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Jeff Gilbreath Named 2024 Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year by HVCA

Jeff Gilbreath Named 2024 Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year by HVCA

Hawai‘i Community Lending’s own Jeff Gilbreath has won the Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Hawai‘i Venture Capital Association (HVCA). Gilbreath joins a well-respected list of winners and finalists in the annual Hawai‘i Entrepreneur Awards given to entrepreneurs, investors, individuals and organizations who support innovation and economic development in Hawaiʻi.

Since 2014, HCL has issued more than $42 million in grants and loans to support affordable housing for more than 4,300 native Hawaiian and other local families. As executive director of HCL during the coronavirus disease 2019 and the August 2023 tragic Lahaina fires, Gilbreath has faced incredible challenges, but he continues to be inspired by the strength of Hawai‘i’s people and to find new ways to support on their behalf.

The list of 2024 Hawai‘i Entrepreneur Award winners includes:
– Deal of the Year: Brenton Grimes & Corey Goff, reef.ai, Inc
– Entrepreneur of the Year: Alexis Akiona, Lexbreezy Hawai‘i
– Lifetime Achievement Award: Nakeʻu Awai, Nakeʻu Awai Designs
– Investor of the Year: Donavan Kealoha, Startup Capital Ventures x SBI Fund
– Island Innovator of the Year: Claire Sullivan & Rob Barreca, Farm Link Hawaiʻi
– Corporate Intrapreneur of the Year: Micah Kāne, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation
– Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year: Jeff Gilbreath, Hawai‘i Community Lending
– Startup Paradise Champion of the Year: Susan Yamada, The Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship
– Agriculture / Clean Tech Entrepreneur of the Year: Gunars Valkirs, Maui Kuʻia Estate Chocolate
– Tech Entrepreneur of the Year: Ricky Uy, KOMODO HAWAI‘I
– Student Entrepreneur of the Year: Amelia Stucker & Adam Sullivan, Zingipop Sodaworks
– Consumer Packaged Goods Entrepreneur of the Year: Sandra Gibson & Mel Kelekolio, Kona Salt Farm Sea Salts of Hawaiʻi
– People’s Choice of Startup Paradise: Tiara Delgado, Kahiau Poke & Provisions

The winners and finalists represent a broad range of products and services, from tech to ag, but all are rooted in Hawai‘i and committed to supporting the local ecosystem.

In particular, the Social Impact Entrepreneur Award celebrates those entrepreneurs and companies that have shown leadership, innovation and commitment to being part of efforts to solve our state’s toughest problems.

As a nonprofit community development financial institution, HCL is committed to helping families overcome financial challenges to home ownership in the islands.

The 2024 honorees were recognized and celebrated at HVCA’s 24th Annual Hawai‘i Entrepreneur Awards Gala on Feb. 29 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Since its founding in 1988, HVCA strives to serve as a catalyst in Hawai‘i for entrepreneurship, venture capital activity, and growth as a successful venture community. For more information, visit hvca.org.

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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