while dancing hula on cruise ships and in Hawaii hotels. After she graduated from Punahou School, Julie struggled to find local resources to support her career search. That experience would lay the foundation for ClimbHI. She holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration from Cornell University – globally recognized for its hospitality programs. Julie also served as the President of the Cornell Hotel Society in Hawaii.

In addition to her work with ClimbHI, Julie serves in hands-on roles on the advisory boards for Kapiolani Community College and Kapolei High School. She also lectures for several post-secondary institutions, where students receive course credit for their execution of ClimbHI events. This includes Hawaii Pacific University, Kauai Community College and Maui College.

Julie was recognized as a 2022 Hawaii Business magazine 20 for the Next 20 honoree, as well as the 2021 Woman of the Year by the Hawaii Chapter of Women in Lodging and Tourism. She was also named to the 2021 Women Who Mean Business cohort by Pacific Business News.

Douglas is our Chairman of the Board. He is the president of The Pacific Bridge Companies, a financial advisory firm serving advisors throughout the Pacific Rim. Mr. Goto, who was born in Hawaii, attended James Campbell High School, and received a BBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds additional professional designations including Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He has served on numerous community and professional boards including the Japan America Society of Hawaii; the Japanese American National Museum; the Go For Broke National Education Center; the 442nd Regimental Combat Team Foundation; the Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America; the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association; the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations; the Hawaii Life & Disability Insurance Guaranty Association; the Nevada Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association; the Pacific Insurance Conference; and the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. He is also a member of the US-Japan Council, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Top of the Table of the Million Dollar Round Table.

Anthony is a volunteer director who serves as our corporate secretary. He is a partner at Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda, specializing in commercial and probate/trust litigation, regulated industries, and corporate matters. Mr. Suetsugu graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2010. While attending law school, he received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Civil Procedure I and Business Associations. He was also named the National Law Student of the Year by the Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity. In addition, Mr. Suetsugu served as Casenote Editor of the Hawaii Law Review, completed a judicial externship with the Honorable Richard R. Clifton of United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, received the award for best brief in appellate advocacy and was a member of the Intellectual Property Moot Court Team. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Suetsugu attended Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, where he received a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Government, and co-authored “Determination of Reference Ranges for Transcutaneous Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Tension and the Oxygen Challenge Test in Healthy and Morbidly Obese Subjects” in the Spring 2008 edition of the Journal of Surgical Research. In his spare time, Mr. Suetsugu enjoys coaching football and soccer and has coached at various high schools throughout the State of Hawaii including Iolani, Farrington, Kalani, and Damien.

Shana is a volunteer director who serves as our Treasurer. She founded SJL MEDIA LLC in 2009 in Los Angeles, establishing a media sales representation firm after developing and growing an advertising sales portfolio of national and regional publications and websites for three years in Hawaii including the Wall Street Journal, theknot, and Wedding Channel websites, and National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, Los Angeles, and other regional magazines. Currently representing six premiere and award winning regional publications, she leads the advertising and marketing sponsorship sales for automotive, financial, real estate, travel, retail and technical accounts in the Western United States. This follows a twelve year career in hospitality and information technology sales, support, and management for prominent international companies including (in chronological order) Expedia, Ungerboeck Systems, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, and MICROS-Fidelio Hospitality Systems. A 1991 BA graduate of University of Washington, Ms. Wong also holds an MBA from the University of Hawaii and served as the Vice President of the Graduate Business Association and was awarded a summer scholarship to study international business at Reims Management School in Reims, France.

Craig is a volunteer director. He is currently the Vice President of Operations at the Mauna Kea Resort. Mr. Anderson has also worked at Westin Maui for 10 years and The Princeville Resort on Kauai for 3 years as General Manager.

Mr. Anderson has a wide background as an active leader to different associations and bureaus. Some of the associations he has affiliated with were: Maui Visitor’s Bureau: Chair (2005, 2009-2010) and Vice Chair (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008); Ka`anapali Beach Resort Association: Board of Directors 2002-2009, Treasurer 2010-2011; Ka`anapali Operators Association: Board of Directors 2006-present; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Corporate fundraising Chair for the Island of Maui 2003, delivered record breaking results; Kauai Hotel Association: Treasurer 1999, 2000, 2001 (Vice President); and many more.

Mr. Anderson has extensive experience in Food and Beverage. He started as a Chef with Four Season’s hotels after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. He paid for his culinary school using the GI Bill after being in the Navy for 4 years. While in the Navy, he lived in Italy for 2 years. Mr. Anderson loves to travel (he visited 24 countries) and even opened a hotel in Russia. He takes very seriously his responsibility to help others grow their careers and strive to balance candor with compassion and encouragement. Mr. Anderson likes to work hard and have FUN.

Armand is a volunteer director. He was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Iolani High School, went to Oregon State University, University of Hawaii, Chaminade University, and University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. Armand has been in private practice for 30 years and is also the dental consultant for 10 nursing homes. He has been involved in coaching at Iolani and has served on other community boards over the years. Armand is honored to be involved with ClimbHI as it serves our Keiki O Ka Aina.

Scott is a volunteer director. He is a graduate of Iolani School, the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Sociology and Master’s degree in Business Administration. He is also a licensed Real Estate Broker. He has 30 years of experience in real estate, primarily in commercial real estate asset management, but also in leasing and development. His work experience includes: Asset Manager for Kamehameha Schools overseeing lands and buildings in Hawaii Kai, Kahala, and Moiliili; Real Estate Officer/Asset Manager at Bank of Hawaii responsible for the management, leasing, sale and purchase of properties for large foundation trust clients; Director of Asset Management for Hawaii Pacific University responsible for all facets of operations at Aloha Tower Marketplace and part of the redevelopment team that included selecting the architect and general contractor for the design and construction of the student housing units, meeting/conference rooms, classrooms and office spaces; Commercial Real Estate Asset Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs responsible for leading and directing the Commercial Properties Division in the planning, development, management and leasing of 30 acres at Kaka’ako Makai , OHA’s corporate office building and all facilities. Currently, he serves as the Asset Management Administrator for the Department of Land Management, City and County of Honolulu. In this capacity he oversees the Asset Management Division, which is responsible for the management and leasing of 18 city owned properties and over 1,400 units. He also has a real estate consulting business which he started in 2006.