Four graduates of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa were honored as young community leaders as part of the cohort in the March issue of Hawaii Business Magazine.
The four include:
- Jamie Cheng–director of commercial operations at American Savings Bank
- Khara Jabola-Carolus–executive director, Â鶹´«Ã½ State Commission on the Status of Women
- Summer Kaiawe–attorney and partner, Watanabe Ing
- Rachel James–attorney, Â鶹´«Ã½ Public Utilities Commission
Law Dean Camille Nelson said the professional journeys of these Richardson graduates highlights the many fields available to graduates with legal expertise, and is a testament to the exceptional education they received at the UH law school.
Jamie Cheng
Cheng led her team of a dozen commercial bankers at American Savings Bank to move quickly to land loans for small businesses as part of Congress¡¯ Paycheck Protection Program in 2020. According to the magazine, within a few weeks, the team had “handled 4,100 loans, secured $370 million in federal funds and saved an estimated 40,000 Â鶹´«Ã½ jobs.”
“Whenever something scares me I know I just have to do it,” said Cheng. “One of the most frightening things was leaving law the first time and starting my own business. But I said, ‘If I don¡¯t do it I¡¯ll never do it, and I will look back and be sorry.’”
Khara Jabola-Carolus
Jabola-Carolus has been a fierce advocate for women. “She led efforts during the pandemic to distribute laptops to single mothers and created a state feminist economic recovery plan in collaboration with community members,” noted the magazine. Additionally, she helped pass legislation to allow individuals to designate their gender as “X” on their driver¡¯s licenses and for people convicted of prostitution to have their convictions erased if they met certain requirements.
Rachel James
James has focused her efforts on ensuring success for the state¡¯s clean energy goals by 2045. “In her new role as an attorney with the Â鶹´«Ã½ Public Utilities Commission, James helps guide the agency in regulating local utilities and pushing them to meet the state clean energy goals,” said the magazine. As a member of the UH law school¡¯s evening part-time program, James worked full-time as a project manager for the Â鶹´«Ã½ Center for Advanced Technologies while completing her law degree.
Summer Kaiawe
As an attorney with a mixed practice that includes business litigation, land use and intellectual property, Kaiawe¡¯s work has attracted outside attention. “Super Lawyers named her to its Rising Stars list each year from 2017 to 2020.”
This is an example of UH Mānoa¡¯s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.
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–By Beverly Creamer