Join us! For a fireside chat with experienced Hawai'i women executives on leadership lessons. These evening events take place in beautiful Café Julia, providing an intimate setting for a casual discussion, Q&A, and opportunities for networking. At each event, we will be offering heavy pupus and one drink ticket per attendee. Thank you to our presenting sponsor Hawaiʻi Foodservice Alliance!
2024 Event Dates
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM)
Featured Speaker: Marie Milks (Retired Judge)
Q&A Moderator: Maile Kawasaki (Assistant Vice President &
Commercial Banking Associate, Central Pacific Bank)
Wednesday, July 25, 2024 (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM)
Featured Speaker: Dee Jay Mailer (President + CEO, Bishop Museum)
Q&A Moderator: Erica Liu (Vice President of Account Services at Anthology FINN Partners)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM)
Cost Per Event: $35
October 2024 Featured Speaker Bios
Mary Fastenau was a Senior Partner for Anthology FINN Partners with responsibility for the digital group and account service team. She served as the vice-chairman and secretary of the board for Anthology, the largest integrated marketing and communications company in Hawaii, serving local, regional and national companies.
Fastenau has 40 years of experience in newspapers, advertising, communications and the digital marketing industry. She began her career with the Gannett Corporation working for newspapers in Indiana and California.
She moved to Hawaii in 1989 and began working at Starr Seigle Communications, co-founding its digital division, StarrTech Interactive ,in 1995 after seeing the Internet in a Shidler College of Business classroom while she was working on her Executive MBA. She is a pioneer in the digital marketing area in Hawaii with a team that was first to market with many technology innovations. Fastenau was part of the team that formed Anthology in 2007 with the merger of two of the state’s largest communication companies.
Today, Fastenau leads an award-winning team to create digital solutions for current marketing challenges. Together, they have won many local, national and international awards for their creative excellence in websites, e-marketing and other digital solutions. She is a frequent speaker on marketing and digital trends.
Fastenau has been recognized by the American Advertising Federation Hawaii chapter as Ad Woman of the Year, and as a Silver Medal winner for individual achievement. She was recently inducted into the Shidler College of Business Hall of Honor. She has also been honored several times through the Pacific Business News’ Women Who Mean Business awards.
She remains very active in a variety of nonprofit organizations, such as the American Heart & Stroke Association, where she has served on the local, regional and national boards and was recognized as a regional and local Volunteer of the Year. In addition, she has served on the boards of Na Koa football club, Catholic Charities, American Lung Association Lung Force, Lutheran Church of Honolulu, Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network and many other organizations. She puts mentorship as a priority in activities with the local chapter of the American Marketing Association and other organizations.
Fastenau received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska and her Executive MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business.
Nalani Blane Kealaiki currently serves as a Community Strategist for Hi‘ialo - Kamehameha Schools. Kealaiki’s kuleana is to seek alignment with KS’ education services and the community with a focus on workforce development and career pathways. Through her work, Kealaiki aspires to build opportunities and strengthen career pathways in the areas of creative media, food sustainability, and other emerging industries. She has worked at Kamehameha Schools for the past five years, initially responsible for the ‘Ewa Region, O`ahu (from Moanalua through the Honouliuli ahupua‘a, which borders Nānākuli) before expanding to all of Oʻahu.
Prior to joining KS, Kealaiki served as a program manager and administrator for the past 20 years. Her experience in project development includes planning and implementation, as well as research and analysis. She worked in television and film, the building industry, which included directing the annual BIA Parade of Homes, coordinated public engagement for the initial stages of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, and managed health and well-being initiatives during the launch of the Blue Zones Project in Hawai‘i.
A graduate of KS Kapālama, Kealaiki is originally from Maui and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is a fellow with the International Television Radio Society 1999 and the First Nations Futures Program 2008. She previously served as president of the Lōkahi Canoe Club, and as marketing chair of the ‘Ohina Short Film Showcase. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Pacific Islanders in Communications, a Honolulu-based nonprofit that supports Pacific Island media content and culture. Kealaiki is also an active volunteer and advocate for The Autism Community in Action, Hawai‘i Chapter.
July 2024 Featured Speaker Bios
Dee Jay Mailer is the current President and CEO of Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She is of Native Hawaiian ancestry and was born and raised in Hawaiʻi. She is an alumnus of Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaiʻi, with a Bachelors in Nursing and a Masters in Business Administration.
Dee Jay Mailer has spent over 20 years as an Executive in the fields of business, health and education, leading local, national and international companies in the process of start up, growth, turnaround and transformation.
In 2014, she retired from her role as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bishop Estate, Kamehameha Schools in Hawai’i, where she led the $10 billon Private Trust, its lands, properties, natural resources and financial asset holdings, to fund its mission to improve the capability and well-being of Native Hawaiians through private and public education.
Prior to joining the Bishop Estate, Kamehameha Schools, Dee Jay served in executive positions in the healthcare industry, including President of Kaiser Permanente (Hawaii), Chief Operating Officer of HealthNet (California) and Chief Operating Officer of the International Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland.
Throughout her career, Dee Jay has earned a reputation for integrity, teamwork and results. She is recognized for galvanizing diverse stakeholders (e.g. business, government, consumers, community organizations) to marshal positive community change, including advocacy for equitable access to education and health. She has championed catalytic business and social partnerships to assure strong citizen and economic growth.
From 2014 to 2016, she shared the honor of serving on former President Obama’s Advisory Commission for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, raising understanding and support for these minorities in Washington D.C.
Dee Jay is an experienced Board Member, having served on for-profit and notfor- profit Boards spanning healthcare, banking, education, trust management, land management and public media, all nested in highly regulated and scrutinized environments.
She continues to cultivate her passions for health and education through service on Boards in Hawai’i (Harold K.L. Castle Foundation Board focused on education and environmental restoration, Kahi Mohala – Sutter Pacific, specializing in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and recently, Le Jardin Academy. From 2019 to 2021, she furthered her passion to serve children and families with challenge by becoming a Guardian ad Litem in Idaho.
Dee Jay and her husband, Don, currently reside in Hawaiʻi
Erica Liu is Vice President of Account Services at Anthology FINN Partners. In her role she brings a technology and people-focused work ethic to Anthology’s Integrated Marketing Group where she works with some of the team’s largest clients seeking ways to manage technology and strategy. She manages the day-to-day tasks of multiple projects, including website redesigns, mobile app launches and custom interactive projects, always making sure clients are satisfied throughout the process. Prior to joining Anthology, Erica managed marketing strategies for both small and large businesses.
Erica is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and attended Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree.
