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Hawai‘i Community Lending to celebrate 2025 triumphs, share plans for 2026 [Maui Now]

Hawai’i Community Lending (HCL), a nonprofit mortgage lender, announced the date for its second annual Hui Waiwai, to be held at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu on Thursday, Jan. 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets and sponsorships are now available for this inspirational event celebrating HCL’s accomplishments from the past year and looking ahead to next year, as HCL furthers its goal to solve Hawai‘i’s housing crisis.

The evening will include a delicious dinner prepared by local chefs and featuring island ingredients, with live music performed by local musician Nick La’a. Hawai’i County Mayor Kimo Alameda will give the keynote address on his vision for housing our local and Hawaiian people, and the winner of the 2025 Impact Investor of the Year Award will be announced. In addition, HCL will recognize local families, borrowers and partners who have overcome significant barriers to realize and sustain homeownership or made affordable housing opportunities available in our communities. Best of all, 100% of net proceeds from the gala go to support programs to house our local and Hawaiian families in 2026.

As part of Hui Waiwai, HCL Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gilbreath will present his assessment of HCL’s progress and the state’s overall trajectory.

“Hui Waiwai highlights our collective work to strengthen the financial well-being of Hawai‘i’s people,” Gilbreath said. “This evening reflects how HCL partners with families, nonprofits, lenders, funders, investors and community leaders to expand access to affordable financing, support homeownership, and close the gaps in our housing system—especially for local and native Hawaiian families.”

The theme of this year’s Hui Waiwai is “Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua – Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers.” Hui Waiwai is about fostering a stable community rooted for generations in Hawai‘i, a community where local families can afford to have a home and raise their families without fear of losing their land. HCL aids in this process by offering products and services—including affordable loans, targeted grants, technical assistance and step-by-step guidance—for local families and native Hawaiians to build, buy and save their homes from foreclosure.

“Success for these families is actually within reach with the programs that we’ve created and the partnerships that we’ve formed,” Gilbreath said. “There is much more work to be done in 2026 and in years ahead, but we are confident that the plan is in place to get there. We encourage folks to get their tickets and sponsor a table for Hui Waiwai, learn more about our programs, get involved and start helping to solve Hawai‘i’s housing crisis.”

Two levels of sponsorships for Hui Waiwai are available. The Lehua Sponsorship is $100 for an individual ticket. The Pōmaikaʻi Sponsorship is $5,000 and includes a table for 10 guests and logo placement and recognition during the program and in all marketing materials for the sponsoring company before and after the event. It also includes a Waiwai gift basket.*Fees will apply for online ticket and sponsorship transactions. 

Sponsors and guests are encouraged to register early in order to ensure seating. To register and for more information, please visit https://hawaiicommunitylending.com/huiwaiwai/

See full article at Maui Now

About Chanel Josiah

Chanel was born and raised on Oʻahu and now resides on Kaua’i with her husband and seven children. As a 5th-generation Hawaiian Home Lands lessee and homeowner, she has firsthand knowledge of the challenges families face in accessing housing, financial opportunities and resources both on and off homesteads. Her lived experiences and professional expertise inspire her passion for supporting others and strengthen her commitment to helping local and native Hawaiian families secure and sustain homes on their ancestral ‘āina, building lasting stability for themselves and generations to come.

Chanel also serves as the Board President of Pa‘a Lima, a nonprofit organization that offers support services and education to address houselessness, mental health challenges, financial literacy, and income instability. The organization is committed to breaking generational cycles and changing lives, with a special emphasis on supporting youth aging out of foster care.

As Operations Director, Chanel oversees marketing, community engagement, technical assistance, and operations. A key aspect of her role is connecting directly with communities to understand their needs and challenges. Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, Chanel approaches these challenges holistically, blending diverse perspectives to create innovative strategies that drive meaningful and lasting change for the communities she serves. “I’m grateful to be able to share our organization’s moʻomeheu (culture), moʻolelo (story) and kaunu (passion) with communities across Hawaiʻi, partners and investors who believe in the work we do.”

Chanel is inspired by her keiki, motivating her dedication to ensuring they can build their futures here in Hawai’i. She is also inspired by her tūtū kāne, Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox. “He was a fearless kānaka ‘ōiwi champion who encompassed the spirit of aloha ‘āina – the love of his land, and home just as we do now.” Outside of work, Chanel enjoys reading, practicing hula, and spending time at the beach with her ʻohana.

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About Aikū’ē Kalima

Aikū’ē Kalima, former Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, joins Hawaiʻi Community Lending as its lending director.
Kalima comes to HCL with more than 25 years of experience in community development and mortgage lending. In his new position, Kalima will direct HCL’s consumer, construction, mortgage and small business lending.
“As a native Hawaiian and Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiary, I understand the financial needs for economic development and quality housing for kānaka is great,” said Kalima, who led OHA’s deployment of $9.8 million in loans to 286 native Hawaiians statewide over the last five years. “For over 25 years, I have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level, educating kānaka on the skills necessary to achieve the dream of homeownership and providing resources to achieve financial sustainability. I plan to continue serving the lāhui empowering ‘ohana and communities as the lending director for Hawai‘i Community Lending.”
Kalima takes the reins of HCL’s $16-million revolving loan fund and will oversee a team of seven staff members statewide. “HCL is honored to have Aikū’ē join us in our mission to help tackle our housing crisis by funding native Hawaiian and local families to build, buy and save homes from foreclosure,” said HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath. “He has proven leadership in both the public and private sectors and has the passion to get families on the land through homeownership.”

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About Sean

Sean Perez loves hearing about the great things Hawai‘i Community Lending is doing for the Hawaiian community. And now as HCL’s new director of finance, he is excited to be part of the team making it happen.

“I enjoy hearing the success stories of new homes that we will soon be building and finding for these families,” he says. “HCL’s mission resonates well with me and my passion to help others and assist our community.”

To this end, Sean will manage HCL’s finances, accounting, compliance, and information technology matters; working with HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath and supervising three division managers. He comes to HCL with over eight years of experience in financial management in the nonprofit and private, for-profit sectors having worked in the legal, social service, health, and telecommunications industries as well as with the US Attorney’s Office of Guam and CNMI. In his previous job as director of operations for the Hawai‘i State Bar Association where he was responsible for directing the organization’s finances, Sean grew his experience in nonprofit financial management and gained extensive background in accounting, grants management, IT and human resources. These skills, in conjunction with his drive to work with the Hawai‘i community through nonprofit assistance, led Sean to HCL.

Currently living in Honolulu, Sean was born in Tamuning, Guam. When he was 10 years old, he moved to Oxnard, Calif., where he attended school and eventually community college. The Air Force Reserves beckoned him after graduation, leading him to serve three and a half years as an aircrew flight equipment technician at March Air Reserve Base. After his military service, Sean returned to his childhood home of Guam, where he went to college to obtain a degree in finance and economics, and then to pursue an MBA.

On O‘ahu, Sean enjoys family life with his fiancée and toddler son; fishing and surfing in his time off. “I look forward to accomplishing great things with HCL and creating new success stories,” he says.

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About Nikki

Nikki Hollern is a mother of five, born and raised in Upcountry Maui, but she spent the last 15 years in the beautiful town of Lahaina. Lahaina stole her heart, with the people and the town being unlike any other. After the fire, her family had to relocate to Kahului.

Her heart remains in Lahaina, and her goal is to help this amazing community get back to where they belong. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the HCL ‘ohana, helping navigate this incredibly hard time and hopefully serving as a guiding light to assist the community in returning home and coming back even stronger.

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